Apple Thoughts: iPanel Turns Your iPad Into a Universal Remote

"I've previously reviewed a couple of relatively inexpensive products to turn your iPhone into a universal remote. The RedEye and POWER A remotes are pretty cool, but the one thing that always sunk it for me was the lack of hard buttons. Plus, I'm always on the lookout for a decent contender on the iPad."

Creston makes some very awesome, but very expensive, touch screen home automation remotes. Their iPanel is a gorgeous device, and the presence of hard buttons along with the iPad touch screen probably makes for a great universal remote. It's a little large, but the hard buttons work even with the iPad isn't docked to the device, so you can still access some functions. If you're interested, the iPanel costs about $500.