AHANIX iMon Universal IR Remote Control System

Ahanix iMon Review - Overview

Taken directly from Ahanix's web site, the requirements for the iMon are pretty straight-forward. You shouldn't have a problem using the iMon on any recent machine. As you can see the iMon is designed for Windows users exclusively, as there is no indication of software designed for OS X or Linux.

You should never judge a book by its cover, but while a package doesn't define performance, it does define an image for the manufacturer/distributor. The iMon package looks more than decent, it's sturdy enough to take a beating during shipping, and it has a decent amount of information on the outside to learn a bit about the product.

The package includes the following items:

• Remote Control
• Irda Receiver
• CD-ROM
• Quick-start Guide
• Batteries

Obviously we get the iMon remote control itself, the receiver (which reminds me eerily of The Terminator's glowing red eyes), a CD-ROM containing the manual and software, a quick-start guide, and two AA batteries. In case you didn't catch that, let me clarify. Ahanix doesn't include a printed manual for us, instead opting to stick it on the CD. Not a big deal, but it would have been a nice touch. The small piece of paper you see is the iMon Installation Guide, which is a small card with a brief description of the installation process.

The lack of a physical manual is made up for when we get our hands on the RC. The remote looks pretty much identical to a standard universal remote, with the exception of a few things. The joystick in the center is certainly unique to this device, and a small but exceptional addition is the little "hump" on the bottom of the remote. This nestles in quite comfortably by your index finger and lets you get a nice solid grip on the device.

Ahanix describes the following features list for the iMon:

• Perfect Control of popular music, DVD, Movie Players using a remote controller
• Powerful Mouse Functions of moving mouse cursor as smooth and precise as real mouse
• Stylish Cool Design of iMON Station according to the variable computer situations
• Convenient Setup and Use of iMON RSC through automatic setup wizard of the application hot-key setting
• Maximize of the remote controller button use by generating different hot-keys with the same remote controller button under different applications
• "Application Launcher" for the immediate load of the application
• "Task Switcher" for the switching in the loaded applications
• "Monitor Resolution Changer" for immediate monitor resolution changing by remote controller
• "All-time Control Window" for control of one application regardless of the current active state
• MACRO for setting and execution of the complicated command like Log In, Composition work of mouse and keyboard, and so on
• Additional convenient functions like PC Power OFF, Screen Saver Activation, Sleep, Alarm and so on
• Wireless Controlling of PowerPoint Presentation using a remote controller
• Excellent IR signal receiving sensitivity up to 15 meter distance and 45¡Æ angle in any direction
• Use of ANY general House Appliance Remote Controller with iMON through the remote controller registration and setup wizard
• Automatic Search and Setup Functions of popular multimedia S/W
• On Screen Display of volumes, timer info, etc for convenience control of PC
• More Multimedia Applications can be registered and set by the user custom setting

These are all fairly self explanatory so I won't waste your time repeating them. One thing worth noting, however, is that you can actually use any universal remote controller with the iMon software and receiver. Why you would want to do that is beyond me, but I suppose if you ever tire of the iMon RC you can find one more suited to your needs.

The iMon sports a lot of Windows-specific features that let you control your desktop, applications, browsing, etc. A lot of us will be purchasing this device for their Home Theater PC (HTPC) though, so let's see what the iMon layout looks like in a little more detail.

At the top of the remote we find the obligatory bright red power button, and we also have a button labelled Application Exit, which is fairly self explanatory. The screen saver button will start your screen saver, and the timer button starts the iMon Timer application.

Next we see a numeric keypad, which serves a few purposes. We can assign quick text strings to these buttons for instant keyboard input, and we can also use them along with the Virtual Keyboard to speed up text input. More on these in a minute.

Directly beneath the keypad we have a Desktop button which will minimize all of your open applications to the taskbar. To the other side, the Max/Res button will maximize and restore your current window.

Here are a few more OS specific buttons below the keypad as well. Esc (escape), a Windows key supplement, a menubar button, the iMon Application Launcher button, the iMon All-Time Control Window button, and finally a button for the iMon Task Switcher.

In the very center of the remote we have a contoured joystick, as well as buttons for keyboard/mouse selection, right/left mouse clicks, tab, shift-tab, and forward and back key.

Mute, Vol +, and Vol - are located right above the Application section of the remote.

The last of the buttons are located in the Application section of the remote, and provide common media control buttons, including a button for fullsize video viewing. These buttons are not limited to media control though, and when assigned to another application you use each of these buttons for a purpose differing from what they are labelled as.

The iMon Station is unique, it looks exactly like HAL 9000's eye, from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. When you press a button on the remote, two alternating red LEDs flash from within.

The station has a small stand that you can rest it on, as shown in the picture. Unfortunately the stand has a small peg which the "eye" rests on, but it does not make a solid connection. The station comes with a piece of double-sided tape for positioning the unit, and I could imagine sticking it under a shelf or your desk to get it out of the way. However, it will fall right off the base without some other method of securing it.

This could make for a fun case mod if you found the right use for it, though! Now that we have an idea of what to expect, let's move on to installation and get this puppy running!

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