GoPro from a distance: WiFi remote app arrives for iOS devices
posted Friday, October 12, 2012 at 6:23 PM EDT
Four months ago, Woodman Labs launched its GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac accessory, promising the ability to control GoPro HD Hero 2 cameras from Android or iOS smartphones and tablets. The Android app might still not have arrived, but the other half of the promise was fulfilled a few days ago, with the launch of a new GoPro app for Apple's iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices.
The new GoPro app provides remote control over movie recording, along with an optional live preview stream. There's also a display of battery life remaining, a record timer / counter, and a WiFi signal strength display. You can configure all GoPro modes and settings remotely, and a rather nice touch is that if you make a change on the camera body, the remote app detects and reflects this change automatically. And if you're shooting with multiple GoPro devices, you can trigger the camera's front-panel LED to illuminate remotely, helping you identify which camera you're configuring.
The GoPro app for iOS devices is available immediately from the iTunes App Store. It's compatible with all devices running iOS 4.2 or later, and the display will reconfigure itself for phone or tablet-sized screens, although we understand that it isn't currently optimized for the iPhone 5. Hence on that device, there will be black bars at the sides of the screen in landscape orientation, or top and bottom in portrait orientation.
No news yet on when the Android version will be available, although Woodman says it is still on the way.