WowWee Rovio Gets BlackBerry Remote Control App

WowWee's Rovio has now got a BlackBerry remote control app, courtesy of RoboCommunity member bbrovio.  The software, which is still in its early stages, allows BlackBerry users to operate all of the main functions of the WiFi webcam 'bot – including directional movement and head control – from their smartphone, while viewing "video" updates over the cell network.  Right now, the video is only a few frames per second, but it's enough to control the Rovio remotely.

Video quality is not so much a matter of bandwidth but of technique: currently it uses repeatedly-snapped still jpeg images, hence the low frame rate.  App coder bbrovio is working on an alternative that would use the mjpeg content streamed to remote PCs; that would be a lot smoother, as frames would not have to be individually requested.

Still, it's free and it works.  We're waiting for screenshots, so if you've a BlackBerry and a WowWee Rovio, try it out and let us know how you get on. 

Update: Screenshots now in the gallery below

[Thanks Peter!]