Smart Phone to Become Universal Remote

In the NYT: The Universal Remote Dormant in Your Smartphone . In the 80s I recall seeing people having stacks of remotes on their couch arms. Then these were replaced by the universal remote, still to be found in most stores that sell electronics. As a big proponent of a single device world, this caught my eye. It was pointed out that most TVs these days are still controlled via IR, and only about a third of phones, as I recall, have IR output. So we have to wait until the controllable devices are all on the net. Though one example of an IPhone add-on to do IR is mentioned though still in very early stages. Good overview of some of the ideas under way.