Just as Keyspan starts selling its wireless TuneView iPod remote control, the company has announced it will release a similar product that will let you control your iTunes playback via a USB transceiver, sometime this March.
The original TuneView ($179), which went on sale just before the New Year, includes an iPod dock/transceiver and a TV-like remote control with a color LCD. Your iPod content is transmitted over the 2.4GHz-frequency band from the dock and displayed on the remote's screen. This allows you to control your iPod as if you were holding it, from up to 150 feet away.
Sometime this March, Keyspan will package the same remote with a Shuffle-sized USB transceiver dongle as the TuneView USB. Similar to the original, this device lets you see and control your iTunes collection from the same 150 feet away. The price likely will be the same as the original as well. Also on the drawing board is a version to control applications, due sometime around midyear. And while the current and future TuneView remotes run on a pair of AA alkaline batteries, Keyspan is considering a rechargeable version.