HotelChatter

In a few words: we find the whole control-the-TV-from-your-smartphone idea absolutely genius. It being 2012 and all, our iPhone rarely leaves our side. So the more it can be used to control other devices and appliances around us, the better.

The TV remote control itself often gets left on the other side of the room—or, worse, falls in the crack between the cushions or in the awkward space between the headboard and the wall. So during a recent hotel stay, we said good riddance to it and plunged gallantly forward using our iPhone as a makeshift TV remote. Granted, we ended up watching slightly way more TV than normal, but for now we'll just chalk that up to the fact that it's still pretty novel.

Don't know what channels your hotel TV offers? No problem.. The app displays all the channels in a list, and you can flip to whichever one you want simply by tapping it—thus avoiding having to flip through all the stations one by one to find out what they all are. In under twenty seconds, we managed to flip through Comedy Central, E!, Bravo, IFC and NBC, eventually settling on the latter to watch an adrenaline-pumping episode of American Ninja Warrior.

What else? Volume control is pretty awesome too, as is the power on/off button. As you're frantically texting someone on your way out the door, simply switch to the LodgeNet app, and power off the TV in two quick taps. Done!

The app is also good for browsing the hotel's pay-per-view movies (though prices of $14.99 and up put us off actually watching one) and on-demand TV shows like Glee, Family Guy and Real Housewives.

Meanwhile, a "My Hotel" menu allows you to quickly reference your hotel's address, photos, a map, and a full list of amenities. Oh snap, there's a swimming pool in this hotel? We gotta go!

[Photo: HotelChatter]