A TV without a touch screen can nonetheless execute applications designed for mobile devices that assume a touch screen user interface (UI) by a “dumb” remote control with up/down, left/right, select buttons, or by a remote control with a touch pad, or by a remote control application running on a mobile device with a touch-screen that communicates with the TV. In all three scenarios, the TV recognizes that it is running in a special remote control mode and with a corresponding remote control application running on the TV that is able to intercept key presses and finger swipes and translate them to touch screen commands that are input to a touch screen-enabled software application running on the TV.