Hasta La Gadget!

Finally. I think the mobile controller that I’ve been waiting for has arrived. And it’s not from Apple, Samsung or any of the major mobile device manufacturers. It’s from a small company, the same one who made the iControlPad. As one might expect from a group who named its product the iControlPad 2.

Like its predecessor, the iControlPad 2 can connect to any device that supports Bluetooth. But as you can see, the iControl Pad 2 has a lot more to offer. It packs a 55-key keyboard, a d-pad, four face buttons, two analog nubs, two shoulder buttons and more into a case that’s about as wide as the iPhone 4 is tall. It also has a new swiveling clamp, so you can tuck it behind your phone while still keeping it attached, and a 1360mAh battery that lasts up to 14 hours per charge.

The iControlPad 2 can also connect via USB and is open source, meaning it can be made to control all sorts of devices. Imagine using just one remote to game on your phone and tablet, control your HTPC and order your robot butler to attack the neighbors. I am vividly imagining that last bit.

Best of all, the iControlPad 2 can be made to work with a lot of games with virtual buttons thanks to BluTrol, the same app used by the iCade 8-Bit. Skip to about 3:30 in the video below to see how easy it is to map the buttons. What isn’t clear is if the app is built-in to the iControlPad 2 or if we have to jailbreak the device to install and use the app.

Pledge at least $69 (USD) to its Kickstarter fundraiser to reserve your own iControlPad 2, and check out its official website for more information. Of all the controllers I’ve seen, I think this has the best potential of becoming a standard controller for mobile devices.

[via Hack A Day]

Let’s say you’ve been considering a Leica X2 for the mix of a big APS-C sensor and retro styling, but a $1,995, fixed-range compact camera just isn’t exclusive enough. Leica has you covered with two extra-rare editions that rise above the pack. Provided you don’t mind someone else designing for you, the Edition Paul Smith spices things up with a mix of black, green and orange that reflects the UK fashion designer’s love of stripes and wilder colors. Is the small 1,500-unit batch of Paul Smith cameras still too common? There’s now an à la carte X2 option to limit the production run to exactly one. After picking from black, silver or new titanium colors for the main body, you can choose from a set of leather trim colors and get custom engraving to hedge against the unlikely event that anyone confuses your X2 with someone else’s. Prices aren’t immediately available for the October launches of both cameras. Not that it matters much — if you’re willing to even consider a special edition Leica, you already know that it’s within your price range.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Continue reading Leica X2 gets à la carte, Paul Smith editions to help you stand out from plebeian photographers (update: hands-on)

Filed under: Cameras

Leica X2 gets à la carte, Paul Smith editions to help you stand out from plebeian photographers (update: hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Leica (X2 à la carte), (X2 Edition Paul Smith)  | Email this | Comments

Windows 8 tablets have had their specs bandied about for months, but their prices have continued to remain off the radar. Now, however, a purported ASUS holiday roadmap sent to ZDNet may give us a glimpse as to how badly bank accounts could be affected this fall. According to the slide, the ASUS Vivo Tab will carry a $799 price tag and its Windows RT counterpart will come in at $599, which matches the previously reported price difference between slates running Redmond’s latest OS with Intel and AMD processors. The ASUS Taichi dual-screen notebook / tablet hybrid is said to ring up at a heftier $1,299. As for the firm’s Transformer Book, it will supposedly set purchasers back $1,399. If these prices are any indication of what we can expect from other OEMs, Microsoft’s Surface might be pricier than hoped.

Filed under: Tablets

Purported ASUS holiday roadmap pegs Windows 8 tablets at $599 and above originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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