Hasta La Gadget!

Despite the millions of dollars of profits that it’s raking in, Apple still hasn’t come up with a way to include native support for physical controllers in iOS games. The best that we can hope for is for a gamepad manufacturer to step up and get support from developers. I really hope Bladepad does that.

The Bladepad is a Bluetooth 4.0 gamepad that comes with all the buttons and sticks present in a modern console controller: a D-pad, two analog sticks, four face buttons, four shoulder buttons and even a select and start button. It comes with a case, but you can detach the Bladepad itself if you choose. It even comes with a charger that can simultaneously juice up the controller and the iOS device that it’s attached to.

Now for the bad news. Because it uses Bluetooth 4.0, the Bladepad is only compatible with the iPhone 4S and the new iPad. Worse, as of this writing the controller is confirmed to work with – drum roll please – only one game.  The makers of the controller did say that they’re working with “several major game studios and many independent studios as well.” I really like how the Bladepad looks and fits, so I hope it gets widespread support from developers.

A pledge of at least $59 (USD) on Kickstarter gets you a Bladepad, but if you ask me I think you should pledge less than that. You might be stuck with a beautiful controller that has no games to control.

[via AVING]

This is the Cybertech T-RON custom electric guitar. Hutchinson Guitar Concepts probably named it so to avoid any trademark issues, but we all know it’s referring to the hit 1982 sci-fi flick Tyrannosaurus Ron, a movie about the last dinosaur who knew how to play guitar. I hear it’s getting a remake.

Either that, or it’s inspired by TRON: Legacy. Probably TRON: Legacy. The design borrows from the sequel’s aesthetics, specifically the inlaid tubes of blue light. The guitar is actually a sequel of sorts as well. It’s a spin off of an earlier custom guitar, from which it also gets the Cybertech name.

Like its predecessor, the Cybertech T-RON has an XY MIDIpad MIDI controller, but this time Hutchinson also installed a Ghost pick-up system alongside the Gibson humbuckers. The two devices should make it easy to add effects or change the tune of the guitar’s sound. The guitar also has locking tuners and a custom made through-body string retainer.

Sadly you’d have to be a rock star or an ENCOM exec to be able to afford the guitar. Hutchinson Guitar Concepts is selling the Cybertech T-RON for £4,000 (~$6,250 USD).

[via Obvious Winner]

Bottle rockets are usually made in the likeness of rocket ships. The RPG-7′s ammo on the other hand, while still made of a bottle, imitates a different kind of rocket: the weaponized kind.

Made by Japanese company Maruda, the RPG-7 PET Bottle Launcher is meant to be used only with 1.5L soda bottles that have been filled with water. To give you an idea of its potency, when shot at a 35º angle the toy can launch a bottle filled with 0.6L of water up to a distance of 35m (approx. 115ft). That’s a vague idea, so here’s a more concrete one:

The point is, don’t aim this at people or there will be blood.

Maruda also says that there is a significant recoil when firing the launcher, which I guess adds realism but could also add accidents.

Currently it seems like the launcher is available only in Japan, but there are ways around that. Maruda is selling the RPG-7 for ¥28, 350 (~$361 USD). You can also order individual parts on Maruda’s website, including a cone warhead for the bottle.

[via Nerd Approved]

The popularity of mobile music players has given rise to a variety of Bluetooth speakers. Some of them cater to sporty people, others with more modern or minimalist tastes. I guess Josh Marlar went with a, shall we say, ultra niche market: demons.

This is his Necronombox, which Marlar imagines as “the younger brother of the Necronomicon.” He used the blood of the innocent Sculpey, acrylics, Minwax and flat glass marbles to create the terrifying case.

The Necronombox is based on a new Bluetooth speaker called the Lil’G, which by default is meant to look like a boombox and has interchangeable front grills.

The Necronombox can be yours for $400 (USD). If you’re not that desperate to be scared, you might also want to check out the Lil’G’s other one off editions at SpankyStokes.

[via Josh Marlar & Obvious Winner]

We’ve featured Richard Nagy aka Datamancer’s steampunk laptop before, but like most modern gadgets, Datamancer’s products evolve. Unlike most modern gadgets, the second revision of his laptop is encased in wood and adorned with brass and gold.

The laptop has a full wood chassis, lacquered brass keys, semi-precious gems in place of LEDs and a gold foil map design on the lid. Good thing its hardware is far from antique: the laptop is based on an unspecified model of ASUS’ gaming laptops. It has an Intel I7 2670QM processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M GPU, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, a glossy 17.3″ 1920×1080) screen and a Super-multi DVD drive.

The laptop will sell for the wallet evaporating price of $6,850 (USD). Leave your email address on Datamancer’s website so you’ll be notified as soon as it’s available.

[via Luxatic]