Hasta La Gadget!

GBA4iOS is a popular Game Boy Advance emulator for iOS. The latest version lets you play Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games without the need to jailbreak your device. The unavoidable downside of GBA4iOS is that you’ll have to use virtual buttons. AJ Design Studio wants to change that with the G-Pad.

The G-Pad is a rubber sleeve for the 5th generation iPod Touch and the iPhone 5, 5S and 5C that gives you physical buttons to press, which will in turn press the corresponding virtual buttons.

How fitting is that? A controller emulator for a handheld emulator. It has a glaring flaw though: it doesn’t have shoulder buttons. I’m not sure how the inventor missed that. Skip to around 0:50 in the video below to see it in action.

Is it just me or does the kid have unnaturally smooth hands and arms? It’s like he’s CGI. Anyway you can pledge at least $13 (USD) on Indiegogo to get a G-Pad as a reward. AJ Design Studio will make an iPad Mini version if it raises at least $25,000. I doubt it’ll get that far without shoulder buttons though.

[via The Gadget Flow]

A company called Tivitas is working on the gamepad equivalent of Mad Catz’ R.A.T. mice, and then some. It’s called the Sinister, a glove-shaped gamepad that’s adjustable in different aspects. It also has a haptic feedback technology that’s supposedly more nuanced compared to the rumble motors used in most gamepads.

The images here are of the Sinister’s prototype, but the major features should be intact in the retail product. Like Mad Catz’ mice, Sinister’s overall length and the height of its arch are adjustable. The customization extends to its buttons and analog stick. These switches come in small magnetized modules that can be rearranged on the fly to suit your preference.

Finally, you can pick from different ways of using the gamepad.  You can have the gamepad and your mouse emulate an Xbox 360 controller, with the mouse acting as the right analog stick. You can also emulate an Xbox 360 controller with just Sinister alone, leaving you free to use all of your mouse’s functionality. Finally, you can have the gamepad emulate a keyboard and map commands to its keys.

In its hands-on with Sinister, Polygon said that Vivitouch, the gamepad’s haptic feedback technology, is “lighter, smaller, quieter and more energy efficient than rumble devices and offers a more targeted haptic feel. A bullet shot feels a lot different to a sword clanging against a shield, or a long fall.” Polygon also said that the gamepad will have different rumble settings for different types of games, though Tivitas made no mention of that in its Kickstarter page.

Tivitas claims that Sinister is already compatible with Windows and Linux, with support for OS X on the way. Pledge about $109 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a beta version of the Sinister gamepad as a reward. I think the Sinister can make gaming on a PC more comfortable, but I can do without the rumble feature. Hopefully Tivitas will consider releasing a cheaper, rumble-less model.

With Samsung being a major player in the world of smartphones, having rolled out devices that will cater not only from the entry level to the mid-range and all the way to the high end, it would also make plenty of financial sense if they were to also carve a niche for themselves in the seemingly highly lucrative accessories market. After all, every smartphone needs a decent sleeve of sorts to make sure that it does not get scratched or dirtied unnecessarily, right? Well, Samsung might be on to something here with the introduction of a new controller that they have called the GamePad.

I know, I know, the name itself sounds all too simple actually. A GamePad, really? That’s so generic, you might as well release a brand of toothpaste that is called, well, Toothpaste. Having said that, the Samsung GamePad will come in the form of a steel-framed controller, where it will grasp your smartphone with an unerring grip while your thumbs and fingers will be able to get a classic gamepad workout as you play with your favorite games on your smartphone. The GamePad is flexible enough to be compatible with Android-powered devices that will range anywhere from 4” to 6.3” in screen size, making it ideal for smartphones as well as some phablets.

As for compatibility, the Samsung GamePad will play nice with any Android-powered device, as long as said device will run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or higher. Samsung did mention, however, that the GamePad has been specially optimized for Galaxy devices that will feature Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or higher, where among them include the Galaxy S4 and S3 and the Note 3 and 2. I guess those newer devices with NFC pairing makes life a whole lot easier and less complicated. There is also a Play button which will launch Samsung’s Mobile Console app that allows folks to browse and buy games supported by the GamePad. How is that for a hassle-free accessory?

Press Release
[ Samsung unveils GamePad for your smartphone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Two sticks, four face buttons, a pair of shoulder paddles and a d-pad: the formula for a modern gamepad and the layout of MOGA’s Ace Power controller. It’s a pretty standard assortment of inputs, but this controller happens to be the first fully featured peripheral to support Apple’s new iOS 7 gamepad protocols. Naturally, we couldn’t wait to put the pad through its paces.

The MOGA Ace may have the normal assortment of buttons and triggers, but it has one trick most gamepads can’t emulate: it telescopes. Taken out of the box, the Ace is hardly longer than an iPhone 5s, but pulling on either end stretches the peripheral to fit your iDevice. The Gamepad’s left side retains enough tension to hold a device in place on its own, but our iPod had trouble identifying the controller unless we made a point of pushing the controller’s edges inward to secure the connection. Once we had a compatible iOS 7 device locked in place, however, the Ace worked like a dream.

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile, Apple

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Gaming controllers for iPhones are nothing new, but MOGA claims it’s just launched the first to work with iOS 7 and its native gamepad support — as we saw with the as-yet unreleased GameCase. The Ace Power works with the Apple’s latest handsets, including the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s and fifth-gen iPod, connecting via the lightening port and locking it in place with something Moga calls “S.M.R.T. Lock technology.” Like the Android model, you can charge your device while playing thanks to an 1,800mAh battery and the whole thing can be collapsed for easy toting when you’re done. As for controls, you’ll get dual analog sticks, L1/R1 and L2/R2 buttons, a D-pad, and four action buttons. Moga hasn’t said which games will support it yet, though it believes that a “flood” of game developers will take advantage of the iOS7’s new native gamepad controls soon. We’re looking forward to getting our own mitts on it, but if you’re willing to jump in now, you can pre-order it soon for $100 at Apple’s online and retail stores, or via Moga, at the source. %Gallery-slideshow122223%

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Apple

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Source: Moga