Like most of the world's greatest inventions, this was the result of an accident. While playing in iMAME, Rickards accidentally pressed some keys on his homebrew Commodore 64 USB keyboard. The app then said it was enabling iCade mode. Cue the "A-ha!" moment.

From here, Rickards manufactured another USB keyboard utilizing Arduino, but instead of using a keyboard matrix, he used his NES gamepad. A couple of legos for casing and two jacks later, he had a working NES controller for his iPad. Sweet!

We've asked Rickards if he intends to do more controllers in the future because this is pretty exciting news. Think about it: someday, you might finally be able to play an iPad game with the Duke, the ultimate gaming controller.

Well ... that is, if every game plays nice. Atari Greatest Hits [Free] collection and iMAME are the only games he's tested so far.

[via biosrhythm]

The details remain the same as when we previously reported on it. The iCade Mobile will be priced at $79.99 when it launches. It's got eight buttons, and a d-pad. Like the original iCade, it connects over Bluetooth.

What's nice about the design is it supports both landscape and portrait modes. The iPhone or iPod Touch sits in a specially designed cradle that can rotate freely.

Of course, one side effect to this design is that it makes the whole device pretty big. You'll be able to see in the hands on video that it adds a considerable amount of bulkage to your iOS device:

Unsurprisingly, control-wise it felt the same as the iCade. Some people seem to complain of a very slight lag in controls, but as you can see in the video, it's pretty minimal. To my hands the controls felt nicely spaced out, though I didn't really get a chance to test out the shoulder buttons in action. As with any of these accessories, it's hard to imagine lugging one around with you everywhere you go, but the added convenience (over the original iCade) of being able to lean back in your couch is nice.

And here's an official video from Ion Audio showing people having a hilarious time with it:

You too could look this happy. The device is coming this spring at $79.99.

Some studios, however, aren't willing to rethink design and offer virtual buttons to compensate for the lack of a physical controller. There's a lot of these kinds of guys out there, actually, which is probably why we're seeing a mini-boom in the 3rd party controller market.

The hottest device right now is 60beat's GamePad. Unlike many other controllers, it requires no technical voodoo. You simply just plug the male end of its luxuriously lengthy cord into your headphone jack, pick the controller in an in-game menu, and then get to work. It's really that simple; I haven't had a problem yet.

Big is the first thought that hit me when I picked it up, and it turned out that it was a hair too large for me. Remember the "Duke" Xbox controller? The GamePad is much smaller, but the issues it has because of its size are pretty similar. Both are inarguably useable devices, but they're not the best designed out there.

To get more specific: this thing has huge wings that, to use comfortably, require me to ride up on the neck of the thick plastic and push my outer palms more towards my chest than I'm accustomed to when using a controller. It's a weird angle -- it's like you're squeezing, as opposed to relaxing.

A few minutes of play is a valid cure for the initial awkwardness, but the grip I have to use with this thing makes its ten buttons -- four shoulders, four face, and two of those useless analog stick shoe-ins -- harder to reach than I'd like. I'm also not able to get my hands comfortably perfectly square with the sticks, which is putting some english on my movements.

Speaking of buttons, I'm digging the feedback. There's some meatiness to each and some ideal springiness to the shoulder buttons. The d-pad feels good, too, though I'm sure a purist could find something up with it.

The important thing is that, straight-up, the GamePad works. The response times seem just fine, everything is reasonably reachable, and it adds that real, meaningful layer of tactile feedback to the games. You'll lose game audio unless you connect a pair of headphones to the splitter the device ships with, but this is a forgivable offense considering the technology at use here.

Also, it makes the games that use it currently -- Bugdom 2 and Aftermath -- much, much better.

In Bugdom, for example, the GamePad eliminates all the dirty UI elements and allows you to play much like you would any other 3D platforming game. It fleshes out the nuance of specific points of design. Like, for example, the hovering mechanic. Also, it gives you significantly more control over the character, which makes touch jumps easier.

The latter applies to Aftermath. With the GamePad, it's much easier to move and do the things you want to do. Interestingly, the guys behind Aftermath tied camera controls to the face buttons, which caters to its run-and-gun, corridor style of play.

The GamePad might be bulkier than I'd like, but it gets the job done. The bonus here is that it obviously has an ability to make gameplay more potent. Developers will need to work with 60beat in order to get this controller in their games, though, so the future is as up in the air as our recommendation. If you start seeing a bunch of titles with compatibility, this might be something to spring on.

This all sounds great... but since we still don't have a GamePad in our hands, we decided to quiz Pangea Software's Brian Greenstone about it. Pangea is behind Bugdom 2 [$2.99], which is one of the two games currently supporting the controller.

I asked him three questions. The first was what it was like to develop for the device, and if it was easy or hard. Greenstone's answer leaves us hopeful that other studios will pick up support, provided the GamePad sells well enough.

"It was very easy. All I had to do was add their SDK to my project, change my Audio Session type, and then make some basic calls to start the data flowing. Bugdom 2 already used a virtual gamepad in the game itself, so the code to work with that kind of control scheme was already in place which made things very easy.

I had it all up and running in less than an hour."

There are no developer  or game limitations, by the way -- all the buttons and directional control work, straight-up. It sounds like voice-chat support is out, though, when the device is plugged in.

"No developer limitations other than the forced use of a particular Audio Session mode, but I don't think that would affect most games, unless there are games that require the microphone to be working. So, probably no voice-chat games.

The user limitation is just that having the gamepad plugged in causes the audio on the iPhone / iPad to go thru the audio jack. That means that you have to use the supplied splitter and listen to the game with headphones."

Greenstone said Pangea will continue to support the device if its successful and Bugdom 2 sees a sharp spike in sales. That sounds pretty reasonable.

We're looking forward to telling you all about this thing first-hand in the coming days. Come on, Mr. Postman!

In a nutshell, the $50 GamePad is a slick-looking, PlayStation-style kind of controller that connects, unlike many third-party controllers, to the headphone jack. No bluetooth black magic -- just seemingly straight-up plug-and-play connectivity.

It features of total of ten buttons, two joysticks, a d-pad, and ships with an audio splitter and a luxuriously long four foot cable. We haven't had any hands-on with one quite yet -- it's in the mail -- but creator 60beat has uploaded a video of the thing in action. Take a look:

Looks cool, right? The biggest hurdle for the GamePad -- other than being a good and meaningful product, of course -- will be grabbing the attention of the iOS development community. It apparently requires some game-side tweaks to work properly, so 60beat and its friends will have to collaborate. As of this moment, only two games support the device: Bugdom 2 [$2.99] and Aftermath [$1.99].

The official web site for the device says we'll hear a lot more about games support in February 2012. Expect more from us on the device in the future, too.

Basically, the iPad demo at E3 showed off just how versatile the OnLive service is. They simply created a client for the iPad and it allows practically the exact same OnLive experience that you would get using the service on your computer or television. It really felt like the future, but today, the future is now! (Sorry, I've always wanted to say that). But on a serious note, the OnLive iPad client is scheduled to launch today, as in like right now, for FREE.

There is a catch, however, as the OnLive mobile app is currently only available in the US and UK. There's no word yet on if or when the service may launch in other territories. As part of the mobile app's support, more than 25 of the games available on OnLive have been outfitted with touch-specific controls, meaning they can be played directly on the device itself without any additional peripherals. Included in that lineup of 25 titles is Rockstar's hugely successful LA Noire, as well as Lego Batman: The Videogame, which will actually be available for free for anybody to try out the service just by downloading the OnLive client.

The majority of OnLive's nearly 200 other available titles will also be playable on iOS, but won't have the virtual touch controls baked into them. For these games you can pair the Universal OnLive Wireless Controller with your device and play them just like you would on a traditional console, or as demonstrated in the E3 demo video. Not every title will be able to be played on every device, OnLive cautions, but it sounds like the vast majority of them will be fully playable using the controller or virtual button setup.

One cool thing about OnLive is that whether you purchase a game through their service on your iPad, computer, set-top unit, or whatever, it will be available on any of those devices, with full cloud-saving functionality. So, if you're in the middle of an OnLive game on your TV, you can stop what you're doing and seamlessly pick up where you left off on your iPad, for example. You'll also have access to all the social features that are built into OnLive no matter which device you're playing on.

While the OnLive iOS client hasn't quite hit the App Store just yet, it is supposed to be arriving any time, and we'll update this post with a link as soon as possible. Since it's free and comes with a free game, there's really no reason not to download it and check it out. If you're interested in ordering a Universal OnLive Wireless Controller, those will be available sometime soon, and you'll be able to get it in the US OnLive Store for $49.99 or the UK OnLive Store for £39.99.

Once again, Stuart Carnie of Manomio (whose C64 for iPhone just got iCade support) reached out and pinged me to share a bit of exciting tech he's had his eye on, and I'm quite eager to fill the rest of you in.

Stuart showed me the following proof-of-concept video done by Jason Chan of Australian firm 22Moo, the main man behind the GameBone controllers, depicting the venerable Competiton Pro joystick -- a standard, 9-pin Atari-style joystick -- tethered to a Bluetooth controller board, controlling Retro Dreamer's Velocispider as well as Bruce Lee running under Stuart's C64 system as well as his retro iOS port of Flashback, via iCade emulation. It's pretty awesome stuff.

I got in touch with Chan and inquired as to what his intentions are regarding this demonstrated technology, and also regarding the GameBone controller we last heard about so long ago.

Chan informs me that he and his team are currently deciding whether they should supply the GameBone Bluetooth Module (GBM) to game accessory manufacturers, to the general public as a DIY kit, or to both. As far as I'm concerned, even if I have to bring out the trusty old soldering iron, the prospect of using any Atari-style joystick I want with iCade-compatible games is a magical one, not to be missed. Chan also let us know that 22Moo is working with a PC / PS3 /XBOX 360 game accessory manufacturer to bring this technology forth in the form of both single- and dual-stick X-Arcade-style joystick boxes for iOS and Android devices.

That's not the end of the GameBone news, however. Chan has made us aware of three coming devices that are currently in development and will be made available to iOS gamers in the future. The devices in question are:

• GameBone Racer - A desk-mounted steering-wheel accessory for the iPad that will enter the final prototype stage by week's end (pictured).
• GameBone GSR - A device that attaches to two of the user's fingers that allows him or her to effectively control games with their mind. The GSR uses biofeedback technology similar to that used in lie detectors. 22Moo is partnering with a Polish firm that has experience with this technology on the PC. The first prototype is completed and a second prototype is scheduled for February 2012
• GameBone VT / Virtual Touch - A system in the very early stages of development that allows users to attach tiny "fingers" to a device's screen in order to simulate physical touch by way of push buttons on an external control device. The GBVT is designed to be integrated into classic gamepads and joysticks to allow them to work with games designed purely for touch.

These are all devices that we were, previously, unaware of. The GameBone device that we have heard of, the one that we spoke of back in September of last year, is now known as the GameBone Pro (pictured up top), and we can't share what we've learned about it with readers just yet, unfortunately. News will come in time, however...

In the discussions with Stuart and Jason Chan, something else we were unaware of came to light. And, I've not seen this reported anywhere, and so I think many are in the dark on this -- and it's a pretty big thing for accessory makers.

Some time back, we explained that the reason the iCade emulates a keyboard -- and that the reason, until recently, that no analog sticks would work under standard iOS -- is due to restrictions Apple places on the type of Bluetooth connection that an accessory can make with an iOS device. That is indeed the case for Bluetooth 2.x, which is the standard protocol on all iOS devices. There is one iOS device, however, that is capable of communicating via Bluetooth 4.0 LE (low-energy): the iPhone 4S. No other iOS device -- not even the iPad 2 -- is able to utilize this protocol. The exciting thing about this is that an accessory can, right now, connect to an iPhone 4S via Bluetooth 4.0 LE in a manner that provides the roomy datastream that can easily and properly accommodate things like multiple analog sticks -- and without the need of any sort of approval from, or cooperation with, Apple.

So, there it is. There's nothing in the way of vendors creating and selling full-featured controllers with zero latency, other than the want of the protocol on more (future) iOS devices. Of course, Apple could always choose to open up Bluetooth 2.x and allow all iOS devices to support such high-bandwidth connection profiles, but it's unclear if they ever will.

Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming line of GameBone accessories from 22Moo as well as any of the other accessory makers out there.

[ The video in this post has been updated, expanded. ]

Gametel controller

In a short time from now, the controller market will be gaining another iOS-compatible unit for gamers to choose from in the form of the Gametel Bluetooth controller from Fructel AB. News on this one began spreading a couple of weeks back, but we only just learned of the device, likely due to the Android-centric PR that surrounds it; there's scant mention of iOS devices on the product webpage. Luckily, C64 for iPhone [App Store] developer Stuart Carnie of Manomio pinged me to let us know that the unit works quite well with iOS devices (by way of an iCade emulation mode, the addition of which was driven by Stuart, himself), and that he is particularly impressed by the unit's ergonomics.

The Gametel controller pairs with any iOS device, appearing to be a keyboard to the host unit. It has a spring-loaded arm / brace extending from the top of the unit that allows it to firmly grasp most any type of app phone, including all iPhone and iPod touch devices (not the iPad, of course). The unit sports a digital directional pad, four main action buttons, a Select and a Start button, and two shoulder buttons. (It lacks the analog nubs offered by the iControlPad.) The Gametel device delivers 9 hours of battery life -- for itself only, not the host unit -- and is charged via micro USB cable.

Jimmie Johansson, involved with the project, informs me that the 120mm x 67mm x 24mm unit is light weight and durable and fits easily into a pocket. Production of the first batch of devices is happening right now, as I post this, and it should be available at Amazon UK before Christmas for around £50.

Oh -- and it has a super feature: pressing Select and Start together instantly toggles in the on-screen keyboard, to enter high scores or search for an app to launch. It's an extremely welcome feature to anyone that's used an iCade, which lacks such functionality.

iControlPad

The Gametel controller isn't the only news from the iOS controller scene. The OpenPandora folks behind the iControlPad have been busy working on firmware updates to better the experience of iOS gamers.

Remember, back in the review of the iControlPad, how I mentioned that only jailbroken iOS devices and other platforms could utilize the sweet, dual analog nubs on the iControlPad? Well, I'm happy to have been proven wrong. Now, it's not as wonderful a scenario as if Apple had begun allowing the type of iOS Bluetooth pairing that an HID device with a set of analog sticks really needs. No. Instead, the iControlPad firmware developers created a new interface mode called "special packet mode" in the latest test firmware that sends the coordinates of the two analog nubs as strings of characters -- from the perspective of an iOS device, they're being sent by a keyboard. It's a pretty awesome workaround in the face of an Apple restriction that we truly wish the company would see fit to dissolve, and it lets legitimate games in the App Store take advantage of physical analog controllers.

A perfect example of this mode in action is Warner Skoch's Vertex Blaster [App Store], a space shooter in the vein of (a retro and rather simplified) Super Stardust HD that we've not covered directly, but that has a lengthy thread in our forums where readers are enjoying it. It was in the OpenPandora forums that we learned of this little gem. Have a look at a fan video showing iControlPad analog nub gameplay on an iPad. (The video also shows D-pad play of Super Mega Worm.)

Oh, and that pop-in-the-onscreen-keyboard trick the Gametel unit brings -- the iControlPad, with the latest test firmware, has that as well (it just takes a few more seconds of button-holding to kick in).

iCade

So, with all this exciting news about the Gametel controller and the analog stick support from App Store games for the iControlPad, I went ahead and contacted ThinkGeek to see if there is anything exciting on the horizon for the iCade. It turns out that while, sadly, the pop-up-keyboard trick isn't a planned thing for the iCade right now, I did glean, from extremely vague terms, that there may be some interesting things to come in the iCade's future. No specifics, unfortunately, but it's something we'll keep an eye on.

And there you have it -- a round-up of physical controller news. The introduction of a new controller, the Gametel unit, will only sweeten the proposition for developers to support for such devices in their games down the road, and that's definitely a good thing for iOS gamers. Stay tuned for more controller news as it unfolds.

To get a tad bit more specific, the InvaderCade sports a ball-top joystick and a singular button. It’s a bulky 25 x 23 x 25 cm and requires external power, but it boasts a charging dock, speakers, and a headphone jack —- three features the iCade doesn’t have. For those of you keeping score, the Atari arcade peripheral has a total of four buttons, no external power, and, somehow, manages to look way sillier than its competition.

Game Set Watch notes that this isn’t slated for the West just yet, but it hits in Japan in a matter of weeks -- October 11th is the target release date and it’ll cost around $200. I hope it comes with a few games and a backscratcher at that price.

[Via TUAW, Game Set Watch]

The first thing that was assumed about the Atari Arcade joystick based on its promotional image was that it would work in landscape as well as the portrait position it was shown in. Apparently this isn’t the case, though, as the joystick actually connects to the iPad via the official Apple 30-pin connector. This means that unless some sort of extension type of cable can be provided, there’s no way to use this joystick with a landscape oriented game, aka fighters and side-scrolling beat ‘em ups, aka exactly the types of games that would rule with a joystick. Bummer. Even the rival iCade can support a landscape iPad device, though not in an official, secure fashion.

There’s some cool benefits to having the joystick connect through the 30-pin port though, too. For one, you won't have to worry about batteries, as the joystick is powered by the iPad itself. DVICE seemed to be able to get about 8-10 hours of juice out of their iPad and joystick combination. This is a big improvement over the notoriously battery-draining Bluetooth connection used by the iCade and iControlpad peripherals. This extra battery life isn’t that great of a tradeoff though when you’re forced into using portrait mode only. The Bluetooth connection route is also much simpler for developers to implement into their games too, and can work with multiple peripherals rather than having to cater to a single proprietary device.

And that’s really my biggest issue with the Atari Arcade stick. While I could likely deal with the portrait-only drawback and even the stiffness of the control stick and buttons noted in the DVICE review, it really doesn’t matter anyway if the only game compatible is Atari’s Greatest Hits [Free+IAP]. I guess it’s possible Atari could open up development support for the device, but given the fairly niche appeal of the iCade so far I can’t imagine too many developers who would be keen on putting in the extra work to support an even more potentially limited peripheral.

Be sure to check out the original DVICE review for additional information and a ton more screens. They also note that the Atari Arcade joystick will launch on October 2nd at Target stores, followed by Walmart and Toys ‘R’ Us stores in November. The device will retail for $60. Though I’m kind of disappointed to discover that the Atari Arcade joystick isn’t everything I hoped it could be, I’ll likely still be convinced to pick one up just out of curiosity, and will reserve final judgment until I can actually get my hands the joystick myself.

[Via DVICE]

As you can see, this Atari branded arcade stick is an idea similar to the iCade, which we’re huge fans of and has been seeing increased support since release, but is a much more minimalistic design. This appears to make it more practical for portable use as well as more conducive to operating with an iPad in landscape mode, which the iCade isn’t designed for but can still pull off somewhat sloppily with some iPad leaning trickery. Technabob also ventures to guess that the streamlined design will lead to a lower price point than the $99 dollar iCade, though pricing and release date haven’t yet been announced.

One more question is whether the Atari Arcade joystick will function via Bluetooth like the iCade and iControlPad peripherals do, or whether it will somehow connect directly to the proprietary dock connector on the device. Currently, all there is to do is sit back and wait for the Discovery Bay Games website to update the product page for the Atari Arcade joystick with additional info, which we’ll most certainly be keeping our eyes out for.

[Via Technabob]

Naturally, it’s not quite the same as having a physical controller, but if you like to travel light or find yourself needing to get your game on in a pinch it more than does the trick. Heck, I use the Joypad exclusively to play old emulators on my laptop simply because it works really well and I’m too lazy to bust out my USB controller. Ah, technology, always facilitating my laziness.

Anyway, back at WWDC this year I sat down with Zell Applications who explained how they had just released a Joypad SDK, which anyone can use to add native Joypad support in games on both desktop computers and iOS devices. We first saw this officially in action with the platformer Lars [$1.99/Lite], and recently the Mac App Store version of Mos Speedrun [$2.99] was updated with Joypad support, too. No need to pair the Joypad app with desktop software with these, rather just fire up either game along with the Joypad app on your device and everything just works, and it rocks.

During that WWDC meeting, Zell also revealed that the Joypad would be getting some retro skins packs in the near future, and that update has just hit the App Store. As you may know, Joypad was originally a paid app when it launched in March of last year, but in order to entice more people to use it the developers launched a separate free version back in January. As a way to support their efforts and put food in their bellies, the new retro skins are being sold for 99¢ each, or you can grab all 8 of them in a pack for $5.99 and save a couple of bucks.

Both versions of Joypad are functionally identical, but if you already owned the original paid version, which is now called Joypad Elite, then you’ll get the entire 8 pack of retro skins included for free with the update. The skins are beautiful and feature 8 of the most classic console controllers ever, and are perfect for getting the full effect when playing with emulators. Also, inside of the in-app shop there is now a list of Joypad compatible games. So far there is built in support for Lars, Super Mega Worm [99¢/Lite], Emerald Mine [Free], and Mos Speedrun for Mac. Upcoming supported games will include Meganoid [$1.99], Arcade Jumper, 8-bit Rally [99¢], and Marathon [Free].

Finally, inside the store there is a link to order the Fling Mini, another cool control peripheral that we took a look at during WWDC and works really well in conjunction with the Joypad app. As a bonus, if you use the in-app link to order the Fling Mini then you’ll get 10% off the regular price. Not a bad little deal at all.

In case you couldn’t tell, I get pretty stoked talking about the Joypad. I just can’t help it. It’s clever, it works surprisingly well, and it's completely free to use. I actually game way more on my laptop since discovering the Joypad than I ever did before. It’s just really convenient. If you haven’t yet tried out Joypad for yourself, give it a download, you’ve got nothing to lose except your dependence on a dedicated physical gamepad.

To get the firmware update, head on over to the support section of the iControlPad site and follow the instructions. Alternatively, if you prefer watching a tutorial video to reading, the guys behind the iControlPad have got you covered on that front too:

Once you've got your iControlPad all flashed to the new firmware, it should behave just like a iCade and allow you to use the iControlPad when playing the various iCade-enabled games. This new firmware option might also quicken adoption of the device, as now developers can focus on one standard across both the iControlPad and the iCade instead needing to deal with one or the other (or both).

In light of this update news, they've dropped the price of the device to $49.99 for TouchArcade readers. To get in on this deal, order through this link. This special pricing will be good until Monday, at which point it will return to its normal price of $74.99.

Back in March 2008, when Apple announced the iPhone SDK and the then-forthcoming App Store, many people immediately though: GAMES. I know we did -- that's why we started TouchArcade that very month. Another person who felt that gaming would be huge on the iPhone is Craig Rothwell of OpenPandora. Seeing an opportunity there in the button-lacking iPhone, Craig and company began designing the iControlPad, a gaming accessory originally designed to mate with the iPhone and provide a D-pad plus four buttons. We first caught wind of this effort quite a while ago -- over three years ago, in fact. In that time, the iControlPad has changed shape more than once, changed interfaces, and, finally, become a real product that can be ordered online.

Yesterday, we received a test unit and I've been putting it through its paces and learning its ins and outs all day. Let me share my impressions.

The first thing that strikes you about the iControlPad when you unpack it is its myriad inputs. There's a D-pad, a four-button diamond, a Select and Start button, two back buttons, and two analog sticks. Best of all, the glorious analog sticks! And...the first disappointment comes when you, iOS gamers, discover that they're rendered unusable due to Apple's restrictions on the type of Bluetooth devices that can interface with iOS.

The iControlPad is a complex device that features many different modes of Bluetooth operation: keyboard emulation, Serial Port Protocol (SPP), a slew of Human Interface Device (HID) modes, as well as custom combinations of several. What's more, it features firmware that can be flash-updated from Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. While, due to the aforementioned restrictions, the iControlPad can only interface with un-jailbroken iOS devices by way of keyboard emulation, it can interface with other platforms, including Android and WebOS, via the more robust protocols and, thus, deliver its full range of capabilities. Keyboard emulation does allow all other controls on the device to work under iOS -- but no analog sticks, which need to send a constant stream of positional data to the host device.

Jailbroken iOS devices can take full advantage of the analog sticks, as demonstrated in this iPhone demo video.

The iControlPad's keyboard emulation mode interfaces with iOS devices in a similar manner as the iCade, with one "keypress" being sent to the iPhone when an action begins, and another when that action ends. The following diagram, kindly provided by Stuart Carnie of Manomio, illustrates the basic event flow in this mode of operation.

Under the keyboard emulation mode, the native iControlPad key protocol is a bit more complex than that of the iCade, and as a result it should exhibit slightly more latency than ThinkGeek's control device, though happily, it's not easy to see. No big worries though, as an imminent firmware update will allow the iControlPad to go into an iCade emulation mode, of sorts, using its same key protocol, which will allow it to work with any game coded to take advantage of the iCade controller.

A little more concerning is a situation I noticed when playing games that require a great deal of button mashing (like R-Type). At times in such games, the onscreen ship would continue going in the last direction I triggered, ultimately flying off the screen or into a wall. I'm not certain, but it seems more a key signal issue than a physical issue of the D-pad sticking. If that's indeed the case, I hope a firmware update will resolve the matter.

The iControlPad itself feels pretty substantial. It consists of a core rectangular control unit with rubber end-caps that can function as a free-standing Bluetooth control unit for many types of devices. The standard end-caps can be removed and replaced with a locking plastic frame that allows various phone-sized devices to be physically connected to the unit. For iPad use, you'd want the generic end-caps, while you'd want the iPhone end-cap-frames to attach an iPhone. Other phones can use other end-caps.

The unit features a non-removable, rechargeable 1350 mAh battery that can be used to charge your iPhone's battery by way of plugging a USB OTG adapter into its USB port. Given that the iPhone 4's battery is 1420 mAh, the unit can deliver a notable boost in usage time for the host device. A very nice feature.

As mentioned previously, I tested a number of games on the iControlPad-equipped iPhone, including R-Type. That's Amiga R-Type running under a build of Manomio's iAmiga emulator with iControlPad (and iCade) support built-in, kindly provided by Stuart Carnie. Any joystick-based game running under the developer iAmiga build in question can be played using the iControlPad. And played well -- the experience feels great, aside from the occasional "sticking" issue that I spoke of earlier. If and when that gets ironed out, the iControlPad unquestionably delivers a far superior game experience than any manner of on-screen D-pad.

That said, I only have this iAmiga build thanks to a developer connection. I am not aware of a single game sitting in the App Store at this moment that natively supports the iControlPad. Several currently support the iCade, and when emulation for that device arrives, iControlPad users will have more to play with. I am sure that, in time, the device will gain app support, but it's something of a bleak playing field right now.

After spending a long day with the unit, I cannot recommend that the typical gamer run out right now and grab one. It's true that I recently praised the iCade in my review, but as a physical arcade machine replica, it delivers more of an overall retro "experience" than simply a new method of control. And, there's value there, to me and the other retro goons, I feel. I think the iControlPad needs to see some issues ironed out and a bit more adoption before it becomes a desirable accessory for the typical iOS gamer. For the hobbyist developer or the hacker sort with jailbreak in their blood, however, it's a pretty great device to tinker with. I am definitely intrigued and think it's got potential as something that might find itself on an iOS gamer's wish list.

Here's hoping Apple loosens up its Bluetooth restrictions so that the iControlPad and devices of its sort can deliver their full functionality to iOS gamers.

We'll keep readers updated as the iControlPad evolves. Stay tuned.

Just click the developers link on ION Audio's iCade page.

Granted, the iCade Bluetooth keycodes have been known for some time and iPad developers had already started to work iCade support into their titles. But with the SDK now openly and officially available -- what are you waiting for, guys?