Tag: Icade »

Chaotic Box's excellent frantic grid-based arena survival game has come to the iPad, as Silverfish MAX. The game has been optimized for the iPad's resolution; this isn't a windowed 960x640 game like other iPhone/iPod touch ports to the iPad, Silverfish MAX uses the full screen. This also allows the detail of the graphics to shine through in a way that even the Retina Display does not allow. The additional real estate of the iPad screen means that there's plenty of room for the swipe-based controls to work without obscuring the action at all. The d-pad based control scheme is still available as well. The game otherwise features the same content as the regular version of Silverfish, including the Haste mode added in an update, where the POW bar decreases rapidly, but Power Pods fill the bar up instantly. However, the most notable feature in Silverfish MAX is support for iCade controls. Game Center leaderboards and achievements are included, of course. Silverfish MAX is available now from the App Store.

The iPad arcade cabinet, the iCade, has finally gotten an SDK released for it, or at least the manufacturers confirmed the Bluetooth keyboard commands that will allow third-party games to support iCade controls in their own games. One of the first games to support iCade controls is Little White Bear's puzzler, Compression HD. By enabling "Arcade Mode" in the app settings, the game can be controlled by the iCade's built-in controls. The developer notes on Twitter that developers cannot specifically mention the iCade in the app description; this may extend to including it in the app as well. However, this should hopefully be the first in a wave of many games that will support the iCade; Retro Dreamer have discussed adding iCade support to Velocispider, and Mos Speedrun developers Physmo have submitted a build of the game with iCade support; availability of the iCade and inability to test the controls out might be the biggest hurdle to games' adoption of the device. However, for lucky early adopters of the iCade, they now have another game to test out with their new toy. Compression HD with the iCade update is available as a free app on the App Store.

When it comes to iOS gaming, the biggest complaint that continues to come up is the lack of physical controls. While veteran iOS gamers have gotten used to virtual controls, games still often suffer from not having actual physical buttons and joysticks to use. While an iOS device that actually has physical gameplay buttons on it is unlikely to ever appear, some people and manufacturers are looking to provide physical controls to gamers on touchscreen devices, either by facsimile physical joysticks, or through external accessories to provide actual physical controls to games.

First up is the Fling Joystick from Ten One Design. Designed to simulate an analog joystick on a touch screen, primarily the iPad (it appears to be designed for the wider bezel of the iPad, and might not work as well on the iPhone and iPod touch), that you stick on the iPad screen, and works to simulate a physical controller's analog joystick. The product claims to leave no residue on the iPad, and to increase your accuracy in games that simulate analog joysticks. You can buy both a single Fling joystick, or buy a 2-pack for dual-stick shooters. The joysticks appear to be designed for iPad-only games, but some games running in 2X mode appear to work, such as Secret of Mana, according to the publicly-edited compatibility list. Some games may not work as well due to the way their joysticks work or how they're positioned, so it may be a bit of a crapshoot depending on the games you want to play. The Fling is available now, and it will run you $19.99 for a single unit, and $29.99 for a pair.

A second virtual joystick option is the JOYSTICK-IT, exclusively from ThinkGeek. It appears to work similarly to the Fling, simulating a joystick on a touch screen, but it has a different design, more similar to an arcade joystick than a controller thumbpad. However, it still appears to work as an analog joystick for 3D games and dual-stick shooters - it would be curious to see a joystick work to simulate a digital joystick, if it was at all possible. While the JOYSTICk-IT is more expensive than the Fling, running $24.99 for one and $39.99 for a set of two, the shape could be preferable for some people, and give a more arcade-like experience.

Also coming from ThinkGeek and ION Audio is the iCADE. This was originally a joke product from ThinkGeek on April Fool's Day, but similar to products like the Tauntaun sleeping bag going from joke to real product, the iCADE is soon to be real as well. This lets you dock the iPad into a miniature arcade cabinet, that features an arcade-style joystick and 8 buttons, for any various configuration of games. The iCade connects to the iPad via Bluetooth, and claims to offer support via an API for other apps to support it. iCADE will support Asteroids and other Atari arcade games at launch, though. It will be interesting to see how Apple reacts to a device like this, and if it's allowed, although external game controllers have been theoretically allowable since iOS 3.0, as long as they're Apple-approved devices, but no company has gotten on releasing one. There's theoretically no reason why a Bluetooth controller shouldn't be allowed, as a dock accessory would have to work through its own API as well. The iCADE is still in development, and is "Coming Soon" - but here's hoping for April 1st just for the sake of irony.

However, most of these control options are designed for the iPad and other tablet devices - for gamers on the iPhone and iPod touch, their physical control options are more limited. One of the most intriguing physical control options for these smaller devices is the iControlPad from Craig Rothwell, who has worked on the Open Pandora handheld. This device communicates over Bluetooth, and offers support with a variety of different protocols, though it will work as a Bluetooth keyboard in its most basic mode, with the d-pad, 4 face buttons, and 2 rear buttons each mapped to a keyboard keypress. The iControlPad isn't just a gamepad either - it has a built-in 1350 mAh battery that supports a generic USB output so you can charge a variety of phones and devices with it. iControlPad is also future-proof, as it uses a clamp system to support a variety of phones - including iPhone and iPod touch sized devices, and smaller Android phones. A larger clamp set is in the works to support larger phones like the Samsung Galaxy S line.

Unfortunately, the iControlPad might be of limited use for non-jailbroken iOS users. According to Craig Rothwell, one of the designers of the iControlPad, the odds that Apple would allow support for the profiles that support the analog joysticks are low, though if apps can use keyboard input as game commands, the iControlPad could be supported through that. Considering that a device like the iCADE exists and offers similar Bluetooth control, there is a chance that games could actually support it in the legitimate App Store, if Apple approved it, though Craig Rothwell has said before that Apple would not approve apps that support the iControlPad's API. He and the rest of the iControlPad team have been in touch with some iOS developers about implementing the iControlPad into their apps, though these would likely be jailbroken-only apps. Android apps are more in luck; due to the OS's less restrictive policies, many apps already support Bluetooth gamepads, and so they would be able to easily support the iControlPad. The iControlPad is currently in production, and the first batch of units should be shipping out in the next month.

It will be interesting to see if any of these devices catch on in any meaningful way, or if they'll just be devices for gaming enthusiasts looking to simulate the feel of gaming controls on their touch screen devices in any way. As some of these devices start to ship out to customers and as new controller solutions are potentially announced, we'll have the latest news and impressions of these devices.

Well, it was a long, strange, Vegas-y week for us here at 148Apps. We took to the Las Vegas Convention Center to check out all the latest gadgets and apps that we could stand. Here's our roundup of the best, the worst, and the just plain WTF of the whole conference.

Best of CES

iCade: iPad Arcade Cabinet

We were so excited by this thing turning out to be real, we dropped a post on it right away. It does indeed look to be real, and has many a geek excited. Starting out as a April Fool's joke on Think Geek, ION Audio picked up the idea and ran with it.

iHome iW1 - Airplay Enabled Rechargeable Home Speaker

If you haven't been under a rock for the last several years, you'll have seen iHome speaker docks, for your iPod and iPhone. The latest speaker boast some impressive features, most notably Airplay compatibility and a rechargeable battery, leading to within-network mobility. Imagine playing Slacker Radio or Pandora from your iPhone to a speaker in any room in your house, or, better yet, a speaker you can take with you from room to room while playing from the iPod touch in your pocket? Now THAT's the future. [iHome]

Dexim iPad Bluetooth Keyboard/Leather Folio Combo Case

This is the one that Engadget posted about - you know, the one with the iPad 2 prototype in it? We were more impressed with the foldable folio-style iPad case with the thin, magnetically attached bluetooth keyboard as part of the unit. Easily removed, as well, for those non-keyboard moments in your travelling life. Slick design abounds here, and we can't wait to get our little hands on one. [Dexim]

iConnect MIDI to iPad/iPhone

If you're a musician, you'll appreciate the fact that while there have been great music creation apps on the iPad and iPhone, but not many ways to use them with hardware controllers like keyboards or drum machines. That could change with iConnect, a new hardware box that utilizes the connector on your iOS device to connect MIDI and USB devices that use the MIDI standard. Hooray for us!

Eton Crank-Charged Emergency Box with USB Power Dump

There you are, in the middle of a natural disaster and the power is out. Your iPhone is dead, and you need to call your Aunt Mary to make sure she's ok. Never mind that her power is probably out, too, but should you need to charge your various devices on the go, you'll want one of these hand crank power units from Eton. The pictured model even has a "power dump" feature, so you can build up a charge with the hand crank, then let it do its thing all on its own, so you don't have to sit there cranking until the wee dark hours of the morning just to play that last ound of Canabalt. Throw in the built in radio, flashlight, and more and you've got almost everything you need to survive the next power outage. And yes, that IS in fact Jeff's handsome hand and iPhone modeling for you.

Sennheiser Digital Noise Canceling Headphones with iPhone Compatibility

Sennheiser is known as a maker of high-end audiophile headphones, and at CES, we found out why. Boasting many different lines of headphones, from Adidas special additions to digital noise canceling headphones with pass through mic systems in place (when you need to hear the stewardess on the plane, for example) and iPhone remote buttons.

Worst of CES

iPhone and iPad Cases

Seriously, folks, how many cases do you actually need? From shiny be-dazzled iPhone cases to every bizarre iPad stand/case/kiosk thing, the one thing that CES had in plenty was cases. Look, we appreciate a well designed case as much as anyone, but do we really need four dozen of each type? Don't answer that -- it was a rhetorical question. Color us sick of iPhone and iPad cases, with only a few notable exceptions.

"iPad Killer" Tablets

This was the year of Android at CES. Everyone and their mother's brother had a tablet, from tiny little companies to ginormous world-spanning companies, and everyone in between. With the Samsung Galaxy Tab (sweet form factor and solid design) and the Blackberry Playbook (amazing looking OS, but still waiting to see full functionality) at the show, not to mention LG's offering, it's hard to want to see any other "budget friendly" tablets. You get what you pay for, folks.

Streaming TV Products

File this under "Things That Do What Airplay Does, Only Less Well and More Kludgy-y Looking." We saw WAY too many little black or white boxes that will "STREAM TV FROM YOUR SMART PHONE!!!!" We aren't adding the exclamation points here. Look, electronics makers, Apple already did this, and we don't need to snap on some poorly made plastic doo-hicky to our "smartphone" in order to do it. Plus, AppleTV just works. Honest.

WTF of CES

iGrill

We're still wondering why this product exists. The makers claim that we all need a bluetooth enabled meat temp probe. The only thing we MIGHT concede is that having an app on the iPhone or iPad that tells us how long a given piece of meat will take to be done could be handy. Otherwise...err...huh? We're men, see, and we burn meats on grills. We don't need no fancy pants meat probe to tell us when it's done!

Smart Appliances

We don't want our oven to download recipes. Seriously. We can do that with the BILLION APPS DEDICATED TO JUST THAT! We don't want our refrigerator to send us targeted advertising email, either, thank you very much. Plus we don't want to have to pay for an extra data plan for our kitchen. There is, however, a Whirlpool Washer/Dryer with an app to tell you when laundry is done. That could be handy, we suppose. Maybe. Like when the huge buzzer sound our dryer makes just isn't enough.

SkunkJuice Earbuds

Ok, we were a bit intrigued with these earbuds that allow multiple magnetic connections for music sharing, even before the hot booth babes with teh "You Wanna Hook Up" T-Shirts and short shorts showed up to demo them. We reserved this WTF special mention for the Director of Communication at the booth, who invited us to a press conference “in 20 minutes” but she didn’t know where it was. Nor could she find out. Neither could we. Marketing Fail, guys.

Did you go to CES? See anything you'd consider the best, the worst, or WTF? Let us know in the comments below!

[gallery]

Ion Audio in association with Atari, today introduced the iCade. An arcade machine look alike tabletop dock with a joystick designed to turn your iPad into an arcade machine.

The product first turned up as an April Fools joke from Thinkgeek. But now it's real! We're on the way to check it out and we'll have full details soon. Until then, here's a shot to hold you over.

Questions we have include does this work with more than Atari games, and of course how much and when?

Update 1/10: We are back from CES now -- getting a connection there was a bit of an issue. So here's the update.

The iCade will be on sale this quarter for $99. It's Bluetooth based meaning that any developer that wants to will be able to use the controller. Initially we'll see classic games from Atari released with support for the iCade. We hope we'll see a bunch more follow quickly after.