joystick

How many smartphone or tablet games have you abandoned in disgust because your fat fingers couldn't master the onscreen controls or blocked too much of the action?

The solution, of course, is a game controller, one that connects wirelessly and is therefore compatible with most any mobile device. Just one problem: most of the controllers currently in development are on the larger side, meaning they're not practical to tote around in a pocket. So much for gaming on the go.

Black Powder Media's iMpulse is a Bluetooth-powered game controller that's small enough to attach to your … Read more

Remember the iCade? It's the iPad gaming cabinet that started out as an April Fool's joke, but then evolved into a real product.

Neat, but at $99.99, it's not exactly an impulse buy--and it leaves Android, iPhone, and iPod Touch gamers out of the fun.

Enter ThinkGeek's latest retro-gaming accessorry, the iCade 8-Bitty. It's a handheld analog controller that closely resembles the old Nintendo NES controller--minus the cord. The 8-Bitty works wirelessly (via Bluetooth, I'm guessing, though ThinkGeek doesn't specify).

And it works with nearly all Android and iOS phones and tablets, … Read more

When Logitech announced its Joystick for iPad last month, I was skeptical. Based on the photos alone, the suction-cup-based controller looked to be identical to Ten One Design's Fling Joystick for iPad. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but why reinvent the wheel?

No, no, a Logitech rep assured me. Its joystick features "a unique dual spring design crafted by Logitech engineers for optimal game performance and usability." Which kind of reminded me of when Vanilla Ice tried to explain how "Ice, Ice Baby" didn't rip off David Bowie's "Under Pressure."… Read more

The Ion Audio iCade, which came out earlier this year, gives your iPad that good old-fashioned game feel that takes you back to when you skipped class to drop quarters at the local arcade. There's no denying that the iCade is nifty, but the $99 price tag is a bit of a turn-off.

That's why retro gamers are getting excited about the upcoming Atari Arcade Duo Powered Joystick. It's designed to work with the Atari's Greatest Hits iPad app, which features 100 classic Atari and arcade games.

The Atari joystick isn't as fancy as the iCade, but it should be cheaper. The iPad simply docks into a slot at the top, rather than use Bluetooth like the iCade. The controller part of the device has a simple pattern with four buttons and a joystick.

Details are sketchy so far. All we know is that the Atari Arcade Duo Powered Joystick is supposed to be available soon at retailers like Target and Toys "R" Us.

If you haven't been able to tear yourself away from Centipede or Asteroids or simply want to relive the Atari glory days of your childhood, then you can add this gadget to your gaming wish list.… Read more

Here at CNET, we're big fans of Logitech's Keyboard Case by Zagg--though we kind of wish it had wider, roomier keys. Like most iPad keyboards, it's on the cramped side.

Good news for the fat-fingered: Logitech's new Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad offers a full-size set of keys, the better to make your tablet feel more like a laptop.

The Fold-Up Keyboard was built for the iPad 2, which it cradles inside a plastic shell that angles upright for easy viewing. Thankfully, it leaves room for the Smart Cover, which is good because this keyboard wasn'… Read more

A fellow co-worker who's an unabashed iOS enthusiast passed by my cube yesterday and saw me playing on a table-top arcade machine sitting on my desk. He stopped, eyes drawn to the bright colors on the sides and the top, and the arcade graphics on the small glass screen. I explained that it was an iPad sitting in the iCade, a $99 self-assemble arcade cabinet with Bluetooth joystick.

Naturally, he wanted to try it out on a few games he liked. I explained that the iCade currently only works with Atari's Greatest Hits app, which admittedly has 100 games, but lacks arcade classics like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Joust--games that are, of course, made by other publishers. I also explained that it really only worked in portrait mode (or a slightly precarious but still-possible landscape mode, by using a groove on the outside edge).

He started to sour. Eventually, he walked away.

Of course, for arcade nuts and fans of novelty bar-top/desktop toys, the iCade is still a pretty awesome little treat. But until it can support other games--which Ion, the maker of the iCade, says will happen via a shared API--its appeal will necessarily be limited. I can think of dozens of games in the App Store that would be perfect for the iCade: Street Fighter IV. Death Rally. NBA Jam. Pinball HD. Tetris. Space Invaders Infinity Gene. The aforementioned Pac-Man. … Read more

How many times have you found yourself frustrated by an iPad game's touch-screen controls? My personal answer: lots.

Take the awesome sci-fi/horror shooter Dead Space. As I noted in my review, "If there's a problem with Dead Space, it's the controls. They're about as good as they can be, but I usually end up fighting the controls at the same time I'm fighting the monsters. Oh, to have an actual game pad I could plug in!"

Ten One Design's Fling is not a game pad, but it's quite possibly the … Read more

The Hoon vs. Neo Legend joystick is a premium game accessory from French luxury goods maker Hoon and European gaming specialist Neo Legend. The handmade arcade-style controller boasts an ostrich-leather finish and dark blue lacquered oak paneling for aesthetics, as well as high-end hardware from Japanese arcade components manufacturer Sanwa Denshi. What's more, it's compatible with the Xbox 360, PS3, and PCs out of the box.

This sexy contraption will be available from February 18 directly from both Hoon and Neo Legend's online stores, with pricing pending confirmation. Somehow, we suspect it will cost as much as … Read more