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http://www.icontrolpad.com/home
Has anyone else seen this yet? I've been hoping for someone to make a bluetooth gamepad that can attach to your phone... only one ever made before was the MSI BGP100, but it's been discontinued and unavailable for years, and it was a terrible design anyways.
But this new bluetooth gamepad looks awesome... it has upgradeable firmware, 3 different bluetooth profiles to begin with so it'll be compatible with almost any bluetooth device, it even has a nice sized lithium-ion battery that can charge your device while you're attached to it. It has a bt keyboard profile so right away any phone and emulator that can support using bt keyboard keys as buttons will work, but analogue sticks won't work with that profile.
But once more emulator devs start putting support for this gamepad in their emulators, everything can be used, including being able to display how much power is left in gamepads battery.
I just ordered myself one to use with Android on my HD2... this will be an awesome gamepad once more support is written into emulators. For any emulator devs, I believe the manufacturer will send a free development unit for testing and writing support into your apps.
Anyone else order one? The great thing is that it has upgradeable firmware and changeable clamps, so it can be made compatible with any devices or BT profiles in the future... so if you're a gamer, it's definitely a good investment.
How did this work out? I was thinking about getting one for my Nexus One.
It looks great but the site looks so sketchy :/
Apparently it's all good. Didn't realize it was so widely covered on other sites ha
Expensive but damn it looks nice...I am intersted.
Thanks for sharing!
Hollow.Droid said:
How did this work out? I was thinking about getting one for my Nexus One.
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I'm still waiting for it to be delivered.... they just finished producing it a few weeks ago and they've had people pre-ordering for a couple months, and being a small company, they're still catching up on shipping out all the orders. This is the same company that created the Pandora, that open-source linux based portable game system/computer... which is also a really cool item I would get if I had the money. It'll probably be another week or 2 before I recieve the controller, as I didn't pay the extra money for fast shipping.
This is definitely a legit company, and they've been sending free controllers to any emulator developers or other developers interested in developing for the controller or adding full support to their emulators. I guess it was originally being made mainly for the iPhone, and was going to use the iphone connector and have bluetooth as a bonus that would be able to be put into use later down the road with firmware updates to allow it to be used with android and other devices, but Apple doesn't allow the use of their connector unless it's certified by them, and they told them that they wouldn't certify them, so they had to scrap the apple connector and make it strictly bluetooth. I guess apple had even went and patented basicly the same gamepad design as the original iControlPad designs, so anyone else trying to make a similar gamepad that clamps on to phone will have apple after them. Luckily the iControlPad had plans publicly released before the apple patent, so they're safe from apple suing them.
I've been reading a lot and keeping up at their forums, and from everything I've read, this is a VERY sturdy and well built, quality gamepad. I guess it is made to withstand being thrown against a wall, even. I'm very excited about getting mine, and have wanted a gamepad like this for a while. And with the battery, it'll make my HD2 last twice as long while gaming. And with upgradeable firmware and multiple BT profiles, it'll probably be compatible or can be made compatible with any new phone or device I get in the future. It'll work out of the box with android emulators using the keyboard profile, and more emulators are adding full support all the time, allowing the analog controls to be used as well.
I'll post a review with pictures once I get my iControlPad in the mail.
looks cool. can't wait to see whether it really works out for you.
damn that looks coo. i hope it works out.
Update on Android development for iControlPad..... the developer of the gamepro driver (the driver that allows the MSI BGP100 bluetooth gamepad to work with android) has become a member at the iCP forums and has an iControlPad on the way to him, at which point he will be adding support for the iCP to his GamePro drivers. This will help make this gamepad more easily used for many games and emulators on android.
This works great! My collegue has it. I want to have it !!
Good concept but sadly we won't see it very wide spread. Sony's xperia play will also knock it out the market.
crashtestkid said:
Good concept but sadly we won't see it very wide spread. Sony's xperia play will also knock it out the market.
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The Xperia play is just one phone.... with this you can turn any phone into an xperia play. And can use it with your computer and multiple devices. I think it will become more popular once xperia play hits and there's more quality games available for android that can use a gamepad. A lot of people don't want a gamepad built-in to their device all the time, but want a good gamepad for when they want to game. And with the built-in battery, it makes up for the fact that games eat your battery quickly.
I think this gamepad will get pretty popular once more apps support it and it's more known. They only just had the first 1000 made and began shipping less than a month ago. There's no other product that matches what this gamepad can do. And it's very well built and very versatile. I would take this gamepad and my HD2 over an xperia play any day. And I'll be using this gamepad for every phone I get in the future, too.
And seriously, the xperia play? How is that phone even gonna compete with the new generation of phones coming out? For being a new, high-end phone, it's not much of an upgrade from my HD2 that's already well over a year old... actually, I don't think it's an upgrade at all. And lets wait and see how long the xperia's battery lasts while gaming.
Yay!! I got notification that my iControlPad got shipped. The reason it took so long was because they were waiting for their next batch of iCPs to be manufactured and delivered. They're a small company, so they are getting them made in batches of 1000 at a time, and their first batch was probably mostly sold out from pre-orders, so that first 1000 went fast. Hopefully now that their mostly caught up with orders and everything, and now that they have more stock in, anyone putting in orders shouldn't have to wait so long for their order to be shipped. I was just unlucky enough to catch them right after the first batch sold out. I actually e-mailed them a few days ago and found out why my order was taking so long, and that it would be going out soon, so I decided to add another gamepad to my order so that they could ship it in the same box and wouldn't have to pay for shipping on the 2nd gamepad. I figure either my brother will want it, or if he didn't, someone here at xda would probably be interested.
I didn't pay for the more expensive shipping, so it'll probably still be a week or 2 til I get it, but once I do, I'm going to do a review of it with detailed pictures to post in this thread for anyone that's interested.
zarathustrax said:
Yay!! I got notification that my iControlPad got shipped. The reason it took so long was because they were waiting for their next batch of iCPs to be manufactured and delivered. They're a small company, so they are getting them made in batches of 1000 at a time, and their first batch was probably mostly sold out from pre-orders, so that first 1000 went fast. Hopefully now that their mostly caught up with orders and everything, and now that they have more stock in, anyone putting in orders shouldn't have to wait so long for their order to be shipped. I was just unlucky enough to catch them right after the first batch sold out. I actually e-mailed them a few days ago and found out why my order was taking so long, and that it would be going out soon, so I decided to add another gamepad to my order so that they could ship it in the same box and wouldn't have to pay for shipping on the 2nd gamepad. I figure either my brother will want it, or if he didn't, someone here at xda would probably be interested.
I didn't pay for the more expensive shipping, so it'll probably still be a week or 2 til I get it, but once I do, I'm going to do a review of it with detailed pictures to post in this thread for anyone that's interested.
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Ill be looking foward to this review. ive been looking for something to play with on my vibrant. i feel like ive maxed out my vibrants abilities and would love to add this to its resume.
looks good i like it
Eagerly waiting for a review If it's ANY good, gonna order one right now.
Hopefully I'll get it soon. I didn't pay the extra $25 for the faster shipping, as the cheaper shipping was already $25. It's coming from the UK, and can take 2 or 3 weeks with the cheap shipping. But they did allow me to add a 2nd gamepad to the order without costing any more for shipping, so I'm going to have one iCP that I can sell to a fellow xda member from the US. That way someone can save a couple bucks on shipping and get it within a few days instead of a few weeks (or couple months like I'm having to wait... but they said they've caught up on their orders and have new stock, so any orders placed now will be shipped within 2 days... I was unlucky enough to order right after they quickly sold out of their first batch of 1000 gamepads, and had to wait for 2nd batch to be manufactured, which took a while because they are a small company and there was some fixes made to 2nd batch.)
I'll update this thread and make review as soon as I get my order. I'll do an unboxing with pics for you guys. I think this Gamepad is going to be very popular once it gets more known... it's definitely the best quality and most versatile attachable gamepad that will probably ever be made for phones. Upgradeable firmware, multiple BT profiles, huge battery which can also power the attached phone.... can't get better than that.
I finally got my iControlPads in the mail yesterday! They are nice! Well worth the wait and money. I'll be posting the review in this thread in the next couple days.
I am very satisfied and glad I got it... it's well built, so I think it'll last me through several phones. I can't imagine anyone else creating a more versatile or better gamepad anytime soon.
Wow, That's awesome
zarathustrax said:
I finally got my iControlPads in the mail yesterday! They are nice! Well worth the wait and money. I'll be posting the review in this thread in the next couple days.
I am very satisfied and glad I got it... it's well built, so I think it'll last me through several phones. I can't imagine anyone else creating a more versatile or better gamepad anytime soon.
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If possible, could you see if the Nexus One would fit in the controller? Its specs can be found (url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_One)here(/url). Thanks!
Nice Idea, but the quality doesn't seems to be the best
Just placed an order for a phonejoy analog controller on Nov. 1st. Wanted to post a thread to give everyone an idea how long back-order wait is and shipment received at doorstep.
link is www.phonejoy.net
needed a controller to compliment my snes9x ex, N64oid & fpse emulators
update...
December 07, 2011... controller finally shipped and in route to the U.S.
December 16, 2011...controller finally arrived via U.S. postal service, only took 6 weeks
Going to mess around wiith the controller for the next couple of days to see how well it works
How does this play with the bt stack? Aosp only or is sense supported?
I bought the sixaxis controller app and hate cm7 and miui. This would be perfect.
The phonejoy operates through the free app on market Bluez IME Settings. It works with both AOSP and sense roms. An alternative app is Wiimote Controller which lets you use your Wii controller on android; however, the app does not support HTC devices. There is a workaround (not 100% positive) Wiimote controller app will work on your HTC EVO if your using CyanogenMod ROM, a great ROM but not my daily driver. Not sure about the BT stack, (help anyone?), once Bluez IME is installed on your device, can be setup and toggled on and off via setttings<Language & Keyboard...further key mapping and toggling can be adjusted thru the app.
JollyGrnReefer said:
The phonejoy operates through the free app on market Bluez IME Settings. It works with both AOSP and sense roms. An alternative app is Wiimote Controller which lets you use your Wii controller on android; however, the app does not support HTC devices. There is a workaround (not 100% positive) Wiimote controller app will work on your HTC EVO if your using CyanogenMod ROM, a great ROM but not my daily driver. Not sure about the BT stack, (help anyone?), once Bluez IME is installed on your device, can be setup and toggled on and off via setttings<Language & Keyboard...further key mapping and toggling can be adjusted thru the app.
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Ahh. I may have to get one of these! Read a few reviews on little to no analog on the sticks though. Report back
Controller was finally shipped on 12/07/2011, still being delivered and hoping to have before X-MAS. This is why you don't order a product directly from China. Here is the excuse of the delay from the company and thought it was quite comical, ENJOY!!!
Martin
11/28/2011 5:20:25 pm
Apologies for my late response. I had been quite busy sorting out some banking and logistics issues last week.
I understand that some of you have been waiting a month now and I can tell you one thing we are not having you all wait this long on purpose. It's just been difficult to cope with demand, some of the temp workers left, and now we had to train a whole lot of 30 new employees. Then the plastics factory totally forgot to print the new logos on the Phonejoys and refused to take them back so we had to find a new partner to do that part for us. So a lot of different problems that I hadn't initially anticipated. We are all new to this, but we are working on improving things.
As you may or may not know, we have a new logistics partner now, so that should smoothen things. Also we have produced a higher amount that with current demand should last this time hopefully long enough before the next batch will be finished in 4 weeks. The batch is currently on the way to our Warehouse in Hong Kong, which again takes some time since we are not allowed to use airmail within China due to new aviation rules enforced since summer that prohibit the shipment of batteries by air. So we are bound to use ground mail which takes a few days to travel the distance of nearly 2,000 kilometers.
In any case the Phonejoys should arrive at our warehouse now within the next 2-3 days and then will be shipped by our new partner asap. I do not wish to make excuses or anything, after all we depend on you, the customers and we are currently doing a poor job at keeping you guys happy. But as I said we are working on it.
I've read threads here with some people saying that there will be no Xperia Play 2 and then I've seen some others on XDA Dev hint that Sony might be pursuing this. So has anyone heard anything at all.....any new news.....any hints....anything on a Sony Xperia Play 2 (or whatever name they decide to use)? I've had my rooted Xperia Play r800x for almost 3 years and it works perfectly and I refuse to upgrade to another brand in hopes that Sony will put a 2nd version of this phone on the market sometime in 2014. So any news? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
Nothing
And I scour the internet every few months for any tidbits or signs
Heck I would even take an alternative but so far it seems Sony holds the patent for the gaming flip phone and the closest analog I have seen is a wireless flip case for an Iphone. Which is irritating because of apples walled garden shop.
There are tones of other options but they are all awkward and would force you to carry around an extra accessory in your pocket
Its a shame that no one else has created a true gaming phone like the xperia play since. Drives me nuts.
A shame indeed!
DrROBschiz said:
Nothing
And I scour the internet every few months for any tidbits or signs
Heck I would even take an alternative but so far it seems Sony holds the patent for the gaming flip phone and the closest analog I have seen is a wireless flip case for an Iphone. Which is irritating because of apples walled garden shop.
There are tones of other options but they are all awkward and would force you to carry around an extra accessory in your pocket
Its a shame that no one else has created a true gaming phone like the xperia play since. Drives me nuts.
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Like you I've also been scouring the web every couple weeks to see if Sony plans to pursue an XP2. All they need to do is put a product spin on the original design - supe up the hardware a bit, add more internal memory, and update the casing for it to look a bit more modern - I don't think that's too much to ask(or just tweak the Z1 or Vita to make it a gaming phone with slideout gamepad). I don't think an XP2 would interfere with their Vita sales - XP2 is an all in one device and it's brilliant - it's not a dedicated gaming device - there's a big difference. It's also driving me nuts that they won't pursue an XP2 (at least from what the majority have said) - in fact, it blows my mind that they're not considering it. Android gaming is huge & growing by leaps & bounds. After I rooted my XP1, I have all the emulators installed including the Nintendo DS one. I've got Facebook, Linked In, Netflix, Tune In Radio Pro, plus a bunch of other apps and also a big inventory of games mostly Xperia Play Optimized. The phone is very unique and a brilliant product. Some people whine about the specs, poor support, etc... but I've never had a problem with it and I enjoy using it every day. I've seen sites that have concept/prototype XP2's with pics and suggested specs...Sony has a very unique market niche here and if they create/produce/market an XP2 right it will be a huge hit! There is NO way I'm going to get another phone AND carry around a Moga or some other bluetooth gamepad controller when I know the XP1 is an all in one device. Who wants to carry a phone and a gamepad controller in their pockets? Not me - it's just not practical. When I showed my XP1 to friends they had never heard of the phone and wanted to get one. This shows the poor marketing Sony did to get these phones recognized to consumers. I really hope Sony puts an XP2 on the market in 2014. I'd be willing to pay full price for it. In the meantime, I bought 2 new XP1's (Verizon) from the web in case they never make this type of phone again - this way I can continue to enjoy this product for years. I would love to speak to someone at Sony who would be willing to listen to my pitch about why they should make an XP2. I have many valid reasons & brilliant strategies....and Sony would make a nice profit as a result. It would really be a loss/shame/disappointment if there was never an XP2. Please Sony, I beg you! :crying:
Interesting Sony Mobile email survey I received yesterday....
...it took me 20 minutes to fill out. They asked what type of Sony phone I had. After I selected Xperia Play, I was asked questions about how I liked the phone, do I like the games on it, what do I do most with it, am I happy with the specs(let them know 400mb internal for a gaming phone was not enough), and a bunch of other questions.... I also told them that they needed to market the phone a lot more since most of my friends didn't even know this phone existed when it was on the market. So there's still hope for an XP2 maybe....this was a positive sign to me in the fact that they included the Xperia Play on the list of phones.....I'm still praying!
haskamr2 said:
Like you I've also been scouring the web every couple weeks to see if Sony plans to pursue an XP2. All they need to do is put a product spin on the original design - supe up the hardware a bit, add more internal memory, and update the casing for it to look a bit more modern - I don't think that's too much to ask(or just tweak the Z1 or Vita to make it a gaming phone with slideout gamepad). I don't think an XP2 would interfere with their Vita sales - XP2 is an all in one device and it's brilliant - it's not a dedicated gaming device - there's a big difference. It's also driving me nuts that they won't pursue an XP2 (at least from what the majority have said) - in fact, it blows my mind that they're not considering it. Android gaming is huge & growing by leaps & bounds. After I rooted my XP1, I have all the emulators installed including the Nintendo DS one. I've got Facebook, Linked In, Netflix, Tune In Radio Pro, plus a bunch of other apps and also a big inventory of games mostly Xperia Play Optimized. The phone is very unique and a brilliant product. Some people whine about the specs, poor support, etc... but I've never had a problem with it and I enjoy using it every day. I've seen sites that have concept/prototype XP2's with pics and suggested specs...Sony has a very unique market niche here and if they create/produce/market an XP2 right it will be a huge hit! There is NO way I'm going to get another phone AND carry around a Moga or some other bluetooth gamepad controller when I know the XP1 is an all in one device. Who wants to carry a phone and a gamepad controller in their pockets? Not me - it's just not practical. When I showed my XP1 to friends they had never heard of the phone and wanted to get one. This shows the poor marketing Sony did to get these phones recognized to consumers. I really hope Sony puts an XP2 on the market in 2014. I'd be willing to pay full price for it. In the meantime, I bought 2 new XP1's (Verizon) from the web in case they never make this type of phone again - this way I can continue to enjoy this product for years. I would love to speak to someone at Sony who would be willing to listen to my pitch about why they should make an XP2. I have many valid reasons & brilliant strategies....and Sony would make a nice profit as a result. It would really be a loss/shame/disappointment if there was never an XP2. Please Sony, I beg you! :crying:
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I agree with what's all being said here to be honest I never heard of this phone until my contract was up I seen Verizon had this phone, and free for my upgrade brand new gaming control pad built in I was sold. I was at cook out earlier this summer and I was bored so I figured I'd jump on gta VC I was instantly the focus of attention to the gamers they wanted to know what game device I had blah blah until I showed them it was actually a phone then where they could get one what carrier I had if other carriers had it so on and so forth. I think if Sony marketed it right and being that the ps4 is just releasing I think the xp 2 would be a idea again if marketed right, but as for gaming wise tho ics didn't handle many games very well and gb is almost a figment of imagination to most people who know about Android fw and almost always want the new hotness (Kit Kat) and not the old and busted (gb). Granted gb is perfect for stability but let's face it the UI sucks cm 9 and 10 its much easier to make the UI look completely different with themes and well cm7 granted was OK but bombed gaming wise
Sent from my Xperia Play using xda app-developers app
I was looking for a keychain with Bluetooth so I could enable the trusted device feature to disable my security screen when my phone is paired. I found Motorola's Power Pack, but then discovered it doesn't support Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy).
I did some research and found an Indiegogo campaign for GOkey. It's a keychain that acts as a trusted Bluetooth device, has a battery pack, a charging cable, AND USB storage all rolled into one! Shipments go out in January, and they are still accepting discounted preorders.
If anyone's in the same boat, and wants some extra functionality, I'd suggest checking it out.
Here's the link
ended up backing something like this on indigogo a year ago, and after shipping 8 months late, it didnt' even close to live up to its billing. in fact i bought it JUST to be a trusted device, and it coudln't even do that. it does look interesting though
murso74 said:
ended up backing something like this on indigogo a year ago, and after shipping 8 months late, it didnt' even close to live up to its billing. in fact i bought it JUST to be a trusted device, and it coudln't even do that. it does look interesting though
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These guys have been really good with keeping backers up to date and showing us their progress. Seems like the real deal.
I picked up a Keylink today at a T-Mobile store. I like it so far.
How often with current trends would a hardware refresh be necessary on android streaming boxes . From a developers standpoint does this cause as many issues as it would on say a xbox or ps4? I see so many people reference that Fire TV is getting long in the tooth already? It seems to me that many of the set top boxes are outdated already at release to keep the cost down? In there current state can they really compete in the gaming arena with the likes of Microsoft or Sony? I am A laymen when it comes to development but would love to learn what a dev has to do to put a game on Fire TV or Google Play?
These days, most electronic devices are obsolete after a few months, but not to me. I use my electronics til they stop working or I get something new. I still have an original Apple TV that I use all the time. Do not ever let people tell you when you need to replace your device. If it works, use it. A good example of this is the Galaxy Note 4 on AT&T, I commented the other day that I never thought it would get root, cause it was already three months old and it had not happened yet, so everyday it does not happen is another day that someone is losing interest in hacking it, and that developers are always looking for the next big thing. Just me saying that got the thread closed, but its true. If the Fire TV 2 came out next week a lot of people would say our Fire TV was garbage even though it works just fine. If my Fire TV last five years then it will get used for five years, period. Don't let anyone ever tell you when your device is outdated, make that decision for yourself. Normal people would never be ready to buy a new car or home every six months, but when it comes to electronics, a lot of people wanna throw away their device every time the new thing comes out. Those people are lame as hell, and only want new phones, tablets etc, cause society tellls them its cool to have it. I am still using the first Galaxy Note and will continue to do so till it dies. I have replaced the screen and went through two batteries exploding, and its still works, so why upgade? These devices are for casual gaming, not hardcore gaming. Android boxes were never meant to compete with or replace gaming consoles. All the people that say that the Android boxes are taking over game consoles are unintelligent. Android boxes provide a different type of gaming experience then modern gaming consoles and til google decides to make an android gaming consoles they will never be able to compete with sony or microsoft. I also doubt google would ever turn Android into a big time gaming platform, but I do think google will release a gaming console in the future to compete with sony, microsoft and nintendo, just won't be an android console.
I'm actually with porkenheimer on this. I have good equipment but I've become sort of a hoarder of electronics. Lots of stuff is older than 8 years and whether it's an external hdd or an old laptop or even an iPod, I've had amazing luck fixing things and I DO find a purpose for it. I've used laptops from a decade ago as ubuntu servers, got xbmc running on some.
I actually benefitted from people discarding what they think is broken and/or obsolete.
As for aftv, I don't think the hardware is the reason development will slow down. It's more to do with Amazon's resistance to opening it up.
In fact, I have looked around, here & abroad and I've found some good possible replacements but not in the price range of aftv. The processor will be a tad less powerful with the same amount of ram or the processor and ram will be better but the price is over bloated. But for now, I don't think you'll find a faster experience for the price. Once it gets to the $200 range I'm thinking of building an htpc or investing the money elsewhere because I'm satisfied with what's happening on my TV.
Of course I think if cyanogenmod becomes a reality on aftv, the hardware will be put to better use. Fast is great but fire os, imho, is not a worthy os.
Thank you both I appreciate your words of wisdom. I agree its so easy to pile up old hardware. I don't know why the android media streamers have become such a point of interest. I currently own Fire TV, Ouya, Madcatz Mojo, Android TV ADT1, and in the end they all basically do the same thing So, yes maybe its time for me to stand back and say to myself "What exactly am I trying to do with these devices"? I do no I have been searching for that box that has all my streaming apps and games with extra power to spare? The closest I have come so far is a modified Madcatz Mojo which has HBO Go, Showtime, Starz, Encore, Netflix, Hulu, Etc. its far from perfect! I have been eyeing (though I need to Stop) the forthcoming Razer Forge or Snail Games Obox? I dont like how amazon has locked out root, and all the proprietor y parts of the OS. Eight gig of storage is a joke for anyone who likes games?
You developers out there when you release your code on a device does it have to be custom configured for each chipset you release it on? Say you upgraded fire TV to the Qualcomm 810 would each app require modification?