Bladepad, The PSP Style Gamepad For Your iPhone
Gamepads for the iPhone are not new but few have become popular with users. A new gamepad that has appeared on Kickstarter hopes to change all that. The gamepad is called Bladepad and at the very first look your hopes are raised. Could this be that missing link that could truly take advantage of the graphic poweress of the iPhone and turn it into a portable gaming machine? Decide for yourself.
The Bladepad for iPhone is a standard gamepad with two joysticks, a controller, four action keys and the start and select buttons, and they with backlighting. What is appealing about this gamepad is the way it attaches to the iPhone.
The Bladepad has its very own case for the iPhone, on which you place it and slide it into place. Once placed, the Bladepad communicates with the iPhone using Bluetooth 4.0. Once pairing is complete, you are all ready to go gaming. Once you are done gaming, the gamepad neatly slides beneath the iPhone just like a sliding QWERTY keyboard does. If you feel this gamepad-iPhone duo it too thick for regular use, the gamepad can be detached from the iPhone, while the iPhone will still retain the protective case.
Since the Bladepad uses Bluetooth 4.0 battery life is significantly improved and a full charge lasts up to an estimated 4 hours of continuous gameplay, absolutely nothing to complain there. The gamepad uses a micro USB charger to juice up which also has a split 30-pin connector cable to charge your iPhone. (Charging the iPhone 5 could be a problem)
The other major hiccup with gamepads for the iPhone or for any other smartphone for that matter, is poor game support. So, what is the company planning to do about this problem? Here is what it says, “We are in talks with several major game studios and many independent studios as well. Due to the strategic nature of these partnerships, we cannot provide the specifics of which studios or which games are being discussed. However, Bladepad will feature game support from both top studios and indie game makers (think ‘top action/adventure and sports games on iOS.’) Expect Bladepad to have the game support of a popular handheld console.”
As with all Kickstarter projects, Bladepad has goal of $55,000 to be reached by August 26th. If you want one, you will have to pledge a minimum amount of $59. Click on the source link to visit the Kickstarter page to get more info.
