The iControlPad: Despite the Name, It's Not ONLY for iOS Devices

Shiny, bitten logo of an evil empire not included

IMPORTANT NOTICE
The following review was written in January 2012 as the only post on my now retired blog, Nerd Reviews: Technology. Links have been updated, as has information provided regarding newer tech in Android devices and the like. The rest of the article has remained untouched.

PREFACE

This scene was in the super-extended version of the movie

I could go ahead and tell you what most other good reviews and ads are saying about this thing ("You don't need to carry your 3DS/PSP anymore!"), but I won't waste my time: If you know anything about gaming on smartphones and modern handhelds, then you very well know that proper emulation and games matching those on the 3DS and PSP don't truly exist mainstream yet.


DESCRIPTION
Let me start from the beginning, for those who can't tell from the above photo: The iControlPad is a fully functional gamepad designed to be attached to your smartphone/smartdevice and paired via bluetooth. Thanks to the adjustable universal holder and choice of connectivity, it is friendly (physically and digitally) with almost all iOS and Android devices, as well as many others. It can even work as a detached controller with essentially any compatible device with bluetooth: Tablets, laptops, you name it.

Since this isn't a tutorial article, I'll spare you the precise details of how to set it up (you can find that easily by going to the official site and forum), except to say that it's a VERY simple procedure. On to the review!

FORM

#OCCUPY POCKETS!!!

The iControlPad is about width of a typical handheld gaming device or smartphone, which is really nice: Just like either of those, I can easily fit it in my front pocket to take with me on the go (while my phone occupies the other pocket). A pair of rubberized grips are fitted on the sides for comfort, and the universal holder is latched to the back. It discreetly slides down to the side when not in use, allowing it to occupy your pocket quite easily.

I'm seriously impressed with the design and layout of the buttons and pads: The iControlPad team has managed to take the typical dual-shock-style controller and successfully convert it into mobile format with very few compromises. As you can see in the photo up top, it follows the typical dual-shock arrangement of a D-pad to the left, four action buttons to the right, start and select buttons in the middle, and two analog pads down below. Not visible in the photo is a pair of shoulder buttons on the back. Because of the need to put the phone up top however, they are not towards the top, but rather towards the bottom corners on the back of the device.

This might feel awkward if you try to use your index fingers on them like a typical console controller, especially if you have small fingers like me. The solution? Use your middle fingers instead. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but after that everything feels natural. If you really think about it, it actually imitates the way we hold our smartphones when texting with a slide-out or touch keyboard while in landscape mode. If you don't believe me, try it out yourself.

Button layout on mine, rearranged to imitate the SNES.

One thing I was particularly pleased with is not only the typical ABXY labels on the action buttons that imitate those on a typical Nintendo platform (c'mon and admit it: You know you want this to play SNES on your phone more than anything!), but the fact that they are indeed rearrangeable. The iControlPad can be easily opened by removing the four tiny screws on the back and, even better, it only divides into three separate pieces, excluding the buttons themselves (even the iControlPad team said it was designed on purpose to make this process user friendly). Once you do that, you can rearrange the action buttons however you like, close it back up, and put the screws back in.

Lastly, the iControlPad charges with an included USB cable. It doesn't include a wall adapter, but since most smartphones today come with one it's very likely you'll have a spare one handy anyway, right? The charger works fine, but I'm a bit disappointed with the decision to use a USB Mini B port, rather than a USB Micro B port. Since just about all American cell phones have been streamlined into the micro B port as of last year, it would've been nice to be able to carry only one charger in my pack for both my iControlPad and phone. It's not a big deal at all, but it would have definitely been nice, and the Europe-based iControlPad team can't really be blamed for not taking that into account.

FEEL

Don't worry 3DS, you're still my favorite

Though many have commented that the iControlPad looks cheap, it actually has a really solid build to it and feels strong and weighted in the hand (though not overwhelmingly so). The overall feel when held in your hand is akin to that of a Nintendo 3DS, albeit with much comfier rubber side grips.


And comfort is, indeed, my main focus here. I gotta be honest: As much as I loved my original 3DS (before upgrading to the XL, which is much comfier) and used it as my main mobile gaming device, the iControlPad flat-out dwarfed it in comfort. The rubber side grips are soft, the shoulder triggers are surprisingly easy to rest your fingers on (despite initially foreign-feeling way of using them), and the analog pads don't get slippery.

In short, for those of you who have ever had a smartphone with a slide-out keyboard, such as the Samsung Epic 4G or Motorola Droid, that's a lot what holding the iControlPad feels like... and since a phone is what its designed for, that's exactly the way it should be.

COMPATIBILITY
Thus far, I have tested my iControlPad on five Android devices (Samsung Epic 4G, Samsung Stratosphere, LG Ally, Samsung Nexus S, and Asus TF300T), my old Macbook Pro 13" Unibody, and a Dell laptop with a 100% success rate. For bluetooth-enabled computers and Android devices running Android 4.0 and above, simply turn on bluetooth and pair the devices.

No, not that Blues

For older android devices, a free app called Bluez IME must be downloaded from the Google Play Store. This app acts as a sort of catalyst between the phone and your bluetooth device (in this case, the iControlPad) that makes your phone read it as a bluetooth keyboard. All the different buttons are mapped to a different "key" (WASD for the left analog pad, for example), and can be changed around in settings. This is particularly useful for game and emulator apps that don't natively support the iControlPad, but accept keyboard commands and key mappings for controls. Apps that natively support the iControlPad do not require manually setting up through Bluez IME, and generally have Bluez IME baked into the app itself.


Of course, this brings us to the ultimate deal maker/breaker: How many games support the iControlPad? I'll be honest with you: Not many apps support it. But wait, I'm not finished yet: Not many apps does not equal not many games.


Some of you probably know where I'm going with this, and fewer of you are probably about to groan in disappointment, but it's true: The iControlPad is best with emulators. Sure, you only have maybe less than a dozen different emulated systems available on mobile devices, but remember that each of those systems has hundreds of games available for it. Sure, I suppose it might be nice to play games like N.O.V.A. with physical controls, but aside from that, most dedicated mobile games are designed to work well with the touch screen anyway. I mean, what do you expect to do, really? Shoot Angry Birds with the analog pad? And by the way, support for key mapping/bluetooth gamepads are available on most game apps where it counts (Sonic CD for Android/iPhone, anyone?).

VERDICT
The iControlPad is a beautiful, long-overdue device to appeal to old-time gamers looking to have a nostalgic blast from classics on the likes of the Genesis, N64, and PSX, as well as newer gamers looking to play said classics for the first time. It's rather lacking for support in a lot of mainstream games, but that's hardly the iControlPad team's fault. It takes time for this kind of thing to catch on, and remember that even the the Sony Xperia Play didn't receive much attention from mainstream games. Hopefully the future will see more compatibility as more and more customers and developers take an interest.

The iControlPad 2

The design is flat-out amazing, no doubt about it. For the first time, it's possible to play through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on N64oid in it's entirety quite practically, as there's enough buttons and pads on the iControlPad to map each and every single one of the N64's. But at the same time, I feel there's just a tad more that could be done to the design. For example, the iControlPad is still 4 buttons short to properly emulate the PSX. That said, the iControlPad 2 has already been funded on Kickstarter, and features a full QWERTY keyboard whose keys could be mapped to those missing buttons.

Despite all this, I'm very, very satisfied with the iControlPad in the meantime. It's a dream device for anyone yearning for true handheld gaming on their phone.