Game Gripper puts your Droid's D-pad where it belongs (video)
By Tim Stevens 
posted April 14th 2010 9:14AM
posted April 14th 2010 9:14AM
posted April 14th 2010 9:14AM
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[First comment reserved for self-important people]
(so they can reply to this one instead of replying to a completely irrelevant first comment)
@dzeikei "Hey looks at me!"
@bazookafx3 Very mature guys!
Is it just me or does this feel a bit overengineered? I mean, you could just carry a gameboy?
@lookseehear
Is a Gameboy only $15? :)
This thing's great. Now they need to make "legit" versions of this that actually plug into the phone's ports, sport an analog stick, etc. I would pay TOP dollar for a sweet implementation of that, especially if it was on a WinPho7 or iPhone handset (I'm really looking forward to XBL mobile and Apple's attempt at it)
@dzeikei Talk bout bad plastic surgery...lol
@bazookafx3
Not to be a n00b-poster, but this is good information:
For anybody who wants to request that a GG be made for their phone, go here:
http://sites.google.com/site/gamegripper/other-phones/request-form
(This is their site btw, I'm not spamming lol)
You can even suggest COLOURS! (Main Body & Buttons)
Go G1!!!!
Not a bad idea, but you might end up with stuck keys on your keyboardddddddddddddd.
@One Love
Not if it's good solid plastic with little obtrusions at the ends.
That would keep the plastic from flexing, and would alleviate the pressure to the first contact points (the obtrusions).
Size matters (that's what she said) on the obtrusions though, if they're too big the plastic WILL flex, and make the keyboard type, as well as possibly cracking the casing or 'chip.
Unless you totally suck at a game and are getting frustrated, you shouldn't be hitting the keys hard enough to damage anything, or get "stuck keys."
@Schmerzlichtod
All-in-all I'm sure they thought of such a flaw to begin with... I doubt it's an issue.
@One Love
Any backside shots of this clip on? I wonder if this thing has coverage for the diagonal directions on the d-pad. If not, it's definitely not for serious gaming.
@One Love
instead of "keyboarddddd" it would be "keyboard" with a side of "would you like to insert a special character" popup window.
At least, that's how things on my Milestone are. I wish I could find the setting where it would just repeat. Sometimes i want to drag out my words, like thiiiissssss!
instabuy!
wait... i dont have a droid ._.
You know if they put like a 'trackpoint' like on thinkpads near the earpiece as the analog stick, and turned the android function buttons on the bottom into push buttons instead of capacitive buttons, you could have an android handset with a highly functional gaming control scheme. perhaps should buttons as well that would be your L/R in games but like your camera shutter and mute button outside of games.
@Luffy shoulder* buttons, engadget should have an edit button `~`
@Luffy i have a gameboy advance emulator and you can set keys for the buttons you want them to for and i set the volume rocker and the camera buttons as the L/R shoulder keys the first day i got the emulator. it really makes a big difference
One of these days, someone's going to get the wise idea to let Android handsets slide open and/or turn landscape THE OTHER WAY so that the D-pad that normally resides on the bottom in portrait mode ends up being on the left hand side in landscape. Game gripper not needed.
@whySoSerious
Brilliant!
Little awkward reaching higher up with left hand to get at dpad instead of just putting dpad on left side of slide out qwerty, but very interesting observation none the less.
@whySoSerious The emulator apps already do this in the options - they can display in "upside-down" mode so you can hold your droid with the keyboard on top and thus the d-pad on the left. It really helps when I'm trying to destroy Dr. Wily's robot army...your days are numbered, Airman...
@whySoSerious Why has no one yet had the foresight to use a trackpoint instead of a trackball/d-pad whatever. It would instantly give these phones a very small and familiar analog stick. And from there, it wouldn't take a whole lot of space to put one on each side. At that point, you've already got more of a game device than a PSP.
(inb4 someone does this and patents it, thereby screwing the whole market...)
@R2D2 Am I the only person that is stunned that R2D2 can, infact, speak perfect English??
@mr waffles
As far as R2D2's "english", Engadget has a built in translater for the comments section. What actually stuns me, however, is that fact that R2D2 (a droid) not only uses a Droid, but runs emulators and plays games on it in which he destroys robots. He's obviously a very sick little droid.
@Realityism
another vote for a trackpoint on my droid.
@whySoSerious The handset being able to slide open both ways would be the best and easiest way. Shame manufacturers don't listen to their clients -.-
Dear me! Did someone say "droid?" I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My counterpart, Artoo-Detoo, will be along shortly, I presume. I am fluent in over of six million communication and I will gladly ma--
@SeeThreepio
Zip it, Goldenrod--I'm trying to think of a witty comment. . .
@SeeThreepio
Lord Vader... see what thou hast wrought upon engadget????
@SeeThreepio
You mean Cee-Threepio (C3PO). FAIL AT YOUR OWN NAME.
@Bratyr
Actually, he's right:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C3po
I remember it being spelled that way in the "Star Wars Storybook" I had when I was a kid (and R2-D2 was spelled "Artoo-Detoo").
That book was interesting because it had photos from stuff that wasn't in the movie (Luke talking to Biggs, and a shot of Threepio sitting in Ben's house with a human hand because Anthony Daniels forgot to put on his glove for that take, etc.).
So to sum up, -1 for you.
@SeeThreepio: What we really need is a commenter that can speak Bocce and the binary language of moisture 'vaporators.
(Random Beeps)
@stridermt2k
Vaporators? Sir, my first job was programing binary load lifters very similar to your vaporators in most respe--
@SeeThreepio yeah that's super...
(What about that blue one?)
---well played
@quasistellar
Er, this is not the Droid you are looking for?
@SeeThreepio and Artoo, didn't I tell you two gaybots to leave my Stormtroopers alone? You are unwise to anger a Sith Lord...
Photo Phail... keyboard extended and browser screen in portrait mode?
SWEET!
Someone forgot to tell the manufacturer that the Droid is black, not white. Otherwise great accessory... great price.
Looks like a good idea. I'd prefer one that sat in the same place, but jacked into the USB port that's right there and didn't require potentially mangling an already fragile keyboard. I never use the keyboard on my Milestone, but I wouldn't want to risk breaking it.
OMG... just ADJUST TO THE NEW D-PAD POSITION. I's rly not that bid a deal.
Black, the Droid is black.
@palomosan
The Droid is black
The 'pad is white
together they game
into the night
-a beautiful sight...
Now if only one of the phone makers could realize that gaming is a big consideration for a phone purchase and included a good D-pad and buttons right from the factory instead of having to rely on an add-on such as this!
Basically, won't someone come out with a modern-day Nokia N-Gage already!
http://www.letsgomobile.org/images/news/nokia/nokia_ngage.jpg
Sony, what the hell are you waiting for?!?
... a PSPhone would be PERFECT.
@Hazdaz This is what I was saying about MS's pink phones, especially if targeted at whatever generation of tweens and teens who have too much time on their hand and can feed the app ecosystem.
@juanvaldez
But I don't see the Pink phones really having those capabilities unfortunately. Sure they got keyboards, but for some reason MS (and apparently every other phone company) thinks that people want to be on a social network or other ghey crap like that 24/7. "Twitter" and "Facebook" have become the latest buzzwords in an industry that doesn't know jack about what people really want to do with these gadgets.
I am really hoping that the WinMo7 phones have better gaming capabilities... and not just in having good graphics and a fast CPU, but good buttons/directional pad.
@Hazdaz
agreed,
we need an easier input that touchpad for games.
I mean my droid(milestone here) is so hard to use with gba-emu.
Everytime I play FFTTA I feel like Im ripping my keyboard.
PSP PHONE WHERE ARE THOU.
I mean, just think about it, a microsoft/palm/HTC/motorola phone with gaming buttons and a real d-pad (like the one on Gameboy) and/or an analog stick ? Doesnt fit to the company's image, does it ?
PSPhone would make more sense imho !
Where's our BT gamepad for all the keyboardless Android sets out there?
See buttons do have use...
look at that happy face!
For those who do not like the color, it looks like the designer of this add-on was over on the DROID forums and explains why everything looks the way ti does.
You can find the running thread here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-accessories/37680-droid-game-pad-game-gripper.html
You can buy it here: http://sites.google.com/site/gamegripper/home
or on Ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Motorola-Droid-Game-pad-accessory-Game-Gripper_W0QQitemZ180493851151QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPDA_Accessories?hash=item2a06459a0f
I want this for the n900... NOW!