Griffin confirms PartyDock iPad/iPhone peripheral is on the way

If you're familiar with the Scene It? franchise for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, you've probably never thought of having a similar model work on an iPhone or an iPad. If you're like me, you may have an "of course" moment when you first see the Griffin PartyDock.

Thanks to the FCC posting the PartyDock filing from Griffin earlier this week we're now getting our first look at a very cool new product. The PartyDock will let up to four people play a game together with four individual remotes on a single iPhone 4 or iPad connected to your TV. Griffin has confirmed that party, family and casual games will be available via the App Store, but they will need to be designed or adapted specifically to work with the PartyDock.

Griffin will be shipping three mini-games and one full game along with the device. The photos on Griffin's product site show what appears to be a Battle of the Sexes port from Imagination Games, but it may or may not be one of the games included in the bundle.

The media features are potentially as exciting as the gaming. You will be able to watch video and YouTube, listen to music, and display photos on your TV. The PartyDock has apparently been designed for quick setup and portability, so loading your iPhone or iPad up with media and taking the PartyDock along may be a great way to share with your family. Naturally, the dock will also support charging.

While the manual says you can use component cables for "higher resolution video," it isn't clear how high of a resolution the device supports. Component video tops out at 1080p, but the PartyDock will likely be limited to 720p for movies as the maximum resolution video supported by the iPhone and iPad.

If you're anxious to get your hands on the PartyDock or to develop for it, be sure you r.s.v.p. at the PartyDock site. As an aside, wouldn't it be interesting to see the Griffin PartyDock demoed on some other potential iOS-based device hooked up to your TV?

[via wireless goodness]