Belkin JoyPod plans sneak out

I guessed that we’d see a more official iPhone controller sooner or later, but I didn’t think it’d be this much sooner — Touch Arcade has unearthed this photo of a Belkin-branded game controller/case for the iPhone and iPod touch called the JoyPod. Looks pretty slick, though as Engadget points out, the ratios don’t really work out — odds are that the final product will have to be a little longer to fit the iPhone in there.

Very interesting, though — now I’m curious to see if Apple really will support stuff like this. Supporting a third-party controller would seem to go against His Jobsness’ suggestion that a multitouch screen could be used for anything (even typing on an awkward non-tactile keyboard), but clearly there’s a demand, from consumers if not from devs themselves, to move game controls off the screen and onto buttons you can feel while pressing. How else will you be able to “exprimir al maximo tu iPhone o iPod touch”? [Read]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Leaked Apple Patent Filing is Full of New Multitouch Tech For a Mac Tablet

Appleinsider has gotten their hands on a large patent filing from Apple that we haven’t seen before, and it’s loaded with plans for how a multitouch interface would work on a tablet Mac running full-blown OS X. It covers how small interface buttons will be handled, iPhone-like scrolling through lists, details on a full multi-touch keyboard, and a nifty pop-up scroll wheel. And on top of all that, it seems like it’ll even work if you have freaky alien fingers! Let’s take a closer look. The full QWERTY keyboard above has provisions not just for multiple finger keystrokes, but for accepting inputs from all fingers of both hands for touch typing, including multiple key combinations like ctrl-alt-delete and shift/option commands. Read the rest of this entry

Popularity: 5% [?]

Control pads for gaming on the iPhone

Ever since games first started running on the iPhone, the issue of controls has always been at hand (so to speak). While the multi-touch screen allows for some very flexible control schemes, it doesn’t provide any tactile feedback, and so more delicate controls like a directional pad or buttons aren’t always doable (not to mention that they often take up valuable screen space).

Enter the iControlPad, a device that wraps itself around your iPhone and provides some tactile controls to software (we posted about it back in May, but we’re closer to seeing an actual release than ever). Touch Arcade’s got more on how it works, and pictures of another rumored device (though no manufacturer is mentioned). Button presses are delivered via the serial port, and jailbroken apps already support the pad, with full code and SDK support to come.

Pretty interesting — iControlPad wants to sell theirs for less than $30, and of course if the idea takes off, they’ll have some competition (maybe even from Apple?). The iPhone is already a great gaming device — would a button-based peripheral make it even better? [Read]

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Open-source multi-touch: Touché

Dust off that FTIR table you’ve got down in the basement and fire up your internets to play with Touché, an open-source multi-touch tracking environment for Leopard. You too can have a giant iPhone-like interface in your own den.

That’s right, no more calling up Perceptive Pixel with (emotional) support questions or fretting over when Surface will invade your Motel 6 with a Blue Screen of Touchy Death. Touché is free, just like a number of other apps from Georg Kaindl. Said FTIR table, however, is slightly less than free. But once you’ve got a table, a Mac running Leopard and some functional digits, you’re ready to rock multi-touch style.

Other apps from Georg that may tickle your fancy include:

• AppUpdate, a Dashboard widget that checks for updates using MacUpdate and VersionTracker and Apple’s software directory. We covered it back in 2006.
• WidgetUpdate does the same thing but for widgets (shocking, I know). We covered this back in 2005.
• VoodooPhone, a plugin for VoodooPad for viewing those notes on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Enjoy! [Gkaindl]

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Glass Multi-touch Trackpads Only Make Sense With Displays Under ‘Em

New Apple notebooks are most certainly coming in the next six to eight weeks, and they will probably have the most extensive design overhauls in years. And the long-fabled MacBook touch might finally appear on the mortal plane. But the best rumor, we think, is that the new MacBooks will have a glass, multi-touch trackpad. But, uh, why is there no mention of a screen or display underneath the glass? Why make a fancy glass trackpad that isn’t a multi-touch screen?
Read the rest of this entry

Popularity: 14% [?]