iPhone5mod Launches Ultrathin Keyboard and Game Controller for iPhone 5

Over the past several months, we've been following the progress of iPhone5mod, one of several companies that have developed unauthorized versions of Apple's new Lightning connector, allowing them to launch a number of accessories, adapters, and cables for customers frustrated by the slow pace of development on official solutions.

iPhone5mod is now launching an interesting new product today in the form of an ultrathin keyboard/game controller for the iPhone 5. The $49.90 EX Hybrid Game Controller consists of a thin back cover for the iPhone that provides magnetic attachment for a pair of 2-mm thick aluminum plates: one offering a keyboard and a second containing gamepad controls. The plates also include integrated batteries for up to 40 hours of active use, with a separate charging station for the plates included in the package.

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genovelle

73 months ago

Cool! This is why the iPhone trumps Google phones. Having one form factor that won't get dumped every 6 months means that companies can create very special accessories and know they have time to market and recoup their investment. 3 years minimum 5, 5s, and then kept at least one year after the next generation is released at a lower price. The benefit for owners is not only do they get a new phone via next generation software updates which are rare on the Google side, they can use accessories like these to customize their hardware.

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I prefer the will.i.am one.

I thought that was a camera upgrade.

Rating: 7 Votes

flashflooder

73 months ago

The extra battery life is more enticing than the keyboard/game controller.

it doesn't add battery life to your phone, they're talking about the battery life of the accessory itself.

Rating: 4 Votes

Simplicated

73 months ago

Attaches magnetically... I wonder what impact does it have on the magnetometer.

Rating: 4 Votes

Christoffee

73 months ago

I prefer the will.i.am one.

Rating: 3 Votes

TMar

73 months ago

Please keep your giant magnetic device away from my credit cards.

Thank you.

Modern credit cards can't be degaussed by even rare earth magnets...

Agreed.
Moreoever, in my view "Magnet = NOT OK!"

Why?

Rating: 3 Votes

Digital Skunk

73 months ago

Cool! This is why the iPhone trumps Google phones. Having one form factor that won't get dumped every 6 months....

Nice to see that some are still making things up, or are still choosing to remain uninformed/blinded.

Rating: 3 Votes

SuperMatt

73 months ago

This device is trying to do too much.

Rating: 2 Votes

ArtOfWarfare

73 months ago

Well the part about Google just isn't true.

Actually, their software upgrades for their Nexus phones are usually better than an iOS updates because they don't drop features for the older model just to differentiate. They're certainly not any less frequent than iOS updates are either.

For example, not including Siri on the iPhone 4 when iOS came out with the update.

I agree on the hardware accessories part though.

Google's official data on Android version distribution:

http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html

Note that over 50% of devices are running Gingerbread, which was released in 2010.

Rating: 2 Votes

rmwebs

73 months ago

Is macrumors getting kickbacks from these guys or something? Every time iPhone5mod posts an update, it appears on Macrumors. :rolleyes:

They arent even the only ones doing iPhone 5 products anymore. You can pick them up everywhere. I grabbed a lightning cable from Play.com for £2.99 - works fine and looks identical to the Apple one.

Rating: 2 Votes

hutch34

73 months ago

As a developer, I really couldn't care less who's fault it is, the fact of the matter is, I have to make a choice between supporting the majority of devices meaning I have to resort to API 8 or I can make life easier and only support API ~12. (I can't remember where the exact API version cutoffs are.)

I think we're getting off track here. I was never referring to any developer's difficulties. I was speaking strictly on the platform itself: Android or iOS.

I was merely pointing out the fact that everything that is included in the newest version of Android that Google pushes, is in fact available on the previous generation of phones.

What I was pointing out is that Google does not purposely cripple new software updates for older phones- which is something that we see Apple do on iOS devices.

I'm not arguing that people should go out and buy an Android phone because of this (I'm a happy iPhone owner), but I don't think it's fair or accurate to say that Android's update cycle is infrequent or limiting when actually iOS updates are more likely to limit you and make you want to go purchase a new phone simply because of a new feature that they did not enable for a previous phone. (Siri as one example).

Rating: 2 Votes

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