Pandora Team Gets To Work On A New Product

Craigix, the man behind the OpenPandora console, has recently launched a KickStarter project in which he is hoping to raise $150,000 for his new project. The new project isn’t a console, but rather a controller. It is the follow up to the iControlPad and hopes to improve upon the design of the original, as well as adding some new features.

The iControlpad2 is a fully programmable, open source controller designed to work with pretty much any device requiring user input and supporting Bluetooth. This time the controller is finished in brushed aluminium, has a full qwerty keyboard and a new mechanism for attaching to phones. As of writing, the project has 3 weeks left to raise just under $85,000.

Check out the video and the KickStarter page if you’re interested.

10 thoughts on “Pandora Team Gets To Work On A New Product”

  1. I’m very excited about this because I cannot afford a Pandora, however I did buy the GCW Zero. the IControlPad does not have a keyboard, but this sequel does. Perhaps it can turn a linux portable system like the GCW into a poor man’s Pandora for occasional online access, or a netbook/palm pc into a comfortable game system with dual analog controllers.

    Reply
    • The focus of the iControlPad2, even over the original, is as a *universal* controller. Any single phone-specific design wouldn’t have passed muster, and the clamp mechanism was a huge point of contention into which went a great deal of thought.

      Your design looks good, certainly. But it wouldn’t even fit the iPhone 5, for example much less any other phone. How your clamp *actually* works seems to be left to the viewers imagination, and it also appears to cover the power button?

      Sadly, looks have to be sacrificed slightly for a universal clamp approach- but with the turnover rate of smartphones, it’s well worth doing.

      Reply
  2. I’ve been hating on touch screen gaming since it’s inception so this looks pretty interesting. C64, Amiga, AGI games with a full keyboard, throw in a little Frotz. There’s a real need for a few consoles and accessories that have a qwerty keypad. I actually picked up a Pandora today after using a zipit z2 running openwrt for the past few months. I hope this gets full funding. Looks good.

    Reply
  3. The nice thing about this is that when you upgrade your phone, you’re gaming console is automatically updated. I also know of these guys well (tried to get a Pandora back in the day). The accuracy of the game controls will be top notch. I’ll be keeping an eye on this.

    Reply
  4. Why don’t these guys get with the program and think if what would really make a great controller. Make a controller that turns any smart phone or tablet into a portable console. You don’t do that by making a separate joypad because any Sixaxis or PC joypad can do that. You need to integrate the phone and controls! JXD and Yinlips are on the right path but I think that real success lies with a solution like the Wikipad, without the ludicrous price. Instead of integrating a mediocre tablet, why not make a separate adjustable controller for existing tablets with a smaller version for phones?

    Reply

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