[Xoom Accessories] beowolfschaefer:
I love the idea of android devices as a portable gaming console. They now have all the power of last gen consoles at least, the batteries last forever, tons of ports (usb, HDMI, BT), great built in screens and they're super portable. I started out just messing around on my Incredible, later had a GTab (which was a really early device that worked ok but had a bad screen) and now have a Xoom running ICS and have a Galaxy Nexus on the way.

Native android gaming is coming along nicely now to the point where I have about 50 games on my tab. Many of them are free or were daily deals on the Amazon store. Many of them I bought full price. All in all I've probably spent $50 on games. Some of them aren't so great, others are suprisingly good and the situation gets better every day.

I also enjoy a bit of emulation. Before you get all upity the only games I have been playing are ones I actually have the cartridge for. Mostly I have just been playing through Chrono Trigger (which I own so **** you!) along with the Giant Bomb endurance run.

Recently Onlive was also released for android and it is pretty impressive how well games play with even average internet connections. If you haven't tried this out you should. It's free and you can trial all games or up to one hour which is a service with value alone.

All 3 of these gaming experiences can benefit from one thing.

A CONTROLLER!

I have previously used a Wiimote and classic controller with an IME app which works well enough but having the Wiimote hanging off the controller as nothing but a bluetooth dongle is annoying and kinda kills the whole point of having a wireless controller in the first place. Datel apparently made a classic controller with the transmitter and battery built in for a while but I wasn't able to find any for purchase anywhere.

Next a few months back app started to hit the market that let you use the Dualshock 3 with Android devices. This is a pretty good solution. The DS3 is a great controller and the setup is reasonably painless. You just have to connect the controller to a desktop and run an app there to bind the controller to your android device. After that you run an app on the device each time you want to use the controller. You'll also have to configure the controls within some games for the controller layout. Not too bad but if you use the controller for your ps3 as well you'll have to plug it into the PS3 to reset it then connect it to your PC to get t back on the droid device. Now I use the PS3 with BT for my desktop using MotionJoy's software and switching between it and the droid is even more of a hassle which I won't go into because I haven't even figured out a reasonably quick method. Since both devices are using the controller via a weird workaround this isn't really surprising.

So today I went looking again and found 2 new options. A while back Gamestop announced they would be carrying 'Gaming Tablets' and as part of it they were going to be selling a wireless gamepad. Well apparently they have started getting them and I found one in stock on my commute home. First impressions were that the device feels cheap. At the $40 I paid it's already a bit overpriced but that according to the website is a discount from the original price of $99 which would be highway robbery. Though the button layout is essentially the same as a PS3 controller the device doesn't feel anything like a DS3 or a 360 controller. It's much lighter. The plastic is cheap and I'm sure with use, will begin to creek. It just feels like cheap Chinese construction. I'm not sure but I think the device is all digital, in fact I think all they did was essentially wrap a gamepad around a bluetooth keyboard. The triggers are digital for sure but the 2 sticks might be analog though I don't think so. They do feel decent with a good resistance on the springs. The D-pad is less exciting and feel mushy. The other buttons are serviceable, nothing particularly good or bad about them. They are two shoulder buttons on each side with 2 of them shaped like triggers and then the four normal face buttons (labelled 1-4 instead of the square, triangle etc as in the product page image). There are also four other buttons on the face which are the power button, the pair button, escape and enter. The power button is obvious but it should be noted the device powers on and off in a second or 2. The pair button is likewise pretty normal. The escape and enter buttons seem to be like the back button and action respectively in android which is kind of nice. It lets you use the controller as a general purpose remote for your tab. This is particularly nice if you want to use it for media on a TV with HDMI. What this means is that you don't really have a start and select button on the face. The left stick seems to be mapped to standard keyboard arrow keys while the right stick and the D-pad are mapped to letters or numbers. The device has a rechargeable cell which is nice and this is charged from a standard USB port. I'm not sure yet about battery life but it seemed to get a full charge after about half hour.

Considering the lack of other dedicated options for tablets this device isn't all bad. It does what it should. It requires no apps or setup other than pairing up to your device which takes seconds. It also powers on and off in seconds and each reconnection is near instant. Also it should be noted that this should work with any BT enabled android device. I don't think there are any version restrictions.

I have tested it with a snes emulator which it works perfectly with. I also tried GTA3 for Android, in which I was able to run around, grab a car and drive by default. I could probably get it working well enough if I took some time to config the controls in game.

All in all this device is a bit of a tough sell at $40 especially if you have a PS3 controller already and don't mind the relatively minor hassles that entails. If you can find one for $20 or even $30 its would be much more reasonable.

I was thinking the device might be mod-able due to it being so light. I have seen some people get things like the MSI BT controller fit into a snes controller frame. Unlike those devices though this is essentially one large PCB with the button contacts right on it except for the shoulder buttons and analog sticks. This would limit options. Maybe someone will find some good options but that will only increase the cost of course.

Product page:

http://www.gamestop.com/android/accessories/tablet-wireless-bluetooth-controller/97838

The second option I found today is much sexier but a little pricier. It is the Onlive Universal Wireless Controller which I have high hopes for. Everything I have read about it seems to indicate the level of material quality is much higher. Also it requires Honeycomb or ICS which means it isn't just a BT keyboard. Full Onlive support is obvious and again according to my reading it comes with a BT dongle for use with the PC but I'm hoping it will work with my standard dongle for simplicity. The device even comes with a rechargeable pack and a AA cartridge just like the 360 controllers which is a nice feature. When connected to a PC you can use up to 4 of them with one dongle which is nice. Perhaps the tablet will be able to support multiple controllers as well but I haven't read anything about that yet, There are also a number of media buttons on the controller which could prove convenient. I'm hoping this will let me replace both the Gamestop controller for my tab and my DS3 for my PC while being able to switch easily between them.

http://www.onlive.com/controller

Anyway, I ordered one tonight and I'll probably write something up about it next week.