Samsung takes the wraps off the Smartphone GamePad for Android devices
Eye-catching name
Not to be outdone by Apple, Samsung has released a new version of its smartphone controller.
In the process, Sammy has eschewed the white, Xbox 360-inspired lines of the original in favour of a sleeker black look.
The controller is called the Smartphone GamePad, and is currently available in some European territories. Saying that, Samsung hasn't confirmed where exactly, or how much it costs. Which is weird.
There are loads of buttons for you to press on the Smartphone GamePad, though, including a couple of analogue sticks, a D-pad, four face buttons, and a couple of triggers minding their own business around the back.
The controller sports a rechargeable 160mA battery, by the way.
You can clip your Android device into the top of Samsung's new peripheral, and pair it up with the controller via Bluetooth. Or if you've got a Samsung phone running at least version 4.3 of Android and NFC capabilities, you can pair it up via magic. Or NFC. One of the two.
Furthermore, you can download and install an app from the Samsung App Store in which the games that are optimised for the device are listed. You can buy the games directly from there, too.
Right now, the usual gaming suspects support Samsung's GamePad controller, like Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 4, and Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame. There are 35 titles in all, with Samsung promising more GamePad-compatible games in 2014.
Hopefully, the price point for the Smartphone GamePad will be a little lower than the RRPs for the MFi controllers we've seen over the last couple of weeks.
If we get our hands on a Smartphone GamePad, you'll be the first to know how many marks out of 10 we'd give the squishy-ness of the buttons.