iPhone: First Official Game Controller, Hidden iPhone Features and Tips to Extend Battery Life [VIDEO]
Playing games on the iPhone is now possible with Moga's Ace Power controller that splits in half and clamps the handset in between two sections. The controller costs $99. The controller connects to the iPhone via Lightning connector instead of Bluetooth. The iOS controller departs from Moga's excellent Android controllers with its usual retractable arm that holds the handset above the controller.
While it sees the potential in the official iOS game controller, Touch Arcade finds that the flaws are hard to justify its expensive price tag. "The hollow feeling of the MOGA Ace Power, the clicky buttons, how little it weighs, the texture of the plastic and the loose rattle of the sliding mechanism when it's not fully extended with an iPhone or iPod touch inside all work against the device feeling like a $99 piece of kit," Eli Hodapp shares.
Touch Arcade also questions whether game developers test controller support before releasing it. The Web site mentions "Dead Trigger 2 [Free]" that comes with default sensitivity settings so high that no human can possibly play it just like LEGO Lord of the Rings that requires the D-Pad, not the analog stick. The inconsistencies are strange and Hodapp says he's yet to find a game that recognizes analog button presses.
The flaws are similar to the growing pains of Android game controllers in 2012. Google does not support controllers officially so Mogo and other controller companies work directly with game developers. Moga eventually built a strong library of games and now that Apple is more responsible for the controller, it seems there's still some work to be done.
Source: YouTube.com/TouchArcade
An additional functionality of the Moga Ace Power controller is the ability to keep your iPhone charged while playing. There's a switch to enable and disable the charging functionality, allowing battery balance between the two devices. Battery drain can be frustrated especially while playing so here are nine way to extend battery life on your iPhone (even on iPad and Android):
1. Turn off the parallax effect that makes the home screen wallpaper and icons tilt with the phone. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility and move the slider on Reduce Motion to OFF.
2. Turn off location services. You can turn off all Location Services or just for specific apps by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
3. Fetch data manually by going to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap "Manually." To increase the fetch interval, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap "Hourly." For unnecessary "push" email accounts, you can turn it off. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and set Push to Off.
4. Don't update apps automatically. Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store > Updates > and move the slider to off.
5. Auto-Lock your device. To set Auto-Lock, go to Settings > General > Auto-Lock and set the interval to a short period, such as 1 minute.
6. Disable notifications. Go into each app and disable notifications individually.
7. Keep your iPhone out of the sun or warm places.
8. Turn off vibration alerts in the "Sounds menu."