Samsung announces Smartphone GamePad, a wireless game controller

Looks like, phone makers are paying serious attention to accessories for smartphones. Samsung has now announced a new wireless game controller dubbed ‘Smartphone GamePad’. The controller is compatible with smartphones and tablets running Android 4.1+ and connects using Bluetooth.

Tipping the scale at 195 grams, the GamePad has been embedded with a an eight-way D-pad, four action buttons, two analog sticks, two trigger buttons, Select button, Start button and Play button. The “Play” button can be used to pair the accessory with the Samsung Galaxy smartphones running on Android 4.3 and with NFC compatibility.

Samsung’s Smartphone Gamepad

The GamePad has also been crafted to work best with the company’s Galaxy lineup including Note 2, Note 3, Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4, with some features reserved for these phones. It can work with other Android devices too, and it is attachable to mobile devices ranging from 4-inch to 6.3-inch. It includes Bluetooth and NFC support to enable easy pairing. Gamers can also use the HDMI cable to connect it to TVs for a larger viewing area. There’s AllShare support too for wireless display mirroring, but it requires Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or above.

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The Smartphone GamePad works in conjunction with the ‘Mobile Console’ app that can be downloaded from the Samsung App store. Using the app, gamers can launch, browse and buy supported games. Samsung plans to release 35 supported games at the launch, and will continue to add more games.

The GamePad will initially be available in select European countries. However, there is no word on the exact regions, release dates or the pricing of the accessory. So there’s no clarity on if and when this will come to India.