Ion Audio was a big hit at CES 2012 with a number of fantastic products, including updates to the iCade. Ion has released three great new versions of the iCade to their lineup which promise to be a lot of fun.
iCade Core (Price: TBA, Available Q2 2012)
The new iCade Core is essentially a stripped down version of the original iCade cabinet. It’s sleeker, lighter, and more portable, and features the same high quality controls and support for both landscape and portrait gaming, but lacks the full arcade cabinet appearance of its predecessor.
iCade Mobile (Price: $79.99, Available Q2 2012)
The iCade Mobile was the most exciting new product from iCade this year – a gaming cradle for the iPhone and iPod touch featuring a D-pad, four action buttons on the front, and four shoulder buttons.
It has a similar look and feel to the Sony PSP, and has a swiveling grip to rotate between portrait and landscape orientations. It also supports any iPhone or iPad game that works with the original iCade
iCade Jr. (Price: $49.99, Available Q2 2012)
The third and final iCade release is the iCade Jr. – a miniature and downright adorable version of the iCade that brings the classic arcade cabinet look and feel of the original iCade to the iPhone and iPod touch.
The controls felt just as solid as on the original version of the iCade. Plus, unlike the original iCade, the iCade Jr. is small enough to take with you to parties, or to a friend’s house, and features a cable pass-through which you can use to charge your device.
Each of these devices can be used to control Atari’s Greatest Hits app, Pac Man and PacMan for iPad, Temple Run, Super Mega Worm, and other games. A full list of compatible titles can be found here.
In checking out out each of these three devices, I found them to be of the same high quality as the original iCade, which I loved (despite its lack of support for most games), and I am thoroughly excited for the release of these fantastic new offerings!
As always, we’ll keep you updated on final pricing and availability when these are released.