Ion Audio’s iCade Jr may have beaten it to the punch, but since it uses the dock connector to talk to your iPhone instead of Bluetooth, the iAppCade cabinet doesn’t need its own power source.
Of course that means iAppCase leaches off your iPhone’s battery which you also can’t charge while you’re playing classic arcade titles, but if you hate swapping batteries this could be the teeny cabinet for you. It also appears to provide a slightly more authentic retro gaming experience by only showing the top half of the iPhone’s display, while the equally tiny joystick and buttons are actually used to press a game’s on-screen controls on the lower half.
Unfortunately, limited game compatibility could make it a less popular option. It works perfectly with the banned MAME4all app, which you’ll need to jailbreak your phone to play, but besides a handful of classic arcade title playalikes, that’s pretty much the only titles it’s guaranteed to work with when it goes on sale for about $US24 later this year. So unless you’re a stickler for authenticity who’s happy to overlook a 5-inch tall cabinet, the iCade Jr might still be the better option. [Pocket-lint]
Photos: Pocket-lint