Griffin isn’t the first out the door with an RC toy that uses your iPhone as a remote control. But it is the first company to come up with some compelling ways to use the iPhone’s touchscreen for more than just steering.
Its new Moto TC Rally car is packed with sensors that detect crashes and impacts affecting how the vehicle drives, while on-screen weapons and power-ups let you mess with your opponents. In other words, it’s as close to a real-life version of Mario Kart as you can get.
Besides forcing you to be a much safer scale driver as crashes and accidents will affect your car’s performance — a feature we’re assuming can be disabled — the Moto TC Rally makes challenging a friend a lot more entertaining. You can still challenge each other’s raw driving skills, but added to the mix are virtual weapons that can hinder or impair your competitor, as well as armour that serves to protect — but also slow — your own vehicle. And like the latest iterations of Mario Kart, you never have to deal with that annoying blue shell.
Available now for $US100, the Moto TC Rally’s accompanying app is free and requires iOS 6 or higher, so unfortunately Android drivers will feel left out. And while a ‘Race the Clock’ mode lets you compete against yourself, this is definitely one of those toys where you need a friend to really have the most fun. [Griffin]