A new project called PhoneJoy Play is trying to raise cash at Kickstarter in an effort to turn your smartphone into a portable gaming console. The device is a compact, Bluetooth-enabled gamepad that can sing along the iPhone, iPad, Android as well as PC (though we don’t care about that part here).
The PhoneJoy Play controller allows you to go beyond touchscreen controls, which sometimes can interfere with the game experience as they can occupy a significant portion of the screen estate. The magic is accomplished by clamping a smartphone right into the gamepad to get something that looks like PSP. Plus, if you connect your phone to a TV, you’ll get a console-like experience, which is well… awesome.
When closed, PhoneJoy Play measures 102x87x37 mm, while fully extended its dimensions are 255x87x37 mm. As such, it can dock smartphones of all sizes up to 153 mm width and 14 mm thickness.
There are 14 programmable buttons (customizable via a dedicated app), while the built-in battery will work for up to 20 hours…
In order to secure your unit, you’ll have to pledge at least $60. Estimated delivery is set for April 2013.