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GameKlip Is The Ultimate Android Gaming Accessory – Transforms Your Phone Into A Mini-Console

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As a longtime console gamer, I have to admit, I’ve had a difficult time adjusting to gaming on my Android device. Sure Angry Birds plays well with it’s one handed touch-screen controls, but that’s only fun for a quick gaming session. Lately, we’re starting to see more powerful hardware and along with that, a move from simple touch-based games like Angry Birds, to full on console-quality titles like Shadowgun. And if you’re really going to sink your teeth into Android gaming, you’re gonna need a bigger gun. And by gun, I mean physical controls.

Developers have helped address this issue by introducing applications that allows users to take their PS3 controllers and connect it to their phones/tablets/etc. But there’s still the problem of properly positioning your device. While kickstands are beneficial, gaming can still be chore if you’re hunched over with your phone on your lap when laying in bed.

Thanks to a friend on Twitter, my journey for the ultimate gaming accessory lead me to the GameKlip. This is a simple device that attaches your phone to your PS3 controller creating a sort of mini-console, allowing you to quickly and easily fire off hadoukens and perform cross counters with ease.

The design is so simple, yet so genius, most of you are no doubt kicking yourselves for not coming up with it first. Keep in mind, there are a few caveats. One — you’re going to need a rooted phone if you hope to use your PS3 controller wirelessly. Two — there is a non-root version of the GameKlip that includes a USB cable but only some devices will work with it out of the box (the Samsung Galaxy S3 being one of them). If you phone isn’t on GameKlip’s list, there’s no guaranteeing your device will be compatible.

To better show you guys how the GameKlip works, here’s a quick video from the inventor giving a little more detail.

No, you don’t have to wait weeks for this to be funded on Kickstarter and then months for it to go into production. The GameKlip is available right now and sells for $15 wireless, and $23 for the wired version (around $4 for shipping). If this looks like the accessory of your dreams, you can jump onto TheGameKlip.com and order your own. Who’s buying?

Thanks, Chris!

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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36 Comments

  1. My first thought was that it sucks that youd have to get a new one every time you update your device. But then I saw the price. For $15 thats not really a huge problem.

    1. Also GameKlip.com doesnt work for me.

      Edit: Its TheGameKlip.com

    2. I know. That’s exactly what I’m thinking too. And I’m planning on getting the Photon Q for my love of Qwerty’s. Dugh!!

    3. Oh, you’re right. I thought that thing could contract or expand based on the phone’s size, like those car holders for GPS/tablet devices. Too bad it’s not like that.

    4. Same, missing an universal grip mechanism… :-(

      A good point is that the accessory should work equally well with a PhoneJoy gamepad.
      http://www.phonejoy.us/

  2. I’m def. Gonna buy one, use with my x2, and my sgs3 :-)

  3. I’m too attached to my PC gaming. Still can’t make the jump to mobile, though i have tried.

    1. PC gaming’s great for when you’re home. If you’re always on the move though (like me), I need something a little more portable.

      1. Ya i get the idea, but after getting used to running high end GPU’s, i cringe at the sight of mobile game graphics……Often times at work i have gaps of downtime, and it would be nice to play some games, but I won’t make the jump until graphic detail improves on Mobile gaming.

        1. Kinda depressing that you won’t play (mobile) games because of their graphics. Gameplay > Graphics.

          1. Since I have been gaming on a PC since 1994, to me graphics is the #1 deal breaker in any game. I have lived through the days of low graphics once, i do not want to do it again. Back when i started gaming, Monochrome was mainstream. Now that we have NVIDIA Tessellation, 3D, and ambient occlusion, i cannot regress.

          2. I don’t think Mobile graphics are as bad as you seem to think. I could name dozens of games that look stellar on Android.

          3. There’s a few that look as good as my PC did back in 1998 true. But another thing is, i love playing mulitplayer FPS games, which is not possible with mobile.

          4. Art style can make games look phenomenal despite being less graphically intense; all games do not need to aim for photo realism.

            But anyways, you like FPS so nvm I guess. I don’t like/play FPS and I haven’t seen anything on mobile platforms that would change that – well maybe a Vita.

          5. a Vita is something i have been considering…..Since it has 3G, i can game online while at work….my WIFI at work is super slow, so that’s not an option….

          6. I’ve been gaming since I had an Amiga 500 in 1988, and also play on my phone. I’ll take gameplay over graphics any day. I do the bulk of gaming on my pc still, but there are great games on the market-spread your winmgs-broaden your horizons; not everything is either or.

          7. To each his own.

    2. Believe me you’re not missing anything… although recently i took a trip and brought my PS3 controllers and my friends and I beat Turtles in Time and had a Super Street Fighter 2 tournament on the airplane… that was sweet. But those are just emulators.

  4. S3 only? No Galaxy Note?

    1. click on the link…

  5. Good price

  6. thats cool

  7. This was made before over a year ago (by me) but not for commercial use. My very own homemade mount http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1249847

    1. Should’ve been like Apple, and patented the hell out of it; whoever is selling this “GameKlip” probably has by now. Of course, you wouldn’t have exactly been like Apple, as this would have actual been a novel idea.

    2. Looks pretty decent for scratch-built. It’s a shame that there wasn’t as big of a market for this when you made yours, as the added support of USB OTG makes this more viable for “non-modders”, as well as large device releases that allow custom device specific accessories to have a large enough market to sell to. Since all GS3’s are the same dimensions, it’s a huge accessory market.

  8. Yeah gameklip doesn’t work for my Xperia Play…. oh wait…. I don’t need one. I have a gamepad and two directional touchpads that work awesome in games like Shadowgun… Max Payne… bad compnay 2, modern combat 2…..the list goes on. Xperia Play has about 370 optimized games not counting the ability to turn your ps1 game discs into working apostle to play with full function on your phone and all the emulators you want from Nintendo 64 back to Atari 2600. Haha… sorry but all these accessories seem like a joke to me…. however at least its there for everyone to buy and use… I hate touchacreen gaming and I am sure I am not the only one.

    1. That fact you own an xperia play kind of makes me chuckle..

      1. You can laugh all you want. But in my opinion its a very underated phone. For me the GameKlip….. looks a little cheesy. However if its all you got to use with a Samsung phone, then its totally better then no game controller….. again… touchscreen gaming sucks

  9. Xperia Play > this

    Tablet S+Dual Shock 3 > this

    no root necessary on either device

    1. Xperia Play vs. S3

      4.0 vs 4.8 zoll
      1ghz vs 4×1.4 ghz
      1.500mAh vs. 2100 mAh or 4300 mAh(13€)
      no HD vs. HD
      low ammount of games vs. every game (sysaxis controller app)
      400 mb system memory vs. 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
      low usability vs. great usability
      175 gramm vs. 115 gramm

      etc etc etc ….

      think before post anything

      root take 2 minutes to install and 1 to deinstall

      funny boy …..

      1. I was talking about the Xperia Play having native controls built in vs the GameKlip add-on accessory (which requires your phone, whatever it may be, to have root available)

        Xperia Play vs. S3

        4.0 vs 4.8 zoll ( this is preference)
        1ghz vs 4×1.4 ghz (Xperia still plays the majority of games fine)
        1.500mAh vs. 2100 mAh or 4300 mAh(13€) (battery specs? LOL)
        no HD vs. HD (Play is not terrible but ok)
        low ammount of games vs. every game (sysaxis controller app) (what are you blabbing about? Developers make games specifically for Xperia Play controls! See the term “xperia play optimized”)
        400 mb system memory vs. 16GB / 32GB / 64GB (Xperia Play has expandable SD Cards)
        low usability vs. great usability (this is opinion)
        175 gramm vs. 115 gramm

        etc etc etc …. (etc etc etc etc)

        think before post anything (maybe you should consider this)

        root take 2 minutes to install and 1 to deinstall

        funny boy ….. ( I am a funny guy! :-D )
        aaaand I’m spent

  10. I got mine 2 days ago for my GS3, and it works great. One of those beautifully simple designs that you can really appreciate.

    In regards to those who are complaining about it being device specific, the added cost to add a universal gripping mechanism, and the added weight/bulk would just not make it particularly feasible. What the pictures on this review don’t show you is how small the GameKlip is when not in use. Stuffed in a backpack/cargo pants pocket, it’s hardly bigger than the PS3 controller itself. A universal clipping mechanism would make it far less portable.

    That being said, considering he has custom options, I’m sure he could make one with a longer flat back section, that you could then bolt a X-Grip to…
    http://www.rammount.com/NewProducts/xgripholder/tabid/3687/Default.aspx#/

    Obviously your cost would more than double, and it wouldn’t be pocketable/as portable, but you CAN have what you want if you’re willing to do a little tweaking.

    1. What controllers does it work with? Have you tried fitting it on other controllers, i.e. Phonejoy?

  11. I bought one from the original creator via his post on Reddit. I did a mini-review as well. I would definitely buy this product again!

    http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/w9at0/kickstarter_rejected_my_smartphone_gaming_rig/

    And my mini-review – http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/w9at0/kickstarter_rejected_my_smartphone_gaming_rig/c5lkybx

  12. This shows GTA III on the Galaxy SIII. Um, I have the S3 (Verizon) and tried to play GTA III the other day, game was nice and smooth but when I went to save it glitched out on me and wouldn’t save. Anybody else have this problem?

  13. This is awesome, picked one up for my One X this morning. It costs more to ship to the UK than it did for the actual clip itself, but it was only £20 and I game on my phone a lot so I reckon it was worth it.

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