Game Controllers for Android Smartphones and Tablets (ContributorNetwork)

According to an infographic published on the Android Developers blog, more than 1 in 4 of the 10 billion applications downloaded on the Android Market have been games. That's roughly 2.5 billion games across all the Android gadgets. Where there are games, though, there are game controls, and compared to game consoles most Android devices are lacking.

The first Android smartphones lacked multitouch screens and needed a trackball or touchpad to play games. Today's tablets and smartphones let you use two thumbs on the screen at once, plus tilt controls. But the screens give no tactile feedback, and it's easy to lose your place at first since you can't feel where the edges are.

What's the solution? For many, it's a hardware game controller, which allows more responsive gameplay ... or at least lets you see more of the screen while you're playing. Many Android games work with controllers, and more are added all the time.

Here are a few kinds of controllers that are available:

The Xperia Play

Sony's "PlayStation Certified" Android smartphone isn't a separate controller that you can buy. It's a phone with a slider controller, instead of a slider keyboard. Instead of twin analog sticks (like PlayStation Dual Shock controllers), it uses two analog touchpads, but ridges in the plastic help keep your thumbs centered and guide you to them. It also has a D-Pad and shoulder buttons, to allow the Xperia Play to run PSOne games.

Zeemote

"The patented Zeemote controller" bears an uncanny resemblance to the Nunchuk part of a Wii Remote. It's held in a single hand, and has an analog stick on the top plus four thumb- and finger-triggers. It uses Bluetooth to connect to your Android device, and as of this writing there are "about 258" apps listed in the Android Market as being compatible with it.

Existing game console controllers

According to Droidgamers, it's possible to pair a SixAxis PlayStation 3 controller with certain Android devices. It works with "many of your favorite games and applications," according to the according to Brad Molen of Engadget.

DroidMote

Another tutorial on Droidgamers explains how to use your Android phone as a controller, in order to play games on an Android tablet. You need to have the DroidMote app installed on both the phone and the tablet a complex procedure to map out buttons to your games. On the plus side, it supports tilt controls and the Xperia Play's game controller.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111214/tc_ac/10675609_game_controllers_for_android_smartphones_and_tablets

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