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Fling, Tactile Game Controller, by Ten 1

Z

Zodiak

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
214
1
Gatineau, Qc, Canada
Hello Everyone :)

Your friendly neighborhood forum go'er with another interesting find! Some of you may know by now that I like to do alot of research when it comes to products and accessories that ether immediatly benefit the products or community we know and love, in the present or future time.

I may be a bit late on this one as I am sure many of you have found this product already but being a little slow recently, I have just discovered it and my mind was blown away so to speak. Sure alot of people keep saying that tactile buttons or controls on the ipad would be awesome for certain games and apps and we have seen some very large and clunky cases that try to patch some of those ideas in with more or less of a success.

But What if you had a game controler that you could attach as needed, that lit up when was innactive, became transparent when needed and could remove anytime you wanted?

Thats where this Fling game controler comes in

pd_fling_white_horizontal.jpg


pd_fling_lap_meteorblitz.jpg


"Fling is a tactile game controller for iPad. It gives you ultimate control over any game that has a virtual joystick.

Stop worrying about the controls and take your skills to the next level."

"An analog joystick for your iPad
Miss your console? Fling gives you the feel of an analog joystick, so your iPad games feel even more immersive.

When the screen illuminates, Fling melts away and becomes invisible, so you'll never miss any action on the screen."

"Lauded by game developers, Fling will increase your skill
iPad gaming is all about precision maneuvering, and Fling gives you this crucial advantage.

Should you tell your friends? Maybe, but definitely don't tell your opponents!"

http://tenonedesign.com/fling.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNbYpscv-8&feature=player_embedded

I just thought that this product was very innovative and I wanted to let the community that I am part of know about it.

It currently seems available though its one of those products that doesnt ship at the moment. I think they mention end of January and the price of 2 for about 40$ seems acceptable as some other accessories do far less for alot more money.

Please give your input and tell me what you think :)
 
My flings are on their way across the atlantic!

Quite excited about what is esentially a piece of plastic.
 
colmaclean said:
Apparently the price is down to $20 for one and $30 for a pair.

http://toucharcade.com/2011/01/24/ten-one-design-drops-the-price-of-fling-controller-for-ipad/

Think I'll wait for a UK supplier to get them and a drop in price/increase in competition. Could be a long wait!
Click to expand...

So far the only competing product that I know of at least is this http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/e75a/ and its not much competition at that. It looks like a chess piece and looks very wobbly.
 
I just got them in today. Very cool!
I used both on Galaxy wars and it was fantastic.
Overall I'm very pleased. They feel great and work very well, better than what I expected. The suction cups work well. They did come up a couple times but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a game pause.
Dead space doesn't work for 2 but the left works great.
I can now really play Galaxy wars so this purchase is a no brainer. I couldn't be happier.
If you are an iPad gamer I don't think you will be disapointed. I don't know how long they will last but I put them through the ringer for about 3 hours and they didn't fail. I think I put about the same amount of work as my xbox controller with galaxy wars and I think I wore my xbox controller out. they look like they should break easily but overall they held together well.
 
OK so i wanted to record a video but my wife looked at me funny when i asked her to hold my iphone - you know that look the "OMG you loser" look.

So anyway, short review

The execution of these things is brilliant. I find that once you stick them on, they barely move (to the extent that they are quite difficult to remove from your ipad), maybe once every 45mins or so you'll have to re-centre them slightly but thats it.

They seem pretty durable, you can push the stick right to the extremities and no sign of breakage, but as with all plastic, only a couple of months worth of use will tell. Also I am interested to find out if the suction level holds up after frequent usage.

I was a bit concerned that they would scratch the screen, but so far no sign of that.

Now the key issue with them is basically software support. I tried Nova HD for the left stick (movement), and it works brilliantly. You are instantly more accurate at the game, and not having to look at what you are doing with your left hand means you can concentrate on what your right hand is doing.
Galaxy On Fire 2 also works very well, as you can perform more precision movements than with your thumb alone.
If you have a JB iPad - the new version of DosPAD has a joystick, which again works great (although you have to push the fling right to the extremities to go left/right). I managed to play a few games of Sensible World of Soccer and it was ace (still needs a few performance tweaks to DOSPad tho)

now, where doesn't it work well

Any game with a d-pad. Both PSX4All and SNES ADX didnt really like it. PSX4All the d-pad was too big and you cant hit all 4 directions or diagonals, and SNES, the d-pad was too small and over-sensitive so in super-off-road you end up turning round in circles. In both there is no real way to amend this in the settings.

FIFA 2011 (Retina-Padded up to full screen). The virtual control is too big. You have to press quite far from the centre of the stick to get your player to run and the fling basically doesnt reach that far. Having said that, without being able to run, the players control incredibly well with the fling.

Brothers in Arms HD / Modern Combat 2 (Again RetinaPadded up to full screen). Again, problem in these games is that you can't run because you cant push far enough away from the centre of the stick using the fling.

In the two cases where i've used Retina-Pad to play iphone4 apps on my ipad, i wonder whether buying the HD version would solve my issues, especially with MC2 because Nova works so well.
 
I live in Canada and ordered through their website Friday. The only option for me was international express shipping which I was a little sad about but chose it and didn't have a second thought about it. Saturday morning I woke up, sat on the couch, still in my morning wear I heard the doorbell ring and there was the delivery man. DANG! I wasn't expecting it to me THAT fast lol.

Now about the product. Here is what I have to say about it. It's clear that there is alot of thinking that went into developing this product. It's lightweight, well constructed and gives you actual feedback while your playing through resistance to your thumbs. I can see this product lasting a while. The price i feel is just right and they even supply small storage pouches.

The product is lightweight. It is designed in a circular fashion with a spiral design in its center with a thumb-sized piece at its center for your thumb, giving you the same resistance from each side. On the backside of of it is where the material touches the screen and simulates your finger.

You simply start up a game or application of your choice, wait for the virtual joysticks to appear on the screen and position the center of the fling onto it. You can then position the two suction cups in any variety of positions as to not obscure any other menus or buttons that may be surrounding.

I noticed absolutely no lag between when I moved my thumbs from the center to the outer virtual joysticks, just as you would if you were not using the flings.

I would also like to mention that I had no trouble at all using the Flings even with a screen protector on, I was using the SGP Steinhel screen protector and noticed only slight repositioning of the Flings was needed after extended gameplay, which was really no hassle at all, I found slight moisture on the suction cups helped hold them in place. I feel that this product would be 100% safe to use without a screen shield as even after using them for a few hours at a time left absolutly no smudging or lines at all on my screen shield. I think that the whole design and concept was well implemented :)
 
I was wondering if anyone used fling with the official Apple iPad case on. I was concerned it might cover up the area fling needs to stick to.
 
jim2011 said:
I was wondering if anyone used fling with the official Apple iPad case on. I was concerned it might cover up the area fling needs to stick to.
Click to expand...

Well the beauty of its design is if you look at the picture. the circular part around the joystick button will be positioned around the virtual joystick, meaning on the screen itself. As the Fling is positioned right now on the picture is only one way you can position it, with the suction cups to one side but there really is no orientation to the device! You can have it with the suction cups facing inwards, downwards, upwards or in any direction that you want. So if the bezel of the screen is being covered by the case, all you really have to do is place the suction cups inwards or in any direction you need.

This feature becomes ever so more important for each game as the Fling is stationary but sometimes you need to get to buttons or menus under it. So placing it in any position is possible aslong as the small puck surface directly under the joystick makes contact with the virtual joystick :)
 
They look interesting but part of what I love about the iPad is not having to lug around accessories. I would not mind trying them at all though.
 
jessica. said:
They look interesting but part of what I love about the iPad is not having to lug around accessories. I would not mind trying them at all though.
Click to expand...

Oh they are pretty tiny and portable! They come with a tiny cloth pouch and you can stuff them in your pockets or small places :D
 
Great stuff, thanks for all of the impressions! I caved in and made a purchase last night so am hoping they get here soon.

Once I get them, I want to start a game compatibility/issue list. I realize that Ten1 already has a list, but there are some gaps so I'm hoping to fill those in.

Cannot wait! More impressions are always appreciated! :D
 
"joystick-it"

I'm wondering how Fling compares to Think Geeks new release. The Joystick-it seems simpler and more in line with the iPad style. I'd also be interested to know how these things work with screen protectors; I asked Think Geeks and got a wishy washy reply: "It works best without one, but should work with some of the thinner and more conductive ones."
 
deweyjohnson said:
i have the same question. does it work if i have already put a case on my ipad?
Click to expand...

Seeing as you can there is no orientation to the Fling, there shoudnt be any problems with cases that cover the entire bezzel of the screen. You can place the Fling anyway you want aslong as the center of the joystick makes contact with the virtual joystick. I personally have the suction cups facing inwards most of the time and you can reposition your Fling at will depending on where certain buttons are in Game UIs and such. It even works with a screen protector as mentioned
 
amazonpam said:
I'm wondering how Fling compares to Think Geeks new release. The Joystick-it seems simpler and more in line with the iPad style. I'd also be interested to know how these things work with screen protectors; I asked Think Geeks and got a wishy washy reply: "It works best without one, but should work with some of the thinner and more conductive ones."
Click to expand...

I am familiar with the joystick It from ThinkGeek.com. I made a thread posting the product here myself. The Joystick It does have a smaller footprint but I have a few issues with it. It seems to rest on some small squishy material and seeing that it has a smaller footprint and pivoting around, I would be concerned about how often it would topple over as I would play something. Yes it is smaller and easily removed but what the Fling does offer more is that it has actual feedback in the form of opposing tension on the joystick in the direction that your going, giving a very natural and gratifying experience.

The Joystick It is cast in metal but nearly costs the same for 1 then it does for 2 of the Fling controlers. Something else that I am concerned about is the Joystick It seems more addapted for a flat surface, as displayed in many of the pictures, as you need to hold it down for it to to stay in place. Some pictures display gameplay on an angle but also displays the person having to hold the ipad in the exact same location as the device on the back of the ipad. For example, say your playing and holding down the fling from keeping it in place while your ipad is at an angle. You dont think twice about it and scratch your nose. Your Joystick It slides off, falls on the floor and rolls under the couch. lol stupid example but its the feeling I get from it.

Its a nice looking device solution that improves a situation is a step in the right direction :)
 
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