Interactive Game of Thrones content comes to HBO Go iPad app

Home Box Office has been pushing its "interactive viewing experience" for Game of Thrones over at the HBO Go site, but if you weren't sitting in front of a computer there was no way to take part in the fantasy world fun. Now the premium channel is bringing the commentary tracks, interviews, maps and loads of other extra features to the Go iPad app. But, having that content available for season one isn't particularly exciting. What has our little nerd hearts aflutter is that all of the same features will be available for season two, starting immediately with the April 1st premier. As you watch, if the seemingly bottomless well of characters and their rival houses trip you up, you'll be able to pull up a guide to help you separate your Arryns from your Tullys and Redwynes.

Angry Birds to ride Russian rockets into space, follow iPads bound for bored cosmonauts

Slingshots and unbridled rage might be enough to launch Rovio's furious fowl across the battlefield, but they'll need some outside help if they hope to break free of Earth's atmosphere - it's time to call the cosmonauts. Two upcoming Russian space launches are scheduled to ferry a pair of iPads and a plush Angry Birds toy to the International Space Station. The twin tablets will fly on an unmanned resupply vehicle early next week, and the irritated avian is playing the part of a jocular gravity indicator in a manned mission next month - part of a russian tradition of hanging a toy by a string to signal when the vessel has escaped the Earth's gravity. NASA told collectSPACE that the iPads are only slated for recreational purposes, but mentioned that various tablets were being evaluated for future use. The plush bird? It's coming home; cosmonaut Shkaplerov's five year old daughter can't be expected to give up her toys forever, can she?

Taito InvaderCade turns your iPad into an arcade machine

Taito, creators of the classic arcade game, Space Invaders has decided to hop on the iPad arcade cabinet craze and launched its own version of the iPad accessory. Called the InvaderCade, this contraption turns your lovely tablet into a screen for you to blast aliens with. Featuring a ball-top joystick and a single button to fire your ship's gun, gaming hasn't been this simple in awhile.

All you have to do is plug your iPad into the InvaderCade, launch the game and you're good to go. If you don't want to disturb your neighbors or friends while playing this game, there's even a headphone jack for you to use. And when you're not blasting aliens in the game, it even serves as a charging dock, so at the very least you'll have a nice looking speaker dock you're your iPad (yes, it comes with stereo speakers).

It's not the first time we've seen such accessories for the iPad, and it definitely won't be the last, but hey - nobody's forcing you to purchase one right? The InvaderCade will be available for around $205 in Japan on October 11th.
source:Ubergizmo

Atari Arcade – Duo Powered Joystick for iPad

Apparently Atari was pleased with the reception received by their iCade controller done in conjunction with ThinkGeek.  They are introducing their own Atari Arcade – Duo Powered Joystick for iPad.  Atari is apparently working with Discovery Bay Games to make/sell the controller.  There isn't much information available at Discovery Bay – just that it's coming soon.  No price is listed.  It's designed to work with the Atari's Greatest Hits iPad app, which is available for free in the iTunes app store.  It should be noted that the app gives you access to 100 of Atari's games, but you'll have to purchase them.  You can buy 25 collections of four games for $0.99 each or get the entire collection for $14.99.  The game is available now.

source:The Gadgeteer

iPad 2 Game Boy case rolls back the years

Folks who grew up with the Game Boy as their primary means of portable entertainment would definitely have fond memories of the number of hours that monochrome graphics are able to deliver. Well, fast forward to today, and you end up with the iPad 2 being one of the more powerful portable gaming devices out there. Why not merge the new with the old with the iPad 2 Game Boy case?

You will find a Game Boy design right at the back of the entire iPad 2 case, sporting an Apple logo without any reference to Mario or the rest of Nintendo's cast of characters. Unfortunately, this particular iPad 2 case is not on sale yet, and it might not take too long before Nintendo actually makes a case against imitation of Game Boys and its likeness. Currently though, Lootiful.com is selling it at $17.99 a pop.
source: Ubergizmo

GameBox Lets You Play Facebook Games on iPad

Even if Google+ garners 10 million users in just under a month, it cannot make its members as engaged as those in Facebook because of one thing: Its utter lack of games. Whether you play them or you don't, you know that Facebook games can be very addictive. Just click the Game Requests tab and count the number of times your friends are urging you to send them some rubber chicken, zoning permits, or cupcakes to finish their gaming tasks.

Playing games in Facebook, however, has its down turns. Most game apps on Facebook cannot be played on mobile devices, so there is no way to harvest your virtual strawberries using your smartphone. Thankfully, a new iPad app called GameBox lets you play some of Facebook's popular games wherever you may be.

So far, the GameBox app has only two Facebook games that can be played with the iPad: Digital Chocolate's Army Attack and Zynga's CityVille. The app's developer has promised that more games are on their way though. The user interface remains just like how it looks like on Facebook, so players will not waste time relearning. GameBox works by “place-shifting technology,” which uses actual flash renderings being relayed back and forth from the cloud to the device. It's sort of a legal gray area, but we'll let GameBox take care of that.

The GameBox for Facebook is now available in the Apple App Store for $2.99.
source: Gadget.com

Yoomi DUO turns the iPad into an interactive board game

When you talk about board games, most of us would think of traditional purchases such as Monopoly, Boggle, Risk or Scrabble. It seems that the advent of technology has also caught up with the board game market, where the Yoomi DUO is said to transform your iPad (as well as its successor) into an interactive board game. At least this is something which might help peel your kids away from the console and TV, spending a different time of family time together instead.

The Yoomi DUO will need to be placed on top of your iPad, where it intends to bring together both the old and the new genres in a single place. The DUO will ship with tokens to get you started, and tokens are integral to the game, ensuring that there is a definite winner at the end (and on the polar opposite, a loser).

Currently, Yoomi is the only title that plays nice with the DUO, although we do hope to see other upcoming games work in tandem with this new accessory as well. The Yoomi DUO can be purchased for $14.99 over at Amazon if you're interested.
source: Ubergizmo

iCade Arcade Cabinet for iPad Gaming

Unveiled at the 2011 CES this past January, ION iCade, an arcade cabinet designed for iPad gaming is now available. iCade is an authentic, mini arcade cabinet for iPad or iPad 2 complete with full-sized joystick and arcade-style buttons. iCade's specially designed cradle ensures safe loading and unloading of an iPad or iPad 2, and also provides a solid, secure fit even during the most intense iPad arcade game-play sessions.
source: Trendy Gadget

iCADE - Mini Arcade Cabinet with iPad Used as Screen

The iCADE arcade-style controller for iPad was initially an April joke but after gaining a lot of attention ThinkGeek teamed up with ION Audio to create the real thing.

The final product is a unit equipped with a full-sized joystick and 8 arcade buttons. It would be interesting to note that the device is slightly different from the initial mockup, having the iPad, joystick and buttons slightly angled to offer a better view and more comfort.

One interesting thing about the iCADE is that its controls are connected to the iPad via Bluetooth.

ION Audio in collaboration with Atari brought a series of classic arcade games such as Asteroids. According to the company, new and existing applications can be easily updated so they could be used on the iCADE. It is worth mentioning that the to-be-released API will permit any iOS developer to make video game compatible with the device.

The gadget was presented at the 2011 CES. So far the device is in the production stage, but when it hits the market you will be able to buy it for $ 99.99.