Ion Audio iCade user reviews

Pros Awesome Office Decor
Tactile buttons are very responsive
Industrial design is top notch - very impressed
Fairly responsive

Cons Currently only works with Atari
Some difficulties setting up
Once paired, you cannot access keyboard
No on/off switch or a/c adapter

Summary First off, I'm just completely blown away by how awesome this thing looks when it's all put together (yes, there is some assembly required). The buttons are very springy, yet can be depressed firmly. The directional stick works fairly smooth - the entire thing is very solid feeling and seems quite durable.

The iPad sits in the center, but there's a lot of room for it to move around in there. There is a little notch for you to set your iPad down landscape style, for games that require it.

It's not so much difficult as it is tedious to set up the bluetooth pairing - unfortunately, once you do, you loose the ability to use the touch screen keyboard. You see, the buttons are actually activating QWERTY keyboard buttons, event the directional stick. Aside from that, there's no real way to turn off the device or leave it on. If you leave it alone for about 20 seconds, it turns off automatically; if you accidentally push a button, it turns on (on is indicated by the 25 cent light, glowing red).

Bluetooth really is the smarter way to future proof and not lock it to just iOS devices. I'm sure that within the coming months, Android development will start and because of it's generous amount of space, you can feel free to insert whatever shaped tablet you wish.

If you are worried about future support for it, they have recently released the SDK for it; read about it here: http://toucharcade.com/2011/06/24/thinkgeek-icade-sdk-now-openly-available-to-developers/

Yeah, I know I got it as a gift, so technically it was for free. I wouldn't exactly recommend this as of now, but as more support grows for it, like during the holiday season, it would be an even more awesome gift/something to get for yourself.

As a side note, I would have liked it if it doubled as a piggy bank, taking in quarters and having a sleep mode and turn on when a quarter is inserted.
Also another side note, I'm old enough to still remember and appreciate what the arcade experience is like, so I may I have a little bias.