See original post on TechCrunch by Darrell Etherington (@etherington)
Gamevice is a bit like way to turn your iPhone or iPad into a Switch, at least in terms of adding physical controls to your gaming experience. But now the add-on can go beyond gaming, offering a way to easily control the DJI Spark with added precision and improved ergonomics when compared to just using a touchscreen device on its own.
This is actually great news for Spark owners, since the diminutive drone has a lot going for it, including relative affordability, and decent picture quality. But the one thing it’s lacking that the rest of the DJI lineup boasts is a solid physical controller experience included in the box – the Gamevice provides that, with a design that’s actually superior to the official DJI controller in a number of ways.
You plug your phone or tablet into the Gamevice directly via Lightning connector, and the physical controls reside on either side. There’s a full complement of buttons that allow you to control all aspects of the drone, including flight and photo and video capture.
In addition to Spark support, the Gamevice now works with Sphero’s SPRK+ programmable robot. If you’ve ever used a Sphero spherical bot, you might already be aware that physical controls easily trump the onscreen touch sensitive variety.
Gamevice starts at $59.99, and also still supports a range of games including Minecraft’s mobile iteration. If you’re a Spark fan, it’s definitely worth a look, since it basically addresses one of the only weaknesses of the DJI drone without requiring a significant financial investment.