‘GameBone’ iPhone gamepad cooler than it sounds, doubles as battery extender

Oh, I get it. Because it’s shaped like a bone. I was thinking of something else. Here’s the GameBone Pro, a gamepad for the iPhone and iPod touch. It connects via Bluetooth or 30-pin dock connector and features a built-in battery to provide a little extra juice to your device while gaming, plus a built-in speaker and headphone jack.

All in all, I’m intrigued. I have an iPod touch, but I’d buy this thing more for use with my T-Mobile G1 — specifically for playing NES and Genesis games. The controller will come with an “iPod touch / iPhone stand supporting vertical and horizontal positions.”

So when will it be available and how much will it cost? The product’s website says it’ll be available in mid-September 2009. As for pricing — get this — the company is “currently open to pricing suggestions from the public.” Everyone suggest $5!

As for game compatibility, games made for the iPhone and iPod touch will need to be programmed to actually use the hardware so the company, 22moo, will be making a free SDK available shortly. Now as for using this thing with other devices, I’d hope that the buttons would be programmable to keyboard keys.

The gamepad itself features a D-pad, four main buttons, and two shoulder buttons. The company is located in Australia but it does ship internationally and is looking for distributors all over the place.