Touch Me

The iPhone 3G hit the shelves this summer, less than six months after the original model was released. Boasting faster 3G internet and assisted GPS, the gadget was heavily marketed as THE ultimate pocket companion. The sleek design is twinned with the iPod touch and combines the world’s most recognised mp3 player with mobile phone functions to remove needless pocket clutter. In fact, if you believe the hype, there’s nothing it can’t do.

The motion-sensing accelerometer and touchscreen controls combine to make a simple yet innovative mobile interface. Support from the AppStore means downloads like Bejewelled, Spore Origins and Crash Nitro Kart are finished in seconds, whether you’re on a bus or queuing for a sandwich. Another game worth a look is the side-scrolling action game Kroll - to say these Apps are classed as ‘mobile gaming’ feels like belittling the iPhone’s capabilities. Things have moved on since Snake won our hearts in the pixel-munching nineties.

The games don’t stop there, either. Wannabe developers can download cheap dev kits to add to the growing number of innovative titles being produced by bedroom coders. This means there’ll always be a fresh wave of new titles appearing in the AppStore, even if most of them are weak efforts at recreating old favourites. At £180, the iPhone is nearly twice the price of a DS, but games are comparatively cheap, ranging from completely free software to new titles priced at £5.99.

All in, the iPhone is a neat bit of technology. It’s a fine competitor to the PSP but it will always be looked on as a phone before it’s seen as a gaming system. It’s not without its faults either; one clumsy movement could see the device shatter your phone and your soul in one swift movement. Likewise, accidentally pocketing the iPhone in with your keys can cause nasty damage to the touchscreen. Favouring the touchscreen over digital button input can lead to some frustrating to-ing-and-fro-ing within the menus but that’s not a fault as such - nothing practice can’t resolve.

So is there anything it can’t do? Well, apart from match up to the phenomenal popularity of the DS, not really. The iPhone was never intended as a pure gaming system, but if you’re looking for an all-in-one gadget to store your life in while getting your game on, this is it. It’s newer, sleeker, smaller and (dare I say it…) it shows more innovative promise than any other pocket system out there. It won’t have the support of the DS or the PSP but the iPhone strikes me as the system that’s happy to cruise along in third.

Mobile gaming has finally begun to earn the respect it’s been yearning since Snake. Pocket gaming eventually has something to offer everyone. If you’re a busy tech-head then the iPhone seems like the obvious gizmo to discreetly waste time on long journeys. That’s not to say it’s out of reach for anyone. The entire generation of handhelds manages to accommodate everyone. It’s refreshing to have a three-horse race for a change, but don’t expect the iPhone to go and redefine portable gaming anytime soon. It is a phone, after all.