New Kickstarter project aims to bring proper buttons to your iPhone

WynCASE — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Digital Trends readers, while undoubtedly attractive and erudite, are best described as being fascinated with the latest and greatest technology. Unfortunately, it’s rare that even the most impressive of devices is without a single flaw. Take Apple’s iPhone, for instance. Since its debut in 2007, the phone has become synonymous with those who yearn to own the newest tech and for the most part it’s a fantastic phone/media player/portable computing device. However, as any gamer who owns an iPhone will tell you, the gadget’s touchscreen interface is far from ideal for any video game that requires anything beyond the most rudimentary of control schemes.

Whereas Apple has no plans to change the iPhone’s basic design, a new project has recently appeared on Kickstarter that just might spell the end of this problem. Dubbed WynCASE, the gadget in question superficially resembles a standard, protective iPhone case with one big difference: WynCASE adds buttons to the front of the iPhone that boast all the functionality of those found on standard gaming controllers. Thanks to “Patent-Pending BridgeTOUCH technology,” when a player depresses any of the buttons on the front of the WynCASE, a small electrical field is instantly transmitted onto the iPhone’s touchscreen. This mimics the act of pressing your finger to the screen, but should prove far more accurate in tense gaming situations than all but the light touch of the most dexterous of users. Likewise, while the necessarily flat, smooth iPhone touchscreen offers players little to no tactile feedback, tapping an actual button seems a more natural, comfortable control solution, particularly for those iPhone owners who grew up holding a variety of video game controllers which feature very similar control options.

We’ve reported on attempts to add tactile buttons to the iPhone before, but to date the majority of these concepts have been unwieldy at best, and attempt to turn the iPhone into a miniature arcade cabinet at worst. Devices like the Moga serve their purpose quite well, but they also negate the iPhone’s minuscule form factor, making it nearly impossible to tuck both these devices and an iPhone comfortably into the pocket of a pair of jeans or an average-sized purse. By contrast, the WynCASE is almost as small as a standard iPhone case, and the buttons attached to its face add almost no extra size to your phone. Further, the creators of the WynCASE boast a number of other, unexpected features from the gadget, such as incredible power efficiency (the WynCASE doesn’t actually require any additional power and thus is incapable of draining your iPhone’s battery), and the ability to connect your iPhone to an Apple TV, allowing players to enjoy Cut The Rope or Super Hexagon on a huge, high-definition screen.

If you’re interested in helping to fund the WynCASE project, you can find all the pertinent details on the project’s Kickstarter page. There are still 30 days left before the fundraiser ends, and its creators need to pull in an additional $72,400 to reach their goal. Given that it only appeared on Kickstarter earlier today and has already earned $7,600 it seems quite likely that this project will meet its funding goal, but every little bit helps. Plus, for a mere $30 donation you can effectively pre-order a WynCASE for yourself, so if all of this has piqued your interest make sure you fork over your cash soon. Pre-order supplies are limited and at the time this article was published there are only 860 WynCASEs still available for pre-purchase.

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