A few weeks ago our contest to win one of ThinkGeek’s clever JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Sticks ended, and after a few small hiccups, we’ve finally found someone willing to step up and claim their prize!

So congratulations to ‘ABuckeye’ whose comment: “Coming back for a daily entry, Thanks:)” was randomly selected by Random.org, proving the theory that it’s definitely worth your time to come back and leave multiple comments when the rules allow. We hope you enjoy your new iPad gaming accessory!

And thanks as well to everyone else who entered our contest. We hope to have some more giveaways in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for another chance to win.

We’re excited to announce the winner of our most recent contest for ThinkGeek’s JOYSTICK-IT iPad arcade stick, but we’re having a little trouble getting in touch with the winner. So if you entered the contest, particularly if you did so via Yahoo’s PULSE service (hint, hint) we suggest you login to your account as we’ve left the winner a comment telling them how they can get in touch with us to claim their prize.

We’ll give it until Wednesday night for the winner to get in touch with us, but come midnight if they haven’t contacted us I’m afraid we’re going to have to choose someone else…

The iPhone and iPad have certainly proven themselves to be worthy gaming platforms, though their touchscreen interfaces makes them better suited for certain types of games than others. While action games like racing titles certainly benefit from the devices’ built-in gyroscope when it comes to steering, games that have typically relied on physical buttons and/or joysticks don’t always translate so well. They’re not unplayable, it’s just that it’s hard to ensure your fingers are always properly hitting the on-screen buttons while keeping your eyes on the game itself.

The ‘problem’ has already spawned a few third-party peripherals and solutions that add buttons and controllers via bulky cases and enclosures. But ThinkGeek has created something a little more elegant when it comes to the iPad. Their JOYSTICK-IT accessory attaches directly to the tablet’s screen, providing an old-school like gaming experience to any title featuring an on-screen directional controller. How well does it work? Well you can find my full review after the jump, as well as contest specifics since ThinkGeek wants to give one of our lucky readers their very own JOYSTICK-IT Arcade Stick.

While they probably could have produced a slightly cheaper version of the JOYSTICK-IT if they opted to use plastic, I think ThinkGeek has made an excellent choice by choosing to manufacture the mini arcade stick from solid milled-aluminum. It gives it a nice bit of heft, a definite solid feeling and the polished chrome-like finish just looks great. There’s no risk this thing is going to snap in two during a heavy gameplay session, nor get damaged if tossed in a bag alongside your iPad or other tablet.

And don’t worry about that polished finish affecting your gameplay. To provide a bit of extra tactile grip, and to prevent your thumb from slipping off, the JOYSTICK-IT’s even got a laser etched crosshair design on the top of the aluminum ball. It also looks kind of cool too.

But given the JOYSTICK-IT doesn’t interface with the iPad in any way, you might be asking yourself how it could possibly work. Well not to spoil the surprise for those who haven’t figured it out, but it uses the same technique as those iPhone-friendly gloves and even the assortment of touchscreen friendly styluses now on the market. On the underside of the JOYSTICK-IT is a piece of conductive fabric that works just as well on the iPad’s capacitive touchscreen as a finger does. It also means that the JOYSTICK-IT will work with any device featuring a capacitive touchscreen, including the iPhone. Though given its size it’s not exactly ideal for a gadget that small. It’s definitely designed for larger tablets.

As you can see the JOYSTICK-IT also employs a tried and true suction cup which is not only used to securely tether it to the iPad while playing, but also serves as a pivot point.

As you can see here, when attached to a display the bottom of the JOYSTICK-IT actually sits just slightly above the screen, so that when you’re not actually using it to play it’s not touching or interacting with the touchscreen. There’s also about a quarter inch of foam between the bottom of the JOYSTICK-IT and the layer of capacitive material which of course provides some cushioning between the aluminum and your glass display, but also provides a softer feel when you’re pressing in a certain direction.

But how well does it work? Given the simple design and idea behind the JOYSTICK-IT it’s obviously no where near as effective as say a dedicated arcade stick on an external controller. But with the right game it can work surprisingly well. Part of its effectiveness relies on what the game’s on-screen controller is like. It basically only really works with the traditional multi-directional controller design since the JOYSTICK-IT is designed to sit right in the middle and push the ‘buttons’ as you move it in various directions.

I tried it with Namco’s iPad version of PAC-MAN and it worked like a charm, though since PAC-MAN has never been my forte, I found the JOYSTICK-IT would occasionally pop-off the screen when I started to panic and mashed it too hard in one direction. But I chalk that up to me being a bit too hard with it, I actually feel the suction cup will work just fine under normal gameplay conditions. In fact testing it out with EA’s Reckless Racing (a fantastic racing title for those who enjoy rally racing or drifting in general) I was actually quite impressed with how well the JOYSTICK-IT worked. It held in place even through a few dicey races, and worked as well as using my fingers with the on-screen controls, if not better. It’s definitely an ingeniously simple solution that can really enhance the gaming experience on your iPad.

Pros:
+ Made from solid milled aluminum so it’s built Tonka-tough.
+ Easy to attach and remove as needed.
+ Works surprisingly well given its low-tech approach to providing a physical gaming controller to the iPad.
+ Supports any tablet or device with a capacitive touchscreen, though the larger the better.
+ Multiple JOYSTICK-ITS can be used on one display at the same time.

Cons:
- Suction cups aren’t infallible, and I occasionally had the JOYSTICK-IT pop-off in the heat of battle. (And by ‘heat of battle’ I mean running from ghosts.)
- Can really only be used with games featuring an on-screen directional controller.

Links:
JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Stick – $24.99

If you have any questions about the JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Stick watch band you’d like answered, please feel free to leave them in the comments, and I’ll try to respond to them as best I can.

Contest Specifics

How to enter: Once again we feel that simple is always better. So to enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this article. And like last time, to better your chances of winning you’re welcome to come back and leave a new comment every day until the contest is over. Just be aware that if you leave multiple comments on the same day, all but one will be deleted before the winner is chosen.

What am I winning again?: A JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Stick sent to you directly by our awesome and generous friends at ThinkGeek.

Timeframe: The contest starts today, March 7, 2011, and will end 5 days from now at midnight on March 11, 2011. (Friday night.) And again, if you’re not sure when that is specifically given the time zones across the country, just make sure to get your comments in well before the deadline. Don’t worry about getting them in at the last minute, I promise it will not help your chances. At midnight the comments will be closed and the winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Eligibility: While we love all of our readers, unfortunately this contest is once again limited to only residents of the United States who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry.

Good luck!

We had a great response to our HTC Inspire 4G contest, some 450+ comments, but unfortunately only one of you can take home the coveted prize. So again we left the decision making process in the capable and impartial hands of Random.org who decided that Rob Patrick, who left comment #220 (a very succinct “HTC phones are awesome”) was our winner this time around.

So a hearty congratulations to Rob, your shiny new Android phone is enroute and we hope you enjoy it. And thanks to everyone who entered our contest. We’ve got more giveaways in the works, so keep your eyes peeled for future chances to win some great stuff.

This is just a reminder that there are only a couple days left to win yourself a fancy HTC Inspire 4G Android smartphone from the good people at AT&T. All you have to do is enter is visit our original contest post and leave a comment. We’re even happy if you leave a new comment every day to better your chances, we just request that you limit it to one a day. The contest ends Friday evening at midnight, so if you haven’t entered yet, what are you waiting for?

So, um, go leave a comment already! -> Contest Time Again: Win An HTC Inspire 4G From AT&T

*Update: Thanks to everyone who entered. Once we’ve determined who the winner is, and successfully contacted them, we’ll announce it in the very near future.

Bundling up in layers of sweaters, coats, gloves, mitts and scarves is only so effective when it comes to battling the frigid temperatures that have descended upon many parts of the country. The best way to deal with the cold is to simply not deal with it by staying inside and waiting for Spring’s arrival. But then you run the risk of going stir-crazy, unless you have something to occupy your mind… like a new toy! So we’re teaming up with AT&T to provide one of our lucky readers with a brand new HTC Inspire 4G. If all this isn’t enough to distract you until warmer temperatures arrive, then I’m afraid nothing will:

- Enjoy the speed of the robust 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, and store the documents, pictures, music, and video you need using the 4GB internal memory and included 8GB microSD card.
- The 4.3″ super LCD capacitive touchscreen has a resolution of 480×800 for beautifully sharp images.
- Running on Android 2.2, the Inspire 4G can be customized with thousands of applications from Android Market.
- You can capture important moments with the powerful 8 MP camera equipped with autofocus, dual LED flash, and HD video recording.
- The HTC Hi-Fi Experience enriches your multimedia with dual mics for noise cancellation, Dolby®, and SRS® WOW HD surround-sound effects.
- HTC Sense 2.0 provides a custom user interface for enhanced social networking, navigation, and integration with connected services from HTCsense.com.
- The Inspire 4G includes Mobile Hotspot** support when used with a DataPro with Tethering plan, allowing you to share your connection with up to five devices.

But what’s inspired AT&T to be so generous to one of our lucky readers? Well that’s a good question. As you’re probably already aware, a certain Cupertino-designed phone has recently become available from another carrier in the United States. And while there are some advantages to using the iPhone on Verizon’s CDMA network, the siren’s call isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

If you’ve been using an iPhone on AT&T for a number of years now you’ve probably grown accustomed to talking to people while surfing the web at the same time. Well unfortunately that luxury is only available on AT&T’s network with the iPhone, and if you think that’s something you can’t live without, AT&T would like you to head on over to their Talk and Surf Challenge on their Facebook page and let your voice be heard. So not only are we giving you the chance to win an HTC Inspire 4G, but there’s also the chance of you garnering a little web publicity from AT&T’s million+ Facebook fans.

You’ll find the contest specifics after the jump, including how to enter, but those of you who’ve participated in our giveaways before should already be familiar with what it entails.

How to enter: We’re keeping it simple this time again. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this article. And to better your chances you’re welcome to come back and leave a new comment every day until the contest is over. Just be aware that if you leave multiple comments in the same day, all but one will be deleted before the winner is declared. As to what you want to say, well we’ll leave that part up to you. Tell us what you’d do with a new HTC Inspire 4G, tell us what you had for lunch, just keep it interesting.

What am I winning again?: A brand spanking new HTC Inspire 4G from AT&T. Now it doesn’t come with service, so if you’re not already an AT&T subscriber you will have to sign up for the requisite contracts and data plans associated with the Inspire 4G, minus the cost of the smartphone itself of course.

Timeframe: The contest starts today, February 11, 2011, and will end a week from now at midnight on February 18, 2011. (So next Friday night.) And if you’re not sure when that is specifically given the time zones across the country, just make sure to get your comments in well before the deadline. Don’t worry about getting them in at the last minute, I promise it will not help your chances. At midnight the comments will be closed and the winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Eligibility: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, while we love all of our readers around the world equally, because this contest is being sponsored by AT&T I’m afraid we’re going to have to limit it to only residents of the United States who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry.

Good luck!

By David Ponce

Snow, cold, dreary and politically inanimate… These could be words mistakenly used to describe Canada. I’d use others like safe, healthy and every now and then… full of free laptops! That’s right dear OhGizmo! readers: Toshiba Canada has partnered with us to give our Canadian readers a Satellite A660 3D laptop valued at $1,899.

The cool thing is the laptop in question is the higher end A660-0T4 with the following specs:

An Intel® Core™ i7-740QM processor, 6GB DDR3-1066MHZ ram, 640GB 5400RPM hdd, Blu-ray Disc™ Rewriteable and DVD SuperMulti drive, Harman Kardon built-in speakers, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 350M with 1GB GDDR3 memory, 15.6″ 16:9 HD TruBrite™ 120Hz 3D Ready TFT with LED backlight and NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Kit with glasses and built-in internal laptop IR emitter

So how do you win this beauty? Well, we’re going to make you work a little more than usual for this one, so read on.

1) The contest is open to all Canadians 18 years of age and above (except residents of Quebec (sorry folks)).
2) It will run from Today, January 31st, until February 7th, 2011.
3) There are 5 ways to enter, or 5 different types of ballots if you’d prefer to see it that way. Which means that you can enter up to 5 times!

1. Follow OhGizmo on Twitter.
2. “Like” us on Facebook.
3. Follow Toshiba Canada on Twitter.
4. “Like” Toshiba Canada on Facebook.
5. This last one is for anyone eligible already following us on Twitter or Facebook: simply retweet this promotion!

It’s going to be fun keeping track of all this, but we’ll do our best and will announce the winner in the week of February 7th.

Good luck!

Another great contest comes to a close. With that, a winner must be announced. I’m happy to say that Gingervitis was randomly selected, and he will be receiving his very own Ultra X4 850W Power Supply. Congratulations!

[ Ultra ]

By Chris Scott Barr

First Buckyballs, then a Mophie Juice Pack Air, now another contest!? That’s right, we know exactly what you guys love. Yes, you love reading about all of the latest gadgets and gizmos, but we know you love winning free stuff. So what’s on the plate for this week? A pair of cases from NZXT.

We’ve got both the Beta EVO and M59 chassis up for grabs. All you need to do is leave a comment telling us why you need to upgrade your PC case. You might be wondering why we left out the awesome Lexa S from the contest. Our friends over at GamerFront are having their own giveaway, with that as the prize. By all means, head over to their contest page and get signed up!

As David mentioned before, we’re going to be changing up the way we give away some of our prizes here at OhGizmo. This contest won’t be following the new rules just yet, but in the future we’re going to try to reward people that are more active commenters in general.

[ NZXT ]

It’s Friday, and as promised I’m here to announce the winner of the Mophie Juice Pack Air. After sifting through all of the comments, I ended up settling on Tiro. I don’t know half of what you said man, but the punchline was worth it. I wish I had more to give out, as there were a lot of great comments.

Stay tuned for more contests. We’ve got quite a bit in store for you guys!