BlackBerry gets Zeemote onboard

BlackBerry owners will be pleased to hear that their smartphones are now compatible with the Zeemote JS1 wireless gaming controller, states Register Hardware.

The miniature joystick - first seen back in February last year - looks a lot like the Wii's Nunchuck, but enables users to control games on the screens of all BlackBerry devices fitted with a trackball, such as the Curve 8900.

Equipped with four action buttons, the mobile gaming controller communicates with the BlackBerry over Bluetooth. Powered by two AAA batteries, the joystick will hold out for over 50 hours of continuous gameplay, manufacturer Zeemote promised.

Since Apple introduced its iTunes Application Store in July 2008, iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded more than a billion apps onto their devices, but it is the unexpected success of the iPhone and iPod touch as a gaming platform that has taken everyone by surprise, says Telegraph.co.uk.

The touch-screen interface and motion-sensing capabilities of Apple's devices have allowed video game developers to experiment with new kinds of gameplay.

Instead of simply bashing buttons, as on a conventional handheld games console, players instead tap the screen of their iPhone, or move the device itself, to control onscreen action.

Chatting in California at the Fortune Brainstorm tech conference, digital chief Jonathan Miller said gaming was a big focus for MySpace, who are battling rivals like Twitter who are hoovering up visitors rapidly, writes Play.tm.

"MySpace is and will be more in the future a gaming platform, a space for people to meet and play games," Miller revealed at the conference, according to GI.biz.

"If you look at the big activities online, games right now is number three: communications, search, games. So it's clearly going to be a major focus."