What's so special about Mophie's new plastic case for fourth-generation iPod Touches? Only that it has integrated stereo speakers and haptic feedback vibration that's dependent on the audio of whatever game is on.
We went hands-on with Mophie's Pulse and here's what we thought about it.
As you probably already know, the iPod Touch does not support vibration. iOS games can't be programmed to support haptic feedback. To get vibration feedback, Mophie's Pulse translates a game's audio into pulses — thereby making pseudo-rumble. The Pulse snaps a fourth-gen iPod Touch snuggly through its 3.5mm audio jack, turning the media player into a portable boombox and a note-worthy gaming device.
Mophie reps booted up two games for us to test out: Air Hockey and Need for Speed: Shift. In a game like Air Hockey, vibration was mostly "meh" because of the game's lack of music beyond monotone sound effects, whereas EA's racing sim really hit the spot. While, not entirely accurate in terms of when vibration should actually kick in, the haptic feedback for Need for Speed: Shift did feel good and gave the game a little more depth — much like the way console games feel more realistic with that rumble in the controller.
In terms of design and build-quality, the Pulse felt solid and not too flimsy thanks to its rubber grips on the back. It could stand to slim down just a tad more, but like most Mophie cases, you do trade style for versatility.
A Mophie representative couldn't provide any concrete price or release date, but did say it would be roughly around $100.
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