Kickstarter has become one of our most interesting places to hang out these days to find new and interesting ideas and concepts looking for support. The latest thing to tickle our interest is the iControlPad 2, which is billed as an open-source controller for your smartphone, but admittedly it offers a lot of uses beyond your smartphone.

The iControlPad2 is a Bluetooth gaming controller which is able to support almost any smartphone, tablet, or computer. The unique design of the iControlPad2 makes for perfect compatibility with all of the emulators for classic gaming systems. In the iCade mode you can play over 30 apps from the Apple App Store, with more titles being developed all of the time.

What sets the iControlPad2 apart in our opinion is that it is small, compatible with all of the major devices, has iCade compatibility, includes HID Keyboard support, and a long life battery; and best of all, it can be upgraded and enhanced to add additional support or features through upgradeable firmware. It is being manufactured exclusively in the UK and Germany.

It looks like a very worthy project with a design so good that we wish we would have thought of it.  The iControlPad2 is looking for a goal of $150,000 in backing, and as of this article they had crossed $50K with 24 days to go. There is still time to back the project and support something with a design that we think could be a promising new product.

Find out more or back the project here.