by Alex Yee

Created on: January 11, 2011

In 2007 the world of mobile gaming changed. At the time the dominate players were Sony's Playstation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo's successor to the Gameboy generation the Nintendo DS which had 2 screens one of them being touch sensitive. Apple, well known for their iPods and Macintosh computers finally announced the iPhone which everyone knew was coming. However, who knew what form would it take? Well at Macworld 2007 Steve Jobs finally put Apple fans out of their misery. A Phone, Internet browser and iPod combined in one into a pocketable touch screen device. The iPod Touch followed a few months later which was regarded as an iPhone without the phone.

However the fun came when people began to write third party games. Initially this was only available to people who changed their phone's software to unofficial "home brew" versions. However in 2008 the App Store launched providing iPhone and iPod Touch users with games and other Apps. Initially there were very few quality games like Tap Tap. But many were cheap or free. However, since then there has been a gold rush to produce quality apps. Even major companies like EA started making games for iOS (the name of the operating system on iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads). Eventually the iPod Touch became the worlds biggest portable gaming device. Gone were the days of buying cartridges at a retail shop. The age of cheap-ish, downloadable games that anybody could make were here.

Then came the iPad in 2010. Which can only be described as a big iPod Touch. Trying to sell consumers a new way of computing and commuting. The iPad could play all existing iOS games as well as ones designed specifically for the iPad. Now, which one of these iOS devices offer the best deal for gamers? Well lets go over the pros and cons of the three.

Lets start with the iPhone. Now what does the iPhone offer gamers? Well, for a start it is fast, usually it is faster than iPod Touches. You get 3D graphics, smooth movement and on the iPhone your games can have online functionality everywhere due to 3G. This means Facebook leader boards or multiplayer tournaments. Also more recently there have been some games which are based on your location using the iPhone's GPS. However, the trouble with an iPhone is the cost and the fact you have to be tied to a contract to get the best out of it. Also in some countries you also only get a limited choice of providers (Verizon and AT&T in the USA). The iPhone is for gamers who want to do more than game.

Now the iPod Touch. This offers everything the iPhone offers except 3G and GPS functionality (although you still get wi-fi for online). Admittedly it has less RAM than the iPhone making it lower spec but it is still a great gaming device. The main cons for gamers of the iPod Touch is the lack of 3G.

Now the iPad. I'm not sure this was built for gaming. However, some iOS games are great on the iPad as it utilizes the screen space for more things to happen on screen and for multiple players on the same screen. However, it costs loads and is definitely more for web browsing, reading books and on-the-go working. 

In my opinion if you want an iOS gaming device the iPod Touch is the best option as it is cheap enough to be considered solely a gaming device (with music/movie playing capabilities). The iPhone is good for gamers if you have/want it already, with an iPhone you have no need for an iPod touch as they offer nearly identical experiences. The iPad is fun, but definitely not worth it for gamers.

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