Invented and patented in 2012 by Ten One Design, Control Pad is a new type of joystick. Instead of tilting a physical stick, Control Pad transfers the touch of your thumb down to a touch screen. This allows all the positional mapping to be done in software, and also provides the capability to display graphics under the stick. The ‘secret sauce’ is in Control Pad’s carefully crafted transparent spring that gives your thumb positional and force cues so you always know where the joystick is. It’s the reason we were granted a patent for the design, and it’s why using Control Pad is miles better than a glass surface alone.

You bet. Control Pad was known as Fling in a previous life. Since then, its role has expanded to other devices (your tv!), so it has been reborn as Control Pad. Some initial shipments may even still say Fling.

Yes, for a friend. So they can keep up with you.

We like our gadgets to go away when we’re finished with them, so the display panel is attached inside the lid of a restored steamer trunk.