This author is hardly an enthusiast of archery. My last foray into the sport was at age 8 with a toy bow featuring suction cup arrowheads. As I had recently seen ‘A Christmas Story,’ I was highly plagued by the ominous repetition of the line, “You'll shoot your eye out.” Thereby, I used the previously mentioned toy both sparingly and delicately. To this day, I still have both eyes; yet, I am far from an expert in this endeavor.
Back to the iOS/Android accessory, the aptly named the BowBlade works with both iOS and Android devices. It consists of a modified bow that mounts to a smartphone or iPod Touch. As one fully draws the bow’s string backwards, he or she is able to click a trigger button on the string. This trigger pulls a mounted stylus towards the touchscreen, thereby, interacting with the videogame (e.g., shooting an arrow, firing a weapon, etc.). Aside from the additional realism to one’s gaming, the BowBlade clearly provides a novel and fun perspective on exercising.
The BowBlade works with at least 35 iOS games, 14 Android games, and is currently available online for pre-order. The device is ambidextrous and the developers encourage bilaterally symmetric exercise routines. At time of publication, the BowBlades costs $185.00, plus tax as well as a shipping and handling fee of $15. Shipping is estimated to begin in April 2013. A Nintendo Wii edition is estimated for release in June 2013.
