Love iPhone racing games? Time for a steering wheel then

At Car Tech we're crazy for cars, crazy enough to like an iPhone attachment that plonks the fruity phone into the middle of a steering wheel.

It's not quite as daft as it sounds...
(Credit: CTA Digital)

We're not what you'd call fans of chintzy, plastic, snap-on video game peripherals. We've got enough plastic guitars and controllers cluttering up our living room already without taking up more space with snap-on shells that make the Wii Remote look like the world's shortest golf club. However, we take our racing sims seriously, even on the iPhone. Which is why the CTA Digital Steering Wheel for iPhone and iPod Touch is interesting to us.

CTA's wheel is basically a plastic shell that snaps onto your iPhone, iPhone 3GS, or first- or second-generation iPod Touch to make the devices feel like a small steering wheel. The design doesn't block the screen, so you can still access virtual buttons for braking, nitro and so forth. CTA offers two versions of the wheel, one with a suction cup mount and one without.

We think this is a cool idea for two basic reasons. Firstly, the bigger radius of the wheel's grip can help ease hand cramping caused by prolonged playing for people with big hands. Additionally, the suction cup mount means that iPhone racing games can be played with one hand, which is great because, well, we're lazy like that.

We haven't been able to find pricing on CTA Digital's website, but we'd expect the iPhone wheel to be priced similarly to the company's US$19.99 steering wheel for Wii.

This definitely isn't a product for everyone and we can't see ourselves busting this wheel out on the train as we commute to work. However, if you've ever spent more than an hour at a time racking up points playing Need for Speed: Undercover or Ferrari Challenge, then check the cheesy video below to see the iPhone steering wheel in action.