Continuing with its competitive moves in the marketplace, Samsung has announced its new game controller specifically designed for android phones. This new bit of gear suggests the Korean company was influenced by the designs of the X-Box, the popular Microsoft game console. 

Dubbed the GamePad, the steel-framed controller grasps your phone as you work the knobs and buttons to play your favorite games. The GamePad can hold Android devices ranging in screen size from 4 inches to 6.3 inches, so it's geared more for phones but can certainly squeeze in a phablet.

The controller is compatible with any device of the right size running Android 4.1 or higher. But Samsung says it's also optimized for Galaxy devices outfitted with Android 4.3 or higher, such as the Galaxy S4 and S3 and the Note 3 and 2. That means the GamePad can more easily pair with Galaxy devices via NFC and that it will give Galaxy owners quicker access to games via a Play button.

The Play button launches Samsung's Mobile Console app, which helps people browse and buy games supported by the GamePad. The 35 available games are "reasonably-priced," according to Samsung, and include such titles as Need for Speed Most Wanted, Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour, Virtua Tennis Challenge, and Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame. More games are due in 2014.

Beyond those cosmetic changes, it's still a Bluetooth accessory for your Android smartphone, compatible with devices ranging from 4 to 6.3 inches in screen size. Though the company says the GamePad is already available in some European markets, it declined to provide specifics on where it can be bought or for how much. Samsung promises that it will launch in additional regions in the coming weeks but didn't name any actual markets. A spokeswoman for Samsung couldn't offer any further details, except to say that U.S. availability for the controller has not been announced. 

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