Found this interesting little discovery over at Hack Mii Wii. Apparently, Nintendo filed a patent for a device that looks like a combination of a Wii remote and a phone.

Everyone seems to be going through the phone route lately, with Apple leading the charge with their everything-but-the-kitchen-sink device, so it’s not really surprising to see Nintendo follow suit. According to one of the images, the patent was filed six months ago on June 27, 2006 so this has obviously been in the works for a little while at least and not influenced by Apple’s announcement. Whether or not this will actually materialize into an actual product remains to be seen, but i’m willing to bet that it won’t. The cell phone market has gotten to the point where it’s so overcrowded that it’ll be nearly impossible for a new competitor to jump in and make a splash. Plus, this setup looks pretty… well, uncomfortable. It has the player indicators on the bottom like a regular Wii remote so using it with the Wii is a no-brainer, but it has a full keypad as well. Nintendo’s done a great job of simplifying the remote to attract casual gamers, it seems like a step backwards to start populating the thing with an extra ten buttons.

Oh well, maybe i’ll be eating my words in a few months.