Apple's first officially licensed wireless controller to work with the iPad, the SteelSeries Stratus, became available to preorder in the US today, priced at $99.99.

At just 11cm long, the controller is narrower than any iPhone, but still manages to squeeze in all of the features of a larger pad. This means you will have access to two analogue sticks, a d-pad, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons, allowing for a variety of control options.

Connecting to your device via Bluetooth rather than the Lightning port, the SteelSeries Stratus is compatible with the iPhone 5 (and newer models), 5th gen iPod touch, iPad 4 or later, plus any iPad mini.

Importantly, SteelSeries reports that the device's battery offers 10 hours of play time. While this may not match the charge capacity of rival controllers, it still offers plenty of time to game on the go between charges.

Initial critical reaction to the controller seems positive, with its responsive controls and diminutive form factor proving its biggest draw.

You can check out the SteelSeries Stratus now at the Steelseries website, where US customers can also preorder it for $99.99. We will update with details of UK pricing as it becomes available.