Something interesting was shown off at a California Israel Chamber of Commerce demo event yesterday. Something that could improve the interface of touch-screen devices. It’s called the Ringbow, a ring-mounted, wireless pointing stick.

Think of it as a D-Pad for your tablet device. Touch-screen apps generally have limited ways to control them, so access to menu commands or secondary functions requires going to full menus, which is not ideal at all and not fast. The Ringbow makes going through accessory menus faster and less of a hassle.

We heard some rumors this morning about Microsoft planning a new Xbox 360 controller. One with an improved D-pad. Sure enough we have some confirmation now. The new D-pad is a disc in it’s basic configuration, but give it a twist and it raises about a quarter-inch.

The analog sticks will be slightly more concave, and the ABXY buttons will be translucent monochrome. The new matte silver controller will only come bundled with the Play and Charge kit for $64.99 when it launches on November 9 in the States and replaces the existing wireless controller.

According to Joystiq, sometime this Holiday season, Microsoft will launch a new Xbox 360 controller with a unique d-pad. When you rotate the d-pad ninety degrees on this new controller, it will raise up about a quarter of an inch.

Apparently this is aimed at fighting game fans. We aren’t sure if it will be a separate, special controller or will replace the existing controller.

Here’s a simple solution to the Droid’s keyboard, which isn’t the best for gaming. The D-pad is on the wrong side. Well, the Game Gripper moves it over to a better position on the left and also adds eight buttons. Now the Droid is much better gaming phone.

Apparently, the Gripper buttons simply press the keys on the keyboard, but it will give you more of a game feel. It’s only $15. Not a bad price for swapping that D-Pad where it belongs.

The Wii Classic controller is arriving in April, but if you don’t want to wait for it, you may want to check this out. Just slide the $7 Magic Stick cover on your Wiimote and you have an analog stick.

It isn’t pretty but it’ll turn your Wii-mote into a joystick. It should make gameplay more comfortable. It also makes the “A”, “1″ and “2″ buttons slightly larger, which should come in handy.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a problem using the Nintendo DS’ D-pad. Apparently some people do, since this gadget now exists. Most people who play the DS Lite won’t find the Cyber Coin Assist necessary. There may however be a few out there who need the extra thumb support.

For those people, putting the Cyber Coin Assist over the D-pad may just make their portable gaming more enjoyable. We don’t have any info on pricing, but it should be out later this July. I’m saying right now that if people are willing to pay more than $2, I’d be really surprised.