Roccat Demos Power-Grid Smartphone Apps for PC Gaming

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By Tuan Mai
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Look out Razer!

Earlier in March, Roccat gave us all a sneak peak of its upcoming Power-Grid smartphone application. Working independently or together with the company's peripherals, the iOS/Android application offers users a variety of touchscreen widgets and controls for ultimate gaming assistance. This week, the company made its way over to Gamescom to demo the product's progress.

On Thursday, Engadget was lucky enough to get their hands on the company's nearly-finished application. While the Android version wasn't as refined, the team was able to test out four of the Power-Grid PC control widgets and three of the app's game-specific screens. New from the company's preview in March was an entire screen dedicated to controlling the customized lighting on Roccat's mouse and keyboard.

With game-specific widgets for popular titles such as Starcraft II, Counter-Strike and League of Legends, Razer's newly released Deathstalker Ultimate with switchblade user interface may have some serious competition. Roccat's Power-Grid won't be released until December, but until then you can stare at some juicy photos and video from Engadget's hands-on.

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Tuan Mai
Tuan Mai
Tuan Mai is a Los Angeles based writer and marketing manager working within the PC Hardware industry. He has written for Tom's Guide since 2010, with a special interest in the weird and quirky.
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7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • PrvtChurch
    God damn I want this!
    Reply
  • g00fysmiley
    shut up and take my money!

    if this is priced right i'll take 2 one for me one for the wife
    Reply
  • internetlad
    This looks so stupid. What nobody realizes is that you can't use this solely by touch. What good is a grid of icons if you don't know what icon you're pushing?

    Lack of tactile feedback is killing this generation's gizmos. Used to be you would turn up the stereo in your car 3 clicks, didn't have to take your eyes off the road. Saw a commercial for a lexus (think it was) that was touting the catchprhase "Your devices have evolved, why not your car"

    No, because that's stupid. Instead of turning a knob and feeling click, click, click, you have to take your eyes off the road, look at the touchscreen, probably turn off the map or whatever else you have running, find the stereo settings and move the slider/levels/volume while staring at the screen.

    That does not make sense. They're trying to fix something that was never broken.
    Reply
  • razor512
    The app is a good idea but I can see this killing most tablets. iPads and many other tablets use IPS panels meaning a display like that left up for a few hours will cause a permanent burn in on the screen.

    This only works safely with TN displays (which are becoming more rare on mobile devices due to their poor viewing angles)

    The current best overall display for static images/ icons are e ink displays, as they have no chance of burn in (a tn display will eventually get a burn in (though rather than a few hours with a IPS panel, they take a few days to a week)

    That application + a cheap android tablet can give you all of the functions of that insanely expensive razer LCD keyboard crap for a fraction of the cost (provided they make a android app)
    Reply
  • schnitter
    For those unaware, the App will be Free... also, they are going to ship the Roccat Phobos keyboard which has that mat incorporated. Google image Roccat Phobos to see what I am talking about. I hope they make the left SHIFT full size as that is the only flaw I see in that keyboard.

    Roccat is way better than overpriced Razr.
    Reply
  • Gundam288
    schnitterFor those unaware, the App will be Free... also, they are going to ship the Roccat Phobos keyboard which has that mat incorporated. Google image Roccat Phobos to see what I am talking about. I hope they make the left SHIFT full size as that is the only flaw I see in that keyboard.Roccat is way better than overpriced Razr.I don't doubt it. I had a Razer Copperhead back in the day and it died on me within 6 months. At that point I went to Logitech and have not had a problem.

    as for the app, I wonder how bad this is going to kill your battery if it's not plugged in.
    Reply
  • sync_nine
    If you're gonna use you phone as an additional touch pad then i hope latency doesn't become an issue. Especially if you are connected via bluetooth.
    For example, Counter Strike requires very fast movements. By the time the response comes to your PC from the phone, you already have a bullet between your eyes.
    This isn't a problem with the Razer Blade the touchpad is connect to main motherboard thus response time is faster.
    Reply