Posted 11/07/08 at 10:56:55 AM by Paul Lilly

If the Phantom Lapboard sounds familiar, it's because we covered the promising product earlier this year. After spending some hands-on time with the peripheral, it was clear Phantom had a winning design on its hands, provided the company could address the dropout issues with the mouse and other annoyances associated with the rodent. Whether or not the final version represented an improvement over the unit we played with was supposed to have been answered back in June when it was scheduled to be available in limited quantities.

June has come and gone, but the Lapboard is nowhere to be seen. Has it dropped off the face of the earth to become vaporware just as the Phantom Console did over two years ago? Not yet, and maybe not ever. Unlike the Phantom Console, which left Phantom's website as if it never existed, the company is still talking about the Lapboard. In a recent blog post, Phantom Development Consultant John Landino says Phantom has come up with inventory funding and paid for its first shipment of Lapboards, which the company hopes to start shipping in its yet-to-be-opened game store before the end of the year.

It's hard to argue with anyone who might be skeptical about this latest update, but remember that the Optimus Maximus was once well on its way to becoming vaporware before it started shipping.

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vaporware, Peripherals, hardware, lapboard

Posted 10/10/08 at 01:25:21 PM by Paul Lilly

It would take three hands with all digits intact to match the number of buttons on SteelSeries' new World of Warcraft MMO mouse. That's right - 15 programmable buttons grace the rodent's funky cyborgish exterior, and each one of them was designed in conjunction with Blizzard specifically with WoW addicts in mind.

The new mouse level's up its macros skillset by affording macros up to 160 characters long, with over 130 predefined commands for drag-and-drop macro creation in place. But you might find yourself spending the majority of your time grinding away at the light scheme. The world's first WoW mouse boasts no less than 16 million illumination choices with 3 intensity and pulsation levels.

Dedicated MMO players can preorder the mouse now for $99.99, with shipping slated for November 13, 2008.

Update: Press release and another image after the jump!

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world of warcraft, mouse, Peripherals, build a pc, steelseries

Posted 09/22/08 at 10:28:41 AM by Paul Lilly

If there's one company that understands how to hype up a product, it's Art Lebedev Studios, the company responsible for the Optimus Maximus. Oft delayed to the point of being considered vaporware, the OLED keyboard finally saw the light of day after laying not so low for nearly 3 years, and now you can pick one up for just shy of $2,000.

This time around it's the Optimus Aux that's being pimped to the press with new product shots emerging. Formerly known as the Pultius, the renamed Aux is a numeric keypad designed with the same OLED DNA as the Maximus. According to the company's blog, the key rows have been moved closer together in this newest revision (fifteen keys in all), and it now looks to ship with two downstream USB ports instead of one. There's also an upstream USB port, a Kensigton lock hole, and a power socket.

No word on price or availability, but if the past is any indication, expect it to be expensive and delayed.

Hit the jump for another shot.

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keyboard, oled, Peripherals, build a pc, optimus Aux, art lebedev

Posted 09/10/08 at 12:00:00 PM by Norman Chan

We knew Microsoft wouldn’t forget about us gamers. Yesterday, they debuted a new mouse-tracking technology in the Explorer mouse, which is targeted toward “productivity” users. We were a little skeptical of Bluetrack’s application for gaming, since the Explorer only has a 1000Dpi sensor. Well, Microsoft has assuaged all fears with the announcement of the Sidewinder X8, a BlueTrack mouse which has a sweet 4000 dpi sensor.  This high-end gaming mouse is a step up from the original Sidewinder (which will remain in production), and retains features we like from the series: a Dpi adjustor with LCD indicator, vertical thumb buttons, and customizable weights (features which were omitted from the lower-end X5 model). We got some hands-on time with the X8, and was able to put it side-by-side with its non-BlueTrack siblings.

Hit the jump to check out the entire Sidewinder family. 

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gaming, microsoft, Peripherals, hardware, sidewinder, hands-on, bluetrack

Posted 09/09/08 at 01:35:52 PM by Norman Chan

Really, that’s a mouse?

That’s the first thing we thought when we saw the new Arc Mouse, which Microsoft claims with “raise the style stakes” in peripheral design. We have to admit, it certainly looks different from any mouse we’ve handled before. The foldable design makes it extremely compact when snapped shut for travel purposes. Yet when expanded, the arch is spacious enough to fill out our manly palms. The Arc felt very comfortable in our hands as we moved it around a table, but was noticably lighter and not as solid as the gaming mice we're accustomed to. A micro transceiver snaps into the bottom of the mouse using a magnet, and only sticks out a single centimeter when plugged into a USB port (it uses the same 2.4GHz wireless tech as Microsoft’s other mice).

And if you’re worried about sturdiness, the Arc’s hinge has been tested to withstand 25lb’s of downward force, though we didn’t exert that much force in our test (we didn’t want to break it!). Surprisingly, it doesn’t use Microsoft’s new BlueTrack sensor, instead opting for a traditional laser tracker (no word on DPI). Look for the Arc to go on sale later this month (launching with black or red options) for $59.95.

Hit the jump for more bendy-mouse photos

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microsoft, mouse, mice, Peripherals, hardware, sidewinder, arc, hands-on

Posted 09/09/08 at 01:00:00 PM by Norman Chan

The next-generation of Microsoft mice has arrived and – surprise! – this peripheral don’t feature any fancy lasers. The new Explorer mouse is the first that sports Microsoft’s new proprietary Bluetrack technology, something they’ve been hinting at on their website for the past few weeks. The big innovation is that a BlueTrack mouse will work on virtually any surface type, whether its granite, wood, or even carpet (glass and other reflective surfaces are this mouse’s kryptonite).  We got some hands-on time with this handsome wireless mouse and were impressed by its tracking accuracy, stylish design, and mesmerizing blue glow. We also spoke with Mark Depue, the Platform Engineer Manager at Microsoft’s Hardware Group, to find out exactly how BlueTrack works.

Hit the jump for our in-depth technical interview and glamorous hands-on shots.

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microsoft, mouse, mice, Peripherals, hardware, features, sidewinder, DPI, bluetrack, lazer

Posted 08/27/08 at 01:50:59 PM by Paul Lilly

Come September 9, 2008, Microsoft says it will be time to "Say Goobye to Laser." The ad on Microsoft's Hardware website hints that this un-named successor will work better on a variety of surfaces, but the company is saying little about it and showing even less.

That's okay, because it looks like one attentive surfer may have uncovered what Microsoft has in store after stumbling upon the MS Explorer Mini Mouse with "Blue Track" technology. The discovery was made over on Amazon.de, but has since been taken down after Engadget snagged a couple of pics and posted a link to the product. The site says Blue Track is to be based on a blue LED combined with a wide-angle lens, giving the new mouse the ability to work on more surfaces than both laser and optical. With Microsoft remaining tight-lipped, we'll have to wait and see, but the good news is September 8th is less than two weeks away.

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microsoft, mouse, Peripherals, consumer electronics, blue laser

Posted 08/20/08 at 07:59:51 PM by Norman Chan

The big pc gaming hardware news to come out of this year's Leipzig Games Convention is the announcement of Microsoft's extension of the popular Sidewinder peripheral line. The Sidewinder gaming mouse, which was introduced last year to mixed reviews (we thought it was too big and had a mediocre scroll wheel) now has a little brother, the Sidewinder X5. The wired, 9-button device sports a 2000 hardware-adjustable dpi and the same awesome vertical thumb buttons that we liked about the original. In addition to the new mouse, Microsoft also announced the first Sidewinder keyboard, dubbed the X6. We are much more excited about this product, since it touts innovative features such as a detachable numpad and unique "cruise control" option. Microsoft stopped by our offices to let us get our eager hands on these new products. 

Click through for the full specs, impresions, and more hands-on photos!

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gaming, microsoft, keyboard, mouse, Peripherals, hardware, sidewinder, x6, x5, macros