Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re using a standard mouse or a trackpad, there’s a good chance you’ve got a finger or two going to waste, and really, what’s the point of having all of those digits if you’re not going to put them to work? Japan’s Double Research & Development Co. is showing off the Amenbo, a new input device that doesn’t waste a single finger. Each gets its own pad with a mouse sensor, all connected to a single base with a flexible material that allows for movement. The device can detect pressure and motion of the fingers, and is ideal for interfacing with things like 3D CAD data, which usually requires two hands. It’s also apparently great for use with robot hands and getting androids to flash the metal sign. Video of the device after the break.

Continue reading Amenbo five-finger mouse has one up on Mickey (video)

Amenbo five-finger mouse has one up on Mickey (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been waiting oh-so-patiently for HP’s $49.99 WiFi Mobile Mouse to ship, take heart — the aforesaid critter is now ready to free up one more valuable USB port at your workstation. As mentioned before, this ain’t your mum’s wireless mouse, as it makes use of WiFi technology — you know, instead of the tried-and-true Bluetooth. In other words, this bad boy doesn’t require anything other than itself to connect. HP promises up to nine months of battery life, offers five programmable buttons, a four-way tilt scroll wheel and adjustable sensitivity. Just think — you can finally choose to keep those remaining Four Loko cans chilled without resorting to an inbuilt trackpad. Reason enough to pull the trigger, yeah?

Continue reading HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break

HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These fully-functional wireless Rotobot mice from designer Aaron Ristau will make you look seriously cultivated when people drop by your apartment. In our eyes, that means they officially join the esteemed ranks of typewriter-themed Works of Art, but unfortunately it also means they cost $180 — which might be hard to stomach when you realize that each one is just a non-ergonomically modded $25 Logitech M305. Hey-ho, everybody needs at least one peripheral to be their geeky equivalent to good cutlery. And no, that CSR Elite in the cupboard doesn’t count.

Rotobot mice: the best use of typewriter keys since the typewriter originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, there are plenty of great gaming goodies to be found on the floor at E3, but some of the best stuff is much harder to find. For example, SteelSeries’ new Diablo III Mouse and headset, which were revealed to us when the prototype devices were pulled from a backpack. The headset packs the same 50mm drivers, retractable boom mic, and overhead suspension design of its Siberia V2 stablemate, but adds some sinister-looking design tweaks. These cans come murdered out in matte black with lava red accents (which can be turned off) courtesy of 18 LEDs, plus matching red external speaker grilles. There’s also a braided cord that plugs into your Mac or PC via USB.

We got to see the Diablo III mouse as well, and found it sports an ambidextrous design similar to the SteelSeries Xai. Its inky exterior is cloaked in smooth, soft touch plastic sporting silvery tribal accents, and a glowing ember Diablo III logo and trim around the scroll-wheel. Given Diablo’s click-happy gameplay, Steelseries gave the mouse beefy Omron switches that are good for 10 million presses (which are backed by a five year warranty). All those clicks are tracked by custom driver software that also lets users tailor the pointer’s button layout by dragging and dropping character-specific commands to the button of your choosing. Now that your appetite has been whetted with the design descriptions, here are the details that matter most: the mouse will cost $69 and the headset $119 when SteelSeries starts selling ’em at BlizzCon in October.

Continue reading SteelSeries Diablo III headset and mouse: demon slaying flair for your skull and desktop

SteelSeries Diablo III headset and mouse: demon slaying flair for your skull and desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A long time ago, in a boardroom far, far away… a designer (flanked by marketing execs) pitched an idea for a set of Star Wars: The Old Republic branded peripherals, and the CEO of Razer told his troopers to “make it so.” Or, at least that’s how we imagine it happened. In addition to mixing up his sci-fi references, whoever approved this gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset also abandoned any notion of subtlety. All three are slathered in interchangeable Sith or Jedi insignias, bright LEDs, and a texture not unlike the exterior of a Star Destroyer. The most ostentatious is easily the keyboard, which sports both a multitouch screen and two rows of adaptive buttons over an LCD (à la the Switchblade handheld). The keyboard will run you $200, while the mouse or headset will cost $130 when they launch alongside The Old Republic later this year. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break.

Update: We just got our first glimpse of the new peripherals, and it sounds like Razer actually put some thought into the keyboard and headphones here — while the mouse is just a jagged, Imperial-flavored wireless Naga MMO rodent, the headsets look fairly sweet, and Razer tells us their garish LED lighting apparently syncs with The Old Republic to throw signals on your shoulders to warn you of approaching enemies. Razer also has grand plans for that LCD-equipped keyboard, telling us those adaptive keys will automatically switch function based on signals from the game itself, and that multitouch LCD trackpad can display a variety of things and be used to program macros. Last but not least, you’ll get some serious geek cred when you switch the keyboard’s backlight off, because the only thing physically printed on each key are the letters of Star Wars’ Aurebesh alphabet.

Continue reading Star Wars: The Old Republic scores Razer promotional peripherals (update: eyes-on)

Star Wars: The Old Republic scores Razer promotional peripherals (update: eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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