Of course, delegating all of your text chatter to your smartphone means you’ll be tapping up your responses on its itty-bitty touchscreen keyboard — at least until ROCCAT finishes its friend keyboard, Project Phobo. The modular PC keyboard not only provides a dock for your Power-Grid equipped mobile, but also lets you rejoinder to texts, chats and tweets using its comprehensive array of keys. Pairing your phone with the Phobo will even route declare calls to your PC’s gaming headset, leaving you free to continue to rack up kills without lacking principal business calls. The German peripheral outfit will be rolling out the beta to iOS devices after CeBIT, and says an Android version is scheduled for free at Gamescom 2012. Hit the break for the official press free and a see at the Phobo keyboard.

A First for PC Gaming: Command Using a Smartphone with ROCCAT Power-Grid

Exclusive technology represents a breakthrough in PC gaming control, makes expensive touch-display gaming devices obsolete, works with every PC, and is free to get started

Hamburg, 6 March 2012 – German gaming peripherals manufacturer, ROCCAT Studios, has introduced a groundbreaking technology called the ROCCAT™ Power-Grid that – for the first time in the history of PC gaming – lets players control their games and computer with their smartphone. And, in what is surely music to the ears of many players, the Power-Grid is completely free to get started.

Gaming evolved

“Some gaming companies claim PC gaming is sick and needs help,” says René Korte, ROCCAT Founder and CEO. “We at ROCCAT have never thought that. We know PC gaming is alive and well. It just needs to keep evolving. Power-Grid represents that natural evolution. Why? Because it makes possible the dream of millions of gamers: to stay fully absorbed in the game no matter what happens in the real world. It works with every PC, makes expensive touch-display gaming devices obsolete, and is completely free to get started. Is PC gaming sick? Hardly. Is it dead? Of course not. It’s evolving and getting a hell of a lot better.”
Connect, monitor and control – all from a smartphone

The free-to-download Power-Grid is a tool that lets gamers connect, monitor and control their game and PC in real time while staying completely absorbed in the action. The app comes standard with four control displays – or “grids”. Three grids have been preloaded with a wide range of essential gaming tools – and the fourth is completely customizable.

The first of Power-Grid’s three pre-installed control grids is called the “Incoming Center”. It routes all outside voice and text communication – from Skypeâ„¢, Facebook®, TeamSpeak, Twitter, etc. – to an at-a-glance display on the gamer’s smartphone. This means players can get messages from friends and teammates while staying in the game.

The “Stats Control” grid also comes preloaded with Power-Grid, letting gamers quickly and easily monitor their computer’s vital data via their smartphone – info such as CPU status, hard drive space and network traffic.
The third preloaded display is the “Sound Control” grid, which allows gamers to set and fine tune every aspect of their gaming audio using just their smartphone. Gamers can even change audio settings in, for example, Skypeâ„¢, with in-game music, or with their media player together or independently – for custom-tailored audio control made simple.

Create, build and share

In addition to the free Power-Grid app, gamers will need to download the free ROCCAT Power-Grid Launcher from www.roccat.org. This program not only connects smartphone and PC, it also features a powerful editor that lets players create their own custom control icons, or “blocks” – like individually-designed macro buttons from their favorite games, or specialty buttons like a pizza timer – for the ultimate in command customization.
Plus, users can easily share their self-styled blocks and grids with teammates, colleagues and friends.

Combine

At the end of the year gamers will be able to connect their Power-Grid-loaded smartphone to ROCCAT Smart Gear – new gaming hardware that delivers the ultimate smart gaming experience.
First on the horizon is Project Phobo – the “Phone Board”. The Phobo is not only one of the world’s most advanced gaming keyboards, it’s also the perfect home for a smartphone using Power-Grid. And once gamers have connected their Power-Grid-enabled smartphone to the Phobo, they’ll never need to separate the two. That’s because players can write any kind of text message using the Phobo’s keyboard – via Facebook®, Skypeâ„¢, TeamSpeak, you name it – and because the Phobo also lets gamers take voice calls with a connected headset. And while connected, the Phobo will naturally charge a user’s smartphone in case they do need to unplug it.

And following in the footsteps of the world famous ROCCAT Apuri Active USB Hub with Mouse Bungee, ROCCAT plans on introducing the Apuri 2.0 – a ROCCAT Smart Gear gaming assistant that acts as a stylish stand for a gamer’s Power-Grid-enabled smartphone – and is the perfect way to keep it charged for when a player needs to step away from the game.

When will it be available?

Select attendees will be able to see the Power-Grid in action for the first time at CeBIT 2012. And everyone can apply to be a beta tester at power-grid.roccat.org.
Initial versions of Power-Grid work with all Apple iPhones using the latest version of iOS, as well as with the iPod touch. In addition to a compatible smartphone, Power-Grid requires a PC with Wi-Fi capability. ROCCAT will launch Power-Grid for Android smartphones at gamescom 2012.

Design
The Zippy BT-637 measures 1.04 by 7.28 by 14.35 inches (HWD). For most, the keyboard’s design will be hit or miss. Its brushed aluminum palm rest and frame adds a bit of class, but the keys look rather cheap—much like the ones found on the AZiO Wireless RF Keyboard ($69.99 list, 3 stars), which looked like the letters had been stuck on with adhesive. Located directly in the center of the keyboard along the palm rest is a multi-touchpad with the right- and left-click buttons located on either side rather than underneath the touchpad. This orientation is a little awkward when navigating, but is easily remedied by utilizing the touchpad’s one-finger touch to “left click” or three-finger touch to “right click” on items. Other multi-touch features include two-finger scrolling.

The touchpad was spacious enough to browse through Web pages and scroll through documents, but for anything long term you may want to supplement your couch surfing with Logitech’s appropriately named Couch Mouse M515. The Zippy BT-637 typing experience is good; I’m a personal fan of traditional layouts, as opposed to the chiclet-style like on the Apple Wireless Keyboard ($79 direct, 4 stars). Unfortunately, the Enter key is oversized, taking out the \ and | key completely, and the right Shift key has been undersized for the sake of making the arrow keys normal-sized rather than thinning them down.

On the right side of the keyboard are a series of touch buttons that consist of the Touch Lock (turns the touchpad on and off), Home (brings up a browser window or brings you to your designated homepage), Email, Back, Forward, Search, Mute, Refresh. These were a nice addition, but I found they weren’t very responsive and often took multiple presses for my finger to register.

Along the top of the keyboard are the F1-12 keys that also double as Fn keys that do everything from open your “My Pictures” folder to adjusting volume and control your media (i.e. play/pause and skip).

The keyboard has an on/off switch on its underside, which may help conserve battery life. According to AVS Gear the BT-637 can last up to 2 months on two AA batteries (included in packaging).

Features
The BT-637 connects to devices via Bluetooth, a wireless technology. I was easily able to pair it with two PCs, a PlayStation 3, and my iPad 2. Each of these devices was set to a button, so I could switch to typing on my iPad 2, press a button, and switch to browsing on my PC. You can pair and assign up to 6 devices, which is more than enough.

The AVS Gear Zippy BT-637 offers a great feature set and solid performance, but its glitchy touch buttons, cheap-looking keys, and odd key layout keep it from taking the lead among our home entertainment keyboards. The Logitech diNovo Mini (4.5 stars), the Editors’ Choice in this category, is small and sports an innovative design. That and the fact that it has both wireless USB dongle and Bluetooth connectivity options (increasing its compatibility among older PCs) makes it a valuable asset in the living room. But its $149.99 (direct) price may scare most users away. So for those looking for a solid feature set that won’t break the bank, the Iogear 2.4GHz Wireless On-Lap Keyboard ($74.95 direct, 3.5 stars) is a good choice.

So what is AES? It’s a unique pre-programmed 128-bit encryption key which is designed to help prevent your keystrokes, which are transmitted over-the-air, from being intercepted and deciphered. So you can type away in confidence. Not only does the Wireless Desktop 2000 use advanced security technology, but it includes some pretty cool features for performance and comfort as well. The keyboard is paired with the Wireless Mouse 2000 sporting BlueTrack Technology for smooth tracking on virtually any surface1, Windows 7 Taskbar Favorites for easy toggling between applications and a pillow-textured palm rest for added comfort.

The Wireless Desktop 2000 is a great option for anyone looking for a new keyboard with great security and performance features. So whether you’re looking to upgrade or redecorate, the Wireless Desktop 2000 will help protect your information and keep your desktop looking stylish.

[1] BlueTrack Technology does not work on clear glass or mirrored surfaces.

- Suneel Goud, Senior Product Marketing Manager