CES 2009: Logitech Lineup

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CES 2009: Logitech Lineup

Wed, Jan 7, 2009

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The great thing about attending industry trade shows is getting to sample the kind of high-end gear that's not yet available or is too specialized to appear in stores. Take, for example, the Logitech Wireless Guitar, Premiere Edition. Sure, there several third-party peripherals for Guitar Hero. But how many of them are made with actual rosewood, metal frets, have the heft and feel of an actual guitar and cost nearly as much as a console? CES is the kind of place where these kinds of top-tier toys make their mark, and at Tuesday's "CES Unveiled" preview event, Logitech had more than a few products on display to entice the discerning (and wealthy) gamer.

Other goodies from Logitech included the latest additions to their lineup of gaming keyboards. They had much to be enthusiastic about -- the company had just won a CES "Best of Innovations" award for its G13 advanced gameboard, a contoured mini-keyboard and thumbstick combo about the size of a mousepad. As Logitech's Pamela McCracken explained, the G13 can be used with a standard keyboard, or can even replace it entirely -- with 22 programmable keys that can be saved in three persistent configurations, one can keep a variety of game commands at hand.

Programmable keys is certainly not a new innovation, and it's one that Logitech has included on many of their previous keyboard products, but it's nonetheless a useful one. A gamer can go beyond the simple ability to map his controls to the keys of his choice; the gameboard drivers will also allow for extended macros or key sequences, such as "Switch to butterfly knife/stab/cloak/switch to disguise kit/disguise as pyro," or "Charge/rend/battle shout/heroic strike" with a single keystroke. Still, quite a few games allow these sorts of macros to be executed without buying any extra hardware, and even if a dedicated gaming peripheral is required, the G13 is not the only specialized gaming mini-keyboard on the market, going up against similar products like the Belkin n52te, or the Wolfking Warrior.

What primarily sets the G13 apart from the pack is the built-in LCD display, providing an extra level of accessibility and immersion. The G13 being demonstrated was using its display to cycle through a handful of handy read-outs, including the current date and time, the PC's real-time processor and RAM load, or a news ticker with the latest headlines, even incoming chat messages, emails, or IMs.

Or, as McCracken suggested, one might use the G13's LCD display to enhance their experience within the games themselves. The peripheral can be configured to show off game info like ammo loadouts, scores, vehicle speeds, and so forth. Some gamers might find this useful for keeping such info available at a glance, while others might prefer to use the LCD as a substitute for an on-screen HUD, thus allowing more graphical real estate for the actual game on their monitors.

Taking a cue from the G13's integrated display feature, Logitech was also showing off the G19 keyboard, scheduled for release in March. It was the first keyboard I'd ever seen that required its own power source -- USB power would not be enough to handle the full-color LCD display mounted at the top of the keys. With a small handful of programmable macro keys as well, the board is essentially an expansion of the G13 into a full-sized keyboard -- and an update to their existing G15 gaming keyboard, albeit with a much, much nicer display. The G19 is expected to retail at $199. That seems like a lot to ask for a keyboard, but the color display makes the peripheral as powerful as a second, smaller computer that plugs into your PC. The keyboard is even capable of showing full videos on its display, allowing you to watch "Dawn of the Dead" while you're playing "L4D". Personally, I don't think you can put a price tag on the ability to disable the god-damned Windows key, which I'm always accidentally hitting at the worst possible moment.

"The really cool thing about this, is that we have our code open-source," McCracken said. "So while we have stuff like YouTube [browsers] and an RSS reader on there, it really can be up to the community, as to what kind of crazy ideas they come up with."

Another gem on display was Logitech's newest Dolby 7.1 surround headset, which comes equipped with three interchangeable headbands, programmable buttons to trigger one's Ventrilo or Skype functions, and a series of voice-distorting options to annoy the hell out of amuse your teammates. Another upcoming device, an ultra-precise "Laser Mouse," allows a gamer to adjust everything from the DPI level to the actual weight of the mouse itself. For an extra $20, in fact, one can send a personalized image to Logitech, which will then be turned into a snap-on casing for the mouse -- perfect for the gamer who wants to buy matching controllers for the whole clan.

It's definitely an elite gamer who demands a $199 keyboard, $99 mouse and $129 headset. Still, this is the kind of gamer to which a company like Logitech is devoted, and it's heartwarming to know they're working hard to advance our cause. For those of us who still have trouble remembering where the "reload weapon" key is, it's also humbling to get a chance with these high-end devices -- even if only at trade shows.

CES, G19, gaming devices, Guitar, Guitar Hero, Hands-On, Headsets, Keyboards, Logitech, Peripherals

This post was written by:

Jesse Henning - who has written 474 posts on GameCyte.

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Posts about Guitar Hero as of January 7, 2009 | Guitar Hero 3 Says:
January 7th, 2009 at 11:09 am
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