Hands on with the Roccat Power-Grid

[HEXUS]

Turn your smartphone into a PC gaming companion.

Watch the show..

[ZSTom]

Interesting product. Great if you already have an iPhone. Clearly it has a lot of potential uses, some more gimmicky than others.

Not really sure why you would need your Skyrim map and spells on there, since those are only one button on your keyboard already, but things like sound levels and media player controls would be very useful. Fan speed control would be great, too, and would eliminate the need for a controller on your case.

[Hoonigan]

I want that keyboard! If I can give me phone commands, through Siri, using my gaming headset, that'd be just perfect

There was no mention of when it'll be available, is it already out there?

There's only one problem that I have with such things, they don't take into account people that have cases on their phones, which, frankly, is often the case. (Pardon the pun)

EDIT: For anyone that's interested, you can apply for the beta here: http://www.power-grid.roccat.org/?page=beta

[warejon9]

Shame you have to have an iPhone, would be far more interested if it was an NFC or bluetooth device.

[flearider]

well we know what roccat are trying to be now ... glad i steered clear.. don't own a i-phone and never will ..

[KeyboardDemon]

I liked the keyboard idea but I think I would want a numeric keypad when I'm not gaming. It would be great if they had a removable keypad that could be replaced with a power grid smartphone holder so I can use the config that suits the task at hand plus it would make it easier to update the keyboard if I changed my smartphone to something else like a Galaxy S3 for example.

[Stefan_C]

Power Grid is just an app that connects to the PC over Wifi. The cradle/dock is actually nothing to do with Power Grid. It's just a charging station. Near the end of the video Rene mentions that the app will soon be available on Android and Windows Phone 7.

[Hoonigan]

Near the end of the video Rene mentions that the app will soon be available on Android and Windows Phone 7.

The iPhone doesn't even have the app yet, I've had to apply for a beta version of it.

[CK_1985]

Personally think this is a fantastic idea - looks like it's been well implemented too, although it will presumably rely on Roccat's ability to release suitable tiles for any new games that come out?

I'd actually like to see this sort of idea taken further - for example AAA titles could come with a download code for an app that allows your smartphone to be used as an extra display. Like an FPS where you can use your phone as a tactical map or an infra-red view... or a fantasy RPG where you could use your phone to cast gesture-controlled spells.