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Asus Release a Wiimote-Alike

Posted by timothy on from the sincerest-form dept.

arcticstoat writes "After attracting lots of media attention with the Eee PC, Asus has now turned its hand to producing a motion-sensitive controller like the Wiimote, called the Eee Stick. Looking unashamedly like a copy of a Wiimote and Nunchuk setup, the Eee Stick has two components — one with an analogue joystick, and one with a digital control pad — and both sticks have a rumble feature. The Eee Stick is currently planned to be bundled with various models of the Eee PC and Eee Box, but Asus says it can also theoretically work with any PC."

76 comments

  1. I call this progress. by SueAnnSueAnn · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally an alternative to the mouse.

    1. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I use a trackball, you insensitive clod!

    2. Re:I call this progress. by Yvan256 · · Score: 2, Funny

      C go. a ekrpat t.fxrapew frg cbo.bocyck. jnre!

    3. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NIA

    4. Re:I call this progress. by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I actually do use a trackball, and for the life of me, can't figure out why anybody would prefer the mouse. The trackball requires much less desk space, and also doesn't require constantly positioning your hand. You can leave it in one spot, and are never at a point where you're reaching for it. From my experience, a lot of the RSI problems seem to be from reaching for the mouse. Also, you can be very precise with a trackball. No problems with moving it as you press or release a button, and also easy to do continuous movements without having to reposition it. This makes it great when you have to trace around something when editing a picture.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    5. Re:I call this progress. by DaMoisture · · Score: 1

      A trackball is the only way to go. And not one of those painful thumb ones either, those are only good for making your thumb and wrist sore and swollen. My personal favorite.

    6. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This makes it great when you have to trace around something when editing a picture.

      People still do that manually?

    7. Re:I call this progress. by vsny · · Score: 1

      I haven't used a trackball in a while, but one problem I had was clicking while navigating with ball. Your hand has to move over the ball while the buttons are fixed.

      With a mouse the buttons are locked to the motion of your hand.

      Also my RSI comes from the muscles in the back of my hand, not my wrist. The trackball makes me hold my hand even higher with nothing to rest on.

    8. Re:I call this progress. by Bitmanhome · · Score: 1

      The trackball requires much less desk space ...

      If you don't have room for a mouse pad, you have other problems.

      ... and also doesn't require constantly positioning your hand.

      I've never understood this complaint. My mouse pad is 11" x 9", I almost never need to pick up the mouse. A track ball, on the other hand, is like having a 1-inch mouse pad, and requires continuous repositioning of the thumb. Granted your thumb is much lighter than a mouse, but how is picking up your thumb constantly better than picking up the mouse never?

      From my experience, a lot of the RSI problems seem to be from reaching for the mouse.

      Most RSI problems are in the wrist, which is a result of moving the mouse and typing. If reaching was the cause, we'd see more elbow problems.

      --
      Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
    9. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That looks quite painful for the left-handed crowd. I prefer this mouse since it is equally comfortable in each hand and has very high resolution.

    10. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      dvorjak still used a keyboard last time i checked... ..his grave.
      *rimshot*

    11. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CastrTroy, if you're curious, the way to use a mouse is on the left. Then you're not reaching past the num pad; the upper arm hangs straight down. A modern mouse requires little movement. I have Acceleration in Ubuntu set at about 60% of the slider.

      Glad the trackball works for you of course. I've tried three without finding one I liked more yet. Still want to try an old PowerBook style thumb-ball in the middle of the spacebar sometime, but the plain Logitech scrollwheel mouse is just fine now that it's on the left. Have a Wacom on the right, but really only reach for that anymore when I need to combine with a lot of left-hand key work.

      [Notes: I'm not ambidextrous or left-handed. Only takes a couple of days to convert. Trick is treat it like a one button Mac mouse at first to train the hand in easy stages, then it's every bit as easy to use for fine pixel work in image programs. I'm still right-hand dependent for everything else, so you're not actually training the left as much as you'd think.]

    12. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most RSI problems are in the wrist, which is a result of moving the mouse and typing. If reaching was the cause, we'd see more elbow problems.

      With your hand on the trackball base, you don't move your hand, just your thumb (or fingers) depending on the model. no wrist movement, no hand flexing... Not to mention trackballs being more accurate for FPS games =)

    13. Re:I call this progress. by mahdi13 · · Score: 1

      Not to mention trackballs being more accurate for FPS games =)

      I never got this argument, everytime I've used a track ball it's all over the place and difficult to control. Even with the sensitivity turned down it's much more difficult to move in a straight line since the thumb joint has a circular motion...unless you're some kind of mutant that has sliding joints, then hail to evolution!

      --
      "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
    14. Re:I call this progress. by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      Well, you could just use a trackball where you use the fingers to control the ball. That's what I find most useful.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    15. Re:I call this progress. by Skrapion · · Score: 1

      A keyboard — Dvorak or not — is not really an alternative to the mouse. If you believe it is, then I think I just met somebody I can beat in an FPS.

      --
      The details are trivial and useless; The reasons, as always, purely human ones.
    16. Re:I call this progress. by Skrapion · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I used to be a hard-core trackball enthusiast. I used them for years and years, and I've had an exotic collection of trackballs (my favourite was the Logitech Trackman Marble FX Wireless). But then I went to college, and all the labs had mice. Since I spent so many hours in the labs, my trackballs at home began to feel increasingly alien. I switched to mice, and haven't seen a reason to go back.

      Back in the day, a couple things I liked about trackballs were that you didn't have a cord pulling your mouse in awkward ways and that they took far less time to clean, but now we have wireless mice (preferably with hot-swappable battery packs!) and, unlike modern trackballs, modern mice don't have to be cleaned at all!

      As I made the change to mice, I also found myself getting better at FPS games. I found that trackballs made it easier to move quickly and accurately in a certain direction, but mice make it easier to move quickly and accurately to a certain position (in other words, relative movement vs absolute movement). Since FPS games are basically just glorified versions of Whack-A-Mole, quick absolute movement is, I find, more useful. But I wouldn't have said that when my muscle memory was more familiar with trackballs >:)

      --
      The details are trivial and useless; The reasons, as always, purely human ones.
    17. Re:I call this progress. by Skrapion · · Score: 1

      This makes it great when you have to trace around something when editing a picture.

      People still do that manually?

      People usually do it using tablets, actually >:)

      --
      The details are trivial and useless; The reasons, as always, purely human ones.
    18. Re:I call this progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Jef Raskin did a bunch of tests on different competing input devices and found out that in cursor pointing tasks the mouse beat out the trackball, joystick, and i think he even tested some foot predal or force feedback device. There is hard engineering to UI design.

      -indolering

    19. Re:I call this progress. by ozphx · · Score: 1

      Har har.

      Odd that the best FPS players use mice then!

      --
      3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
    20. Re:I call this progress. by Mattsson · · Score: 1

      Part of the problems arise from the asymmetric |/ position you get when working with a mouse or trackball.
      That's why devices like mousetrapper is used by many who has problems. It is used kind of like a trackpad found on laptops, but instead of a non-tactile piece of plastic (or glass), it's a rubberized fabric that you move around.
      Personally, I'd prefer one of these keyboards from IBM, though.
      With those, the position for using the mouse and the keyboard is exactly the same, since the pointing-device sits between g, h and b. =)

      --
      /.Mattsson - My native language is not English, so please don't whine over linguistic errors. (That's lame anyway...)
    21. Re:I call this progress. by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I've almost always used the mouse on the left hand. Probably because of what you say. When we got our first computer, we didn't have a lot of room for the keyboard and the mouse. If you put the mouse on the right, the keyboard would have to be way off centre. So we put it on the left. So I got used to using it with my left hand, and everywhere else had it set up on the right, so I got used to both. I'm ambidextrous with mice/trackballs, but that's about as far as it goes. Right now, at work, my trackball is on the right, because it's a thumb-ball style, which can only be used on the right. But at home I have a logitech marble mouse which uses the fingers, and it's on the left.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    22. Re:I call this progress. by sYkSh0n3 · · Score: 1

      My knee-jerk reaction to this was "YOUR DOING IT WRONG!!!!!" but i don't know anything about the trackball you used. The trackballs I use, all allow for the thumb to move the ball and my fingers to rest on the buttons while providing a comfortable resting place for the palm of my hand. I can get all around my screen by only moving my thumb (and also dominate at MechWarrior against my mouse using friends). Other trackball designs I've tried required controlling the ball with your middle finger, while keeping the thumb on buttons. Look into other kinds of trackballs if the one you used required moving your hand. I know that switching to a trackball at work has alleviated a lot of pain in my wrist and elbow.

    23. Re:I call this progress. by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 1

      I switched to a thumb controlled trackball for a while to curb some tendinitis, but discovered it just transferred the pain to my thumb. Now I just try to immobilize my wrist more and move my whole hand, and use a wrist gel pad, and sometimes even a wrist brace, if my wrist starts acting up. Also, cranking up the sensitivity can reduce the amount you need to physically move the mouse to cover the screen.

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
    24. Re:I call this progress. by donaldm · · Score: 1

      Finally an alternative to the mouse.

      Hmm I very much doubt it.

      Using something like a Wii mote for controlling the cursor on a PC screen is rather stupid unless you using it to control a game. Consider trying to type something and then needing to move the cursor to some other place. If you had a mouse this is fairly simple by moving the hand onto the mouse and just moving it in two dimensions. Now consider the same action either the Wii like mote you end up having to pick it (it does not look like it will slide easily) up which means you are now moving the pointing device in three dimensions. Does RSI actually mean anything?

      Of course you could have one of these and get the best of both worlds although to be fair the Wii mote device does allow more control of a game but for normal business screen work the mouse is still king.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  2. so... by razorh · · Score: 2, Funny

    something something something... Eee Stick... something something something... Eee Box... and it vibrates?

    1. Re:so... by ByOhTek · · Score: 1

      Not only that but it's designed shamelessly to look like something already oft compared to an adult toy.

      --
      Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
    2. Re:So... by renegadesx · · Score: 1

      I for one embrace our new vibrating stick overlords. It is so origoinal, unlike anything Wii've ever seen before!

      --
      Make SELinux enforcing again!
  3. Sombody ain't happy by bobwrit · · Score: 0

    Obviously nintendo is pretty mad at them for doing this. Nintendo no longer has a monopoly on the Wii remote...

    --
    -- (this is a sig) My Computer Programming Forumhttp://www.programers.co.nr/
    1. Re:Sombody ain't happy by BPPG · · Score: 2, Funny

      Obviously nintendo is pretty mad at them for doing this. Nintendo no longer has a monopoly on the Wii remote...

      They haven't for a while.

      --
      What's the value of information that you don't know?
    2. Re:Sombody ain't happy by randyest · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Have you tried a "Vii"? (Chinese Wii knockoff to which parent linked) I have. It's terrible and you'd have to pay me to play it again. My 3, 5, 7, and 12-year-old nephews all hated it too. Seriously, it's utter garbage, especially if you've played with a real Wii. You can almost feel the liquid-mercury tilt switches inside. There is no sensor bar (not unlike this Asus "wiimote") -- 'nuff said for those who understand accelerometer drift and error integration.

      --
      everything in moderation
  4. So... by corychristison · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's an air mouse with extra buttons.

    I _like_ the point and click functionality of the Wiimote. I do not like waving my hand in the air in every other direction to try and click on something.

  5. Pointing? by Millennium · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So they say this thing has a "pointer mode," but I don't see any external reference (akin to the Wii Remote's sensor bar). How does this thing determine its position in space if it doesn't have a point of reference?

    1. Re:Pointing? by randyest · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It doesn't. You just keep tilting and waving until it randomly (eventually) puts the cursor where you wanted it. Then you click! So easy! Just like a wii!

      --
      everything in moderation
  6. Analogue and rumble? by archammer2 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Didn't Nintendo just lose a law suit because they had controllers with analogue sticks and rumbling?

    1. Re:Analogue and rumble? by randyest · · Score: 1

      No. Nintendo (and Microsoft) just lost a lawsuit because they had controllers with "Variable Conductance Sensors." The firms are also alleged to have breached the following patents: 6,102,802 - "Game Controller with Analog Pressure Sensor", 6,135,886, "Variable Conductance Sensor with Elastomeric Dome Cap", 6,208,271 "Remote Controller with Analog Button", 6,222,525 "Image Controller with Sheet Connected Sensors", 6,343, 991 "Game Control with Analog Pressure Sensor", 6,344,791 "Variable Sensor with Tactile Feedback", 6,347,997 "Analog Controls Housed with Electronic Displays", 6,351,205 "Variable Conductance Sensor" (a different one,) 6,400, 303 "Remote Controller with Analog Pressure Sensor" (a different one,) 6,563,415 "Analog Sensor with Snap Through Tactile Feedback", and 6,906,700 "3D Controller with Vibration".

      Of course, all of that is alleged by a patent troll who was clever enough to file suit hundreds of miles away from his "office" (which is a residential house) in Marshall, TX, home of the courts that will side with plaintiffs in 99% of patent infringement cases. It's good for the local economy!

      --
      everything in moderation
  7. Good idea by s.carr1024 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Way to copy a product that really doesn't work. If they Wiimote worked so well, they wouldn't need the Wii Motion Plus. Has anyone ever said, "I like using my computer, but I wish I had to spasmodically waggle my wrist more?" I don't think so. It is possible that the Asus remote is based on better technology (like in the Wii Motion Plus) but my point is it _looks_ like a Wiimote, a product that is actually a binary waggle-or-not sensor combined with an inverse laser pointer.

  8. Well by ObamaRama7 · · Score: 1

    I for one welcome out wii-clone overlords.

    --
    -- Hot chick + lightsaber = http://tinyurl.com/sxtmsg
    1. Re:Well by randyest · · Score: 0
      1. That joke is so old that the last time I heard it I fell off my dinosaur.
      2. You fucked it up -- it's "our" not "out."
      3. It's not a wii-clone, it's a wiimote clone
      4. ???
      5. Profit!

      Oh, wait...

      --
      everything in moderation
  9. I wonder if you can do the same things... by moose_hp · · Score: 2, Informative

    that you can do with the wiimote like head tracking:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

    low cost interactive whiteboard:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ

    Finger tracking (ala minority report)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0awjPUkBXOU

    --
    DON'T PANIC.
    1. Re:I wonder if you can do the same things... by randyest · · Score: 1

      You could if it came with a sensor bar. But it doesn't. So you can't. HTH!

      --
      everything in moderation
  10. Why does Asus copy everything from the Wii? by Starturtle · · Score: 1

    Why is it that Asus feels compelled to copy Nintendo's Wii hardware on their latest releases...first their Eee PC and now ripping off the Wii-mote/Nunchuk...what's next a balance board to replace their keyboards?

    1. Re:Why does Asus copy everything from the Wii? by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why is it that Asus feels compelled to copy Nintendo's Wii hardware on their latest releases

      For the same reason that all mainstream video game consoles after the NES copied the NES's directional pad to some extent rather than using a table-top joystick.

    2. Re:Why does Asus copy everything from the Wii? by eln · · Score: 2, Funny

      For the same reason that all mainstream video game consoles after the NES copied the NES's directional pad to some extent rather than using a table-top joystick.

      Because they hate children and wanted them all to suffer constant thumb pain?

      Nintendo Thumb is a serious and debilitating disorder. Please, won't someone think of the children?

    3. Re:Why does Asus copy everything from the Wii? by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Please! Don't think of the children like that! Think of the children!

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  11. Content? by rtechie · · Score: 2, Insightful

    People bought the wii because of the compelling gameplay related to the controller... what software is being released for this thing. ASUS isn't in the content business, so I'm not sure where the software is going to come from. Probably nowhere.

    1. Re:Content? by brkello · · Score: 1

      Not really...if it was just the game play, then the Gamecube would have sold better. The remote is certainly the most compelling part of the Wii. I do agree that I don't see a huge market for this on the PC unless some big name uses it for its games.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
  12. Wiimote knockoff? by Tarlus · · Score: 1

    I vote we call it the Eeemote!

    --
    /* No Comment */
  13. Emulated homebrew to start it off by tepples · · Score: 1

    ASUS isn't in the content business, so I'm not sure where the software is going to come from.

    Apart from the free and non-free games that work on GNU/Linux, Asus could start with ports from the GP32, GP2X, and (soon) Pandora communities, or perhaps an emulator that can run homebrew games.

    1. Re:Emulated homebrew to start it off by randyest · · Score: 1

      Hahahahahahaha. Ehhahaahaha. +1 Funny.

      Wait....you're not serious, are you?

      (The link in your sig makes me feel embarrassed for you. "The Internet hate machine is out to get you?" Really? Chan much? Are you the little kid in his mom's basement doing "interpretive dance" or the middle-aged dude in the skirt playing DDR?)

      --
      everything in moderation
  14. FPS controller by jonnythan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ever since I first used a Nunchuck on the Wii, I've thought it would make the perfect keyboard replacement for FPS games.

    Think about it. In most FPSes, you use the keyboard to move. 100% digital, on/off movement - you're either pressing the key or you're not. With a Nunchuck, you can use the analog stick to move at different speeds. You can rotate it lengthwise to lean, flick it to jump, and tilt it down to crouch. There are two buttons, good for other random keyboard inputs (night vision goggles? use?).

    Combine it with a 5-button wheel mouse and you should have enough controls for most any FPS.

    Maybe this controller gets us a little closer to that.

    1. Re:FPS controller by Kjella · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Think about it. In most FPSes, you use the keyboard to move. 100% digital, on/off movement - you're either pressing the key or you're not. With a Nunchuck, you can use the analog stick to move at different speeds.

      And most of the time, rapid violent twists would be the optimum reaction. Maybe not all the time but very often you'd want to max out your movement and I think making the wiimoet work comfortably under those conditions would be difficult.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:FPS controller by jonnythan · · Score: 1

      Not the Wiimote.

      Mouse and Nunchuck.

  15. How about "Wheee!" Stick... by pillageplunder · · Score: 1

    Oh, now that would just be *wrong* on so many levels.
    Lets see, there is the Wii and now the eee...lets hope it doesn't turn out to be a shiii(t)eeee stick.

    --
    "Work is the curse of the drinking class" Oscar Wilde
  16. The flaws I see... by Tetrad_of_doom · · Score: 3, Interesting
    • The Wiimote is a Bluetooth device, so why do I need this?
    • Why did they stick with the d-pad on the right hand unit? The only reason the wiimote has a d-pad is so you can turn the thing sideways and get an NES controller. You can't do that here.
    • The PC gaming scene is all about a single person gaming at the computer. The Wii gaming scene is all about groups of people playing in the living room. I'm not sure that is a gap this product can bridge.
    • The pictures make it look like pointing is done by reading gyroscopes and accelerometers, which will be less accurate than the wiimote sensor bar+infrared camera.
    • They'll need to package this with a killer app, and I don't see it.

    Copying somebody else and doing a half-assed job is no way to succeed in business. You've got to copy somebody and then improve the idea to make an impact.

    Get an infrared camera like the wiimote and put some straps with infrared LEDs on a player. You could use this for some real time basic motion capture. It won't be very accurate, but could be good enough to recognize a head nod/shake, a person pointing or waving and other basic actions. Now use this in WoW and suddenly your MMORPG is a lot more immersive.

    1. Re:The flaws I see... by Toonol · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Thread winner.

      The Wiimote is a perfectly usable pc peripheral. It's a somewhat low-resolution mouse replacement with some neat extra features. But the motion sensors by themselves are not the wiimote's main feature; the pointer is, which requires the sensor bar. Since this Asus device doesn't have the sensor bar, it's going to be far reduced in practicality from the wiimote.

    2. Re:The flaws I see... by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

      Of course, it would be nice if the Wiimote itself had good enough resolution to really use as a mouse. I'd love to play FPS games with it on my Linux PC.

      And by FPS games I mean Portal.

    3. Re:The flaws I see... by merreborn · · Score: 2, Informative

      But the motion sensors by themselves are not the wiimote's main feature; the pointer is, which requires the sensor bar.

      To take that a little further:
      The accelerometers in the Wiimote SUCK -- hence this new "MotionPlus" attachment they've got in the pipline. They're so bad, they're frequently an impediment to gameplay -- e.g., Wii Golf is pretty much unplayable, 'cause the accelerometers can't detect putts reliably.

    4. Re:The flaws I see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the motion sensors by themselves are not the wiimote's main feature; the pointer is, which requires the sensor bar. Since this Asus device doesn't have the sensor bar, it's going to be far reduced in practicality from the wiimote.

      The sensor bar is nothing more than two infrared diodes. The real sensing takes place in the Wiimote's infrared camera.

      Throwing two infrared diodes on the Eee wouldn't be expensive at all.

    5. Re:The flaws I see... by ShadowsHawk · · Score: 1

      I wish I could give you +1 for this. I've spent a fair bit of time playing tennis and boxing, but Golf is terrible.

    6. Re:The flaws I see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're not putting extra accelerometers: they're putting much needed gyros in it.
      The accelerometers are fine -- "bad accelerometers" are rare these days.

  17. This is even better progress IMHO by Tz-Auber · · Score: 1

    High fidelity force feedback 3d controller - http://www.novint.com

  18. Price by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

    You can use a standard Wiimote with your computer.

    Is this more accurate, cheaper, or neither?

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    1. Re:Price by Xenolith · · Score: 1

      Yes you can, but the Wiimote is hard to configure for the PC. The average person can't muddle their way through Glove Pie.

      --

      Journal
  19. Redefining brand dilution by nobodyman · · Score: 1

    This is almost a textbook definition of driving a good brand into the ground. Asus started off with an awesome product (the Eee netbook), that was simple for consumers to wrap their heads around (small, cheap laptop). Based on it's popularity, Asus has decided to slap the "Eee" brand on a ton of products (monitors, mac mini clones, peripherals, and now a wiimote knockoff), thinking that the name alone will repeat the success.

    On the contrary, I think this product pile-on is damaging the brand.

    1. Re:Redefining brand dilution by Khuffie · · Score: 1

      I agree. I liked the first Eee netbook. I was looking forward to seeing it's next iteration and perhaps picking one up...but now I'm totally thrown off by the gazillion different configurations for the new netbooks alone, let alone all the garbage they decided to slap the Eee name on. Sorry Asus, you're not getting an Eee purchase off me anymore.

  20. Lute Hero by PIPBoy3000 · · Score: 1

    Maybe crazy people like me will make games like Lute Hero for the PC. The game engine is Neverwinter Nights 2, using assorted software to link the guitar keys to keyboard commands.

  21. Sensor bar? by Descalzo · · Score: 1

    I think you mean the IR camera, not the sensor bar.

    --
    I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
    1. Re:Sensor bar? by randyest · · Score: 1

      Actually, I mean both. The IR camera is useless without the sensor bar. And since this wiimote "clone" doessn't come with a sensor bar, then it doesn't have an IR camera.

      --
      everything in moderation
  22. A Practical Use by mrpacmanjel · · Score: 1

    Sure, this seems like a 'rip-off' of Nintendo's controllers but it may have practical uses with a PC.

    Would this be ideal for 3D modelling?

    Imagine using this with something like Blender - instead of using the mouse and countless keystrokes you can intuitively use the Asus controller to work with the models.

    It could also be used in presentations - architectural models can be easily navigated by the presenter to an audience.

    I think this is a good idea and surprised how long it took someone to develop this for the PC.

    This can actually be useful.

  23. No bluetooth? by Ant+P. · · Score: 1

    The article only mentions it comes with a generic "2.4GHz RF dongle". Why don't they just stick to standards? They've got BT built in on their newer models...

  24. Kind of what I've been looking for... by Taibhsear · · Score: 1

    I've actually been looking for something like a remote control that holds like a Wii-mote but has a small trackball instead of a D-pad. I have my computer attached to the 42" HDTV and a wired setup is pointless (and gives massive neck strain), wireless mouse doesn't always work in certain areas of the room. The keyboard works great but I just want something I can point and click on the directories and open the video files with. Something that my girlfriend or a random person stopping by can just pick up and use. I have yet to find a device like this. (Not to mention I don't want to spend $50+ on a damn remote control/mouse)