Griffin 1100-PWRMTS PowerMate/USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device
by Griffin Technology
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Griffin 1100-PWRMTS PowerMate/USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device
Customer Review: Concept is good....not so great implementation
Summary: 2 Stars
I originally had alot of high hopes for the PowerMate, perhaps too many, it has now turned into the first item I have had to return to Amazon in the almost 10+ years of shopping with them. I have never been more disappointed in a purchased item.
I wanted to be able to use it for things like volume since I had gotten usb speakers that had no volume knob (used the system volume alone), and application/window switching, then in certain circumstances (like audio/video) maybe get exact movement in the application. Unfortunately, the button press wasn't recognized more than three-forths of the time and the "press and turn" only worked about 1% of the time. Griffin said it was defective and I should just return it since if I were to send it for "service" it would be a few weeks.
Also bad part which has been discussed in some reviews of other versions is that when you change applications (in my case, even switching to iTunes from Finder in OSX), the knob's properties changed. In concept, this is a great idea, it allows the device to have more uses, in practice however, it is very disrupting to standard usage of the computer. For Example: If you wanted to change the volume of music that was playing in iTunes while browsing the web, it would start doing other commands in the application you are in instead (like scrolling), so as a result, if you want to change the volume, you have to make sure you alternate to either Finder (for the System Volume) or iTunes (for the application volume). Then Also make sure the PowerMate doesn't interpret it as a button press or your song changes too. I imagine this would be fixed if you use several of these at once, but that idea is cost prohibitive due to the pricey nature of the PowerMate.
Another bug that needs to be addressed is that anytime you make a change to the application or an update (which requires an uninstall/reinstall of the software instead of an actual update), requires another restart of the machine (no matter which OS you use: Windows or OSX). Plus when you are doing a software update be prepared for about 3 restarts (1 to disable the software and uninstall, 1 to install the software, then another to plug in the usb device at start up since then the device can't control system functions otherwise).
I would NOT repurchase this again until there is an option to allow to override application triggers with system triggers (volume, application switching, etc). By then, I just hope the build quality improves and makes the cost worthwhile.
Customer Review: Superb Product & Performance
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost didn't purchase this product based on the many unfavorable reviews. Since the price is relatively low and against my better judgment I went ahead and ordered it anyway to find out for myself. To my delight, the product works like a charm. It was extremely easy to set up and immediately started doing what is supposed to do.
I use it mainly to control the video and audio timeline within Apple's Final Cut and iMovie. It moves one frame at a time; either forward or backwards, which allows me to exert greater control over my editing process. When I turn the knob either way I can move one frame at a time, when I turn the knob while keeping it pressed down, it moves at a faster pace. Great feature! Also pressing the knob down acts as a Play/Stop button.
I also use it to control the sound volume of the computer. I would never purchase any device to do just that, since the keys to control volume (at least in my computers) so perfectly do the job. However, now that I have the knob, I admit that it makes something easy to do, even easier. So now that I have it, I use it.
The same goes for web browsing. I like the precision control over long web pages and the speed at which it allows me to work. This product is quickly becoming an everyday tool in my work. I am very satisfy with its performance. (And I am pretty ruthless with my expectations with hardware; it hardly ever satisfies me).
The beautiful design, solid material and nice blue light that this product features would not be a deciding factor on me purchasing it. However, they are nice and I enjoy them as well. I like the minimalistic style and prefer not to have anything on my desk or workstation. This product helps with that since it is very appealing to the eye and do not bother me in any way.
Overall, I am happy with my purchase and wonder why many of the other reviewers had such bad experience. I used the knob on an Apple iMac, an Apple Mac Book Air and a Hewlett Packard Laptop. It works well on all three. So much so that I went ahead and ordered two additional units. I now have one at the office, one at home and keep the third one with me on my bag. I don't use the computer on the road that much but when I do it is for extended periods of time and the knob does helps me to expedite my work.
Customer Review: great hardware, but the driver software still needs work
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had a PowerMate knob for about 2 years. But now that Griffin has released their 2.0.1 driver software for Windows that allows multiple knobs I bought a second PowerMate. I disconnected my existing powermate, uninstalled the previous software (version 1.5), installed the new software from the Griffin website (version 2.0.1 for Windows), then plugged in both knobs.
With the 1.5 driver software, I had a problem with the knob not working on boot-up and the powermate knob needed to be unplugged then replugged to get it to work. The net is filled with other people that have the same problem so it is not just isolated to my specific hardware. And it seemed that I needed to do this USB unplug/replug most of the time. I was hopeful that they had fixed the problem with the 2.0.1 software, but it also has similar problems (more details below).
From a hardware standpoint, the powermate is great and is why I purchased a 2nd unit. Both knobs are connected to my HTPC and so I use it as a volume and mute knob for watching HDTV or DVD's in the computer. Each knob is on each end of the couch so it is easy to just turn the knob to change the volume from either end and it works great. The knobs are solid, have a blue light in the base that changes brightness according to the volume setting, and is weighty so it doesn't slide around on the table. The knob also can be used to control other applications in various user-defined ways, but I just use it to control the computer's volume.
But the driver software continues to be a problem though, so I looked into more details about how to kludge a solution to avoid the unplug/replug issue using Microsoft's free devcon.exe utility to control the DeviceManager from the command line (or batch files). Griffin apparently has been working on solving this unplug/replug problem for years without success so I've given up expecting a solution from them.
The bottom line is that this is a nice piece of hardware. But the driver software has problems. On the plus side, Windows users can now install multiple powermates, but we have to either unplug/replug at boot-up or use the devcon.exe kludge to disable/enable the knob's USB entries in DeviceManager at bootup.
Customer Review: So far, so good...
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a gadget guy and thought this could be useful. After reading the reviews, I was a little hesitant, but it's Christmas, so I will buy things that are on the border.
Overall, I like it. I've used in on both an IBM T61P (XP Pro) and MacBook Pro (Snow Leopard) and found it to work the same on both computers.
I haven't had the problems some of the reviewers have talked about. Not sure if Griffen was good and listened to their feedback and fixed problems.
I like the default settings for popular applications and the ability to program any action to any keystroke combination.
I do a lot of web browsing and find that using it to scroll up and down the pages and to press once for previous page is what I like best. As a global setting, doing volume up/down is what I use it for. I got it mainly to use with my IBM.
Although it works with the MacBook, the MacBook touchpad is much more efficient to use.
The touchpad on the IBM is too small. I use the pencil eraser mouse mainly. I don't like usb mice. I like trackballs, but they're a little too big to carry around. This isn't much smaller, but it's nice looking and I 'think' it'll work for what I want to do. I considered getting the Bamboo touchpad to get more Mac-like features, but decided on this instead because the Bamboo reviews convinced me that it would frustrate me. That and the Bamboo touchpad is a bit too big.
The only thing that's a little tough is that it has a hard time discerning between a long button press and a button press turn. Probably just something I need to get used to.
So far so good.
Customer Review: OK product, but doesn't play well with others
Summary: 2 Stars
The PowerMate is mechanically excellent. It feels and looks great. The included software is basic, but OK.
I only give two stars, though, because they've really messed the USB interface up. If you try to use it with other macro software, it doesn't work. Even if you write your own code, it doesn't work.
The problem is that the PowerMate's internal configuration information claims that its wheel is an "absolute" device, sending a value that's a number for the position of the wheel, but what it really sends is _how_ _far_ the wheel has turned since the last time. That makes it a "relative" device, sending relative information. It seems like a small difference, but on Windows, MacOS X and the Linux varients I've checked, that means that it basically won't work right with any software other than Griffin's because the system suppresses redundant readings. If it really was absolute, a second reading with the same value would just be saying the wheel is sitting in the same place, but since it's sending _movement_ values, the system is suppressing info about the wheel _moving_ at a constant speed. A program can't even keep track of the position manually.
It's really too bad; it could have been a great product. If you want to use it for _exactly_ what the included software does, it probably still is a pretty good product. But if you're a power user or have some other package for handling inputs and automating operation, this is not the device for you.