| I have used the Belkin Nostromo n-52, and wornout a saitek cyborg command unit which was a huge improvement over the stiff keyed nostromo. I use these units for extended hours of World of Warcraft play, and they aren't even comparable to the g13. The G13 comes all ready to go, and has profiles prepared for many popular games that are ready to go automatically. Seriously, buy it.
The keys are not overly stiff, but rather light with a noticable click like feel upon depresion. the joystick is a bit stiffer that the saitek was, but this is compensated for by a longer shaft (more leverage) so all is good. i guess this could be a problem for extremely small hands, but mine are smaller than normal for a man and it's all good in the hood for me. The only problem i have is deciding what i want all the keys to do, which is a great problem to have. I do wish the backlighting were capable of a truer red, but for all this thing can do, who cares!
it knows who is chatting with me, it tells me my stats including how full my bags are and how soon i need to repair, it has premade sets of displayed stats that are acctually useful to the main character types (dps, tank, healer). I love it
i thought it was overpriced when i ordered, i no longer feel that way. First product of this kind that not only hits the mark, but raises the bar.
| | This review is somewhat lengthy, but I try to cover all the bases on this device.
Overall Impression: Very nice piece of hardware, worth the money.
Ok, let's get started.
Physical Properties: The pad itself is of decent size for someone with average to slightly-larger-than average hands. I have long fingers and still felt very comfortable on this device. The keys press easily and are in a comfortable layout. The joystick also moves easily with my thumb. However, the joystick has a "click" attached to it when you press it down which is somewhat difficult to activate while keeping the stick still. It's definitely a hard press.
There is a non-slip surface on the bottom to keep the unit in place which works perfectly, as well as a comfortable semi-nonslip on the wrist/palm rest.
The LCD is clear and brightly illuminated with customizable lighting. There is also an on/off button for the backlight built onto the unit so you don't have to play with lights on all the time. The backlight for the LCD also backlights the buttons, which means that they follow the same customizable functionality.
The LCD also displays various, customizable, information based upon applications you have running on your system. It has support for all the mainstream media players to display song information, as well as RSS information, email, etc. It also has the capability to display in-game information, but the game itself must support this. Warhammer, for instance, does not offer this support (that I've seen), so there are no vitals displayed on the LCD. World of Warcraft does offer support, so by default you can see quite a number of stats on your screen.
Software:
The G13 has its own software for assigning functions to the keypad. It also has an application dedicated to managing the LCD display. I have not used any other LCD / Programmable Logitech products in the past so I don't know how this compares with them.
In the software suite, you can scan your computer for available known games to the G13. I did not have luck with it finding my WAR installation, but I changed the default directory which could be the cause of this.
If it finds compatible games it will then make available a preconfigured gaming profile for that game. You are of course allowed to modify the profile if you wish or you can choose to create your own custom profile from scratch.
The profile creation is easy. It involves choosing a name and the game/application executable file.
Once you have a new profile, you can choose what to assign to your keys. Your options are key combinations, macros, or scripts. The software makes assigning each of these a snap. It only takes point and click to assign your keys under the profile, which is auto-saved.
The software is also where you are allowed to modify the LCD backlight color. Using the windows built-in color chooser, you can select any value of RGB to backlight your unit with. Each memory setting (1 - 3) can have its own backlight. This gives you an easy way to distinguish quickly which profile you're on.
Macros:
Macroing on the G13 is pretty straightforward. You can launch the macro editor and begin recording keystrokes and mouse clicks and then save them into the macro list. You are then able to assign the macros to G-keys on the board. The macro editor also allows you to add custom durations between events in the macro you're recording, or it can record durations between keypresses as you do them. I find it easier to record the macro first and then add delays later. This is very helpful for Warhammer since it has a global cooldown on all skills.
Scripting:
The G13 has an implementation of the LUA scripting language available for use. It includes most of the math libraries, strings, and some tables. Using the LUA language, and some custom Logitech event functionality (which are documented) you can create scripts to drive almost any aspect of the G13. They allow you to control the LCD, moving the mouse, emulating keypresses, etc. Once you create a script, you can assign it to a G-key very easily by choosing it from a list.
I think that about covers the G13. I am very pleased with having spent the money to order it. Something to keep in mind. The G13 is fantastic for gaming, but also has many practical uses outside of gaming. As a programmer, I find the G13 works well inside of my IDE for quickly running commands (compiling, debug, synchronization, etc).
I hope this helps you out! I am also not affiliated with Logitech in any way, but I do like their product.
| | If you have never used a game pad before, you NEED too. Game pads are so much nicer to game with than the keyboard. For years I have been using Wolfking products, but this is SOOOO much better, it is not even funny.
The software simply is amazing.
| | Everything I wished the Nostromo was |
| I use the Nostromo N-52 for World of Warcraft but the keys are stiff and some of them, like the mode shift, don't work at all. The G13 takes a good idea and executes it very well with nice key action and a joystick that blows the D pad on the Nostromo away. The device fits my medium sized hand quite well but I have a friend with very large hands who finds the joystick hits him right on the knuckle of his thumb when his fingers are positioned on the home keys. I recommend finding one to try before buying if your hands are outside of average size.
| | Nice hardware, terrible software |
| I have used a Nostromo n52 for about a year on my Macbook Pro and I loved it. I don't play many games, instead, I programmed it for shortcuts in my CAD program and my RSS feeds and things like that. It became such an integral part of my workflow, I wanted one to use at home, too. I liked the look of the G13, the extra keys, and the slim design, so I can take it with me more easily. And the LCD felt like it was a nice touch.
I was disappointed to find that the piece did not come with the Mac Software on the CD and, after downloading it, I found I have to keep the key profiler program open for keys to work, using another space on an already full dock. I use the Logitech diNovo keyboard, so I have the "Logitech Control Center" already installed and don't understand why I can't just have the G13 go through that.
No matter, I started programming it. The macro options are nice, but I would like more specific options, like a scroll or a "Open..." that will let me choose the program I would like to shortcut to (there are currently built in email, internet, calculator, finder, and quicktime player options only). So I programmed the default settings successfully and went on to start with specific programs. The key map showed up and everything was unassigned. Not a problem, but when I clicked "Make default," instead of assigning what I made the default, it went to the out of the box default, meaning that for each program I want to put into it I have to specify all keys and the joystick, rather than just tweak the default system wide settings I already programmed (Contour ShuttlePro and Nostromo n52 spoiled me by being intuitive, I suppose).
Hardware is nice, the LCD screen is good, the only thing I would change about the hardware is that I would love a scroll wheel somewhere (or an option to assign "scroll" to a key) but I knew that I wouldn't get one going in.
I will continue using it in hopes of better software, but I am sorely disappointed by the lack of forethought that went into the current programming capabilities. (Though it did find and preload the 2 games I have on my computer, so I suppose that was nice).
Probably great for gaming, but if you are planning on using it to augment your productivity, expect some serious time waste on the front end.
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