Griffin Technology PowerMate 1042-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Black, PC/Mac)

by Griffin Technology

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00067WPVE
• Item model number: 1042-PMT
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 8, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

PowerMate is the coolest volume knob your computer has ever seen, but it's also so much more. You can use it to edit home movies or scroll through long documents or create your next audio masterpiece. How can PowerMate be this cool? Because it's an assignable controller that you can program to do anything you want, in any application. Customize it to your needs and go wild!

Made of high-quality machined aluminum, PowerMate feels like a solid volume knob pulled right off the front of a world-class stereo. Its heavy weight and tactile feel are a welcome departure from typical plastic USB peripherals.

PowerMate functions beautifully as a convenient volume knob and mute button for music listening on your PC or Mac. But that's just the beginning of PowerMate's possibilities. Edit movies just like the pros with PowerMate functioning as your very own Jog/Shuttle wheel. Spin PowerMate to scroll through footage and push the integrated button to cut out unwanted pieces. Use it in audio production to jump from track to track, adjusting volume levels as you go. PowerMate makes editing anything from home movies to your next demo a breeze. It even comes preset to work with iMovie, FinalCut Pro and GarageBand right out of the box!

But the real power of PowerMate is that it's programmable. You can quickly and easily program it to execute any Key Command, in any application. Program PowerMate to scroll through long Microsoft Word files and save your document when you push its button. Set PowerMate to scrub through songs in sequencers and music apps. Use PowerMate wherever and however you want to make your life easier. Save as many unique settings as you want, PowerMate will remember them all.

What's in the Box
PowerMate, 40 inch USB extension cable, CD-Rom containing all necessary software, warranty information

Product Description

PowerMate is the coolest volume knob your computer has ever seen. You can use it to edit home movies or scroll through long documents or create your next audio masterpiece. It is an assignable controller that you can program to do anything you want, in any application. PowerMate functions beautifully as a convenient volume knob and mute button for music listening on your PC or Mac. But that's just the beginning. Edit movies just like the pros with PowerMate functioning as your very own Jog & Shuttle wheel. PowerMate makes editing anything from home movies to your next demo a breeze. It even comes preset to work with iMovie, FinalCut Pro and GarageBand right out of the box. The real power of PowerMate is that it's programmable. You can quickly and easily program it to execute any Key Command, in any application. Assignable controller to do anything you want in any application USB Extension Cable Length - 40 inch System Requirements - Mac OS 9.0.4 or greater, OS X, Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 or XP, USB port Height - 1.3 inch (33.4 mm) Diameter - 2.1 inch (53.8 mm) Weight - 0.26 pounds (0.11 kg)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple but effective, February 14, 2010

By 

Damien D. "Damien" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Griffin Technology PowerMate 1042-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Black, PC/Mac) (Office Product)

This little device is simple, but amazing. It's one of my favorite peripherals connected to my computer. Aside from my keyboard and mouse, i use this the most out of any device.

I have it setup to control my system volume most of the time. I also use it with graphics applications to zoom in/out and to increase/decrease my brush size.

It's a great looking device and is built like a tank. This thing weighs more than my mouse. It feels solic and is built to last.

5.0 out of 5 stars Retro is in, March 31, 2007

By 

GuardrailAl (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Griffin Technology PowerMate 1042-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Black, PC/Mac) (Office Product)

It is so nice to turn a Knob rather than pushing buttons.
Use it all the time to control input volume into high end amp.
Well Well worth it

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty useless beyond even driver issues, January 4, 2007

By 

JDB (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Griffin Technology PowerMate 1042-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Black, PC/Mac) (Office Product)

I think the other reviews have it nailed (search on the silver-colored version to see a complete list of reviews) - on the Mac it is of minimal usefulness - even as a volume control for iTunes, it ONLY works if you have iTunes in the foreground - which is an unlikely situation - usually you'd want to adjust volume or mute iTunes playback (i.e. for a phone call) when you were working in another application. If you have to click on iTunes to bring it to the foreground, why not just click on the control to mute.

On XP, as other reviewers have noted, the driver is buggy and hasn't been updated since 2004. If you are lucky the PowerMate will work for a few minutes - usually it does nothing at all in any application (oh - except glowing and pulsing!). Completely useless and even when it works, it has the same issues as the Mac usage.

The Keyspan digital media and iTunes remote controls ARE able to control iTunes in the background - on both Mac OS X and XP - and they are what I use now in place of the useless PowerMate.