- Assignable USB controller knob for managing volume, scrubbing audio files, or scrolling video frames
- Easy-to-program settings can control virtually any function on your computer
- Compatible with any application that uses key commands
- Striking machined-aluminum housing with pulsing blue base
- Includes installation CD-ROM and 40-inch extension cable; 1-year warranty
Technical Details
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Stylish, versatile, and extremely functional, the Griffin PowerMate universal controller may look like a mere volume knob, but don't be fooled--it can also jog through video footage while editing, scroll through long text documents, and zoom in and out of Photoshop images. And those are just a few of its potentially hundreds of functions. How can a simple two-direction knob do all this? By letting users configure the functions themselves via their computers' system preferences. In other words, the PowerMate's functions are defined almost entirely by the user's imagination and creativity.
The PowerMate works by sending keyboard shortcuts, called key commands, to your computer. For example, users can set the PowerMate to open a new Microsoft Word document by inputting [command + D], or highlight text by inputting [command + shift + left arrow]. Each setting corresponds to one of the PowerMate's six main movements: rotate left, rotate right, click, long click, rotate left with click, and rotate right with click. The default configuration controls your computer's volume, along with specific audio applications such as iTunes. However, the PowerMate also comes with several preset configurations for such programs as iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Acrobat Reader, and allows the user to change the settings or add new ones (for virtually any application) based on their needs.
Design and Setup
With its heavy-duty, black housing that sits atop a pulsing blue light, the PowerMate just looks cool. Many owners have compared it to the volume knobs on high-end stereo receivers, and the description is apt. It's also cleverly engineered, as the blue light responds to your commands, brightening when the volume increases, for example, and dimming when you turn it down. Its main cord is only 22 inches long, but it comes with a 40-inch extension so you can position it either next to your mouse or on the opposite side for two-handed control.
The PowerMate, which connects to your computer's USB port, includes an installer CD, with separate folders for Mac OS 9; OS X; Windows 98, 98 SE, and Me; and Windows 2000 and XP, along with an Acrobat user's manual. Griffin has been making Apple accessories since 1992, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that the PowerMate is a little Mac friendlier. Mac users merely need to run a basic installation and restart their computers and the PowerMate is ready to go. Windows users, on the other hand, will also have to configure their PCs to recognize the USB device and then update their drivers, among other hurdles. It shouldn't take terribly long, but it's not exactly plug-and-play either.
Features and Performance
Simply put, we dig this device. For applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, it's mostly just a fun add-on, as it doesn't do much that a mouse doesn't do just as well (though Mac users will doubtless appreciate the scrolling function). However, the potential of the device increases exponentially when applied to editing software. In GarageBand, for instance, you can set the PowerMate to play, pause, rewind, record, and skip measures--a far more convenient method than clicking the buttons or keys. You can also use the PowerMate as a jog/shuttle dial when editing your home movies. You can even adjust the speed of the action--a slow speed will leisurely advance the frames, while a quick speed will fly right through them. We tinkered with the PowerMate in iPhoto as well, setting it to zoom in and out of images (as suggested in the manual) and rotate them left and right.
It takes a while to adjust to the PowerMate, as your first instinct is to use it like a mouse. But you'll soon realize that shifting the knob across your desk doesn't accomplish much, so you'll be forced to develop a better feel. Many music and video editors will likely opt for two-handed control, managing the PowerMate in the left hand and the mouse in the right. Users should also test a variety of key commands in each application, as it's not immediately clear which functions are merely fun and which are genuinely convenient. But the more you play with the PowerMate, the more you realize its potential.
On the whole, the PowerMate is a blast, especially if you spend a lot of time laboring in multimedia applications. That doesn't mean it's a great fit for everyone--people who work exclusively in Word or Excel might find it overhyped. But you'd be hard pressed to find a desktop peripheral with more promise for audio and video professionals. --Rivers Janssen
Pros
- Assignable knob controls virtually any function on your computer
- Ideal for audio/video editing applications, music jukeboxes, games, and more
- Easy to program; works with any application that uses key commands
- Cool black housing with glowing blue base
Cons
- PC setup is a bit cumbersome
- Takes time to realize full potential
What's in the Box
PowerMate USB controller, 40-inch USB extension cable, CD-ROM with installation software, Adobe Acrobat user's manual (on CD).
Product Description
Fully programmable USB audio knob
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do You Want A Knob That Pulses And Glows Blue In The Dark?,
By
This review is from: Griffin Technology PowerMate 1040-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Aluminum, PC/Mac) (Personal Computers)
If so, the Griffin PowerMate is just the thing for you. In addition to being a nearly-neverending source for suggestive yet lame humor, it's also the first "cool" control peripheral I've bought that actually proves useful (he says, looking meaningfully at a closet full of various Microsoft controllers that all seemed like really good ideas at the time).The PowerMate is, basically, a knob. A big, machined aluminum knob that looks like it fell off an expensive piece of studio equipment. It sits on a slightly rubbery translucent base that gives it excellent grip (on my glass desktop at least). There are two blue LEDs hidden in the base, more of which later. The USB cable is somewhat dinky (maybe 18" long) but it does come with an extender that adds another 3' or so. The desk footprint of the unit is tiny - it's maybe 2" across. The knob works with all recent versions of Windows, MacOS 9 and MacOS X. I've only tried it with the last of these, so your mileage may vary, but by the looks of the manual the only thing missing when used with Windows (and with some types of Mac) is the "soft power on" feature. Push the knob and the machine starts up. Note that this only seems to be a feature that works on recent PowerMac G4s, if the document is to be believed, and even then only if the PowerMate is plugged directly into one of the machines USB ports (i.e. not into one of the keyboard ports, or a hub). Both Windows and Mac versions of the software are "application sensitive". This means that you can define specific behaviors for the knob when specific applications have window focus. The default behavior is to turn the volume up and down, while pressing it mutes/unmutes the sound. If that was all there was to it I'd have been unimpressed - I've got keys on my keyboard to do that. However, it comes with default mappings for a number of applications (iTunes, iMovie, Internet Explorer) that changes its function to be something more suitable. You can map any of a number of actions (left turn, right turn, click, click and left turn, click and right turn) to generate either an arbitrary repeated keypress, a cursor movement or to instruct the application to scroll up or down. The rate at which the PowerMate generates keypresses can be varied, as can the knob's sensitivity. So, for example, in Internet Explorer turning the knob scrolls up and down the document while clicking pops up the "Open Location" dialog, while in iTunes you have control over the volume (which is separate from the system volume control) and clicking plays/pauses the music. What's really nice is that you can change these settings, and add new ones for your own applications. I rarely change the volume in iTunes, so I mapped that to the "click and turn" actions, and set the normal turning of the knob to scroll up and down the list of songs in my library. Note that you may need to twiddle with the repeat rate to make using the knob "comfortable" - I found that unless the repeat rate was set to the slowest possible, I tended to overshoot the song I was trying to select. I've also added settings for Mozilla (specifically for scrolling up and down, clicking the knob to open a new tab, and I've mapped the click and turn actions to the back and forward buttons) and I've got plans to map most of the major applications I use. In short, if you've got an application that has keyboard shortcuts for any sort of scrolling or slider (or even for any sort of button you may want to hit repeatedly), you can use the PowerMate to do it. Turn it into a zoom knob in Photoshop, or use it to control brush size - obviously there are limits in tools like this where you've got several thousand keyboard shortcuts and only five actions to map them to. I'm not sure if you can connect two PowerMates simultaneously, but if you can this could combine with Photoshop to provide the makings of the world's most expensive Etch-A-Sketch. There's also apparently a "game mode" where each turn a single keypress rather than a stream. The manual suggests it could be used for Tempest or Space Invaders, my mind suggests it might (in regular mode) have possibilities for strafing in FPS games. Oh, I almost forgot about the glowing. As I mentioned right at the start of the review, the translucent base hides two blue LEDs. When used as a volume control the brightness of the base directly reflects volume level. The rest of the time it can either be a solid blue or (settable from the control panel) set to pulse at a user specified rate. Pulsing is also the default behavior (on my PowerMac at least) when the machine is in sleep mode. The combination of the power light on my PowerMac, my Studio Display and my PowerMate all pulsing on and off in sync is quite impressive in a darkened room. Clicking the PowerMate adds to the ways you can wake a sleeping system too. All in all, a really nice little gizmo with a bunch of different uses at a reasonable price (it might seem expensive compared to, say, a mouse, but you're talking nicely machined aluminum here, not cheap plastic), to say nothing of the sophistication such phrases as "my knob glows blue in the dark" can add to conversation at dinner parties.
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Is the glowing enough?,
By
This review is from: Griffin Technology PowerMate 1040-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Aluminum, PC/Mac) (Personal Computers)
I really enjoy having this controller attached to my OS X iMac - the blue glow is very cool, and everyone who sees it says "Wow, what's that for?".However, it's not as useful as I hoped it would be. I like to use iMovie and Final Cut Pro a lot, and hoped that the Powermate would work as a jog-shuttle contoller for quickly selecting frames and edit points. Well, the Powermate control software does allow mapping of keys to the left/right movement of the Powermate, but it's not quite enough to make it super useful. You can't set edit points for example, and the frame advance and rewind isn't very fast or easy to use. Yes, it does make a great volume control for iTunes. BUT the nature of the Powermate is that it controls either the entire system or a specific application depending on how you have set it up, so it's possible to get confused and start scrolling through a webpage rather than adjusting the volume as expected. And don't forget that iTunes and the computer as a whole have separate volume settings - which one are you adjusting? After a month or so of use, I find I use the Powermate to do these things: 1. Wake up my iMac when it's in Sleep mode It's still cool, but if you want a shuttle controller for video work, buy a dedicated shuttle controller, not the Powermate. If you enjoy having a lump of machined metal that glows on your desk (like I do) the Powermate is still worth getting. Note: the driver software for the Mac was recently updated to version 1.5, which addresses some issues I listed above. For example, it's possible to make the Powermate ONLY work as a volume control, and avoid some confusing behavior.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
good hardware, flakey software,
By
This review is from: Griffin Technology PowerMate 1040-PMT USB Multimedia Controller and Input Device (Aluminum, PC/Mac) (Personal Computers)
I bought the Powermate a week ago and am very happy with the hardware. It looks great, it feels great, it works great. It is a little light -- tends to move around on the desk a little more than I'd prefer. But overall, I'm happy with the hardware. However, the software had been a problem.
In looking through the web, it seems that a lot of other people have software problems with the Powermate. In my case, the Powermate isn't seen at boot-up and requires unplugging and replugging the USB cable. This action (re)loads the driver which didn't get loaded at boot-up. But sometimes it does. Hit or miss... To see if it was a driver issue, I downloaded the latest driver from the Griffin web site, version 1.5.3D for Windows. Other than the unplug/replug problem, everything else seems fine. I'm using the Powermate to control my HTPC so I use volume up/down, Mute, the long click for DVD Pause (space bar), and click+turn to change the channel up/down on my HDTV tuner in my HTPC. Note that I am running WinXP SP2 and other people have reported problems with the Powermate and WinXP. Also note that Girder is a popular remote driver for many classes of devices. However, I couldn't get the Girder driver to work with the Powermate using Girder4 and latest Girder Powermate plugin. Other people also reported similar problems with this also. I've emailed the Griffin support people a couple of times but so far they have not replied. It appears that other users have had similar experiences with Griffin's poor customer service. What I would like to do is have 2 Powermates, one on each side of the couch, so that my wife and I can control the muting of our HTPC. Macs were shown with 2 (and even 4) Powermates using the new version 1.6 driver, but Windows is still at version 1.5.3D of the driver on the Griffin web site. So I found the iMON Knob which is a similar device, but not as nice looking. It is also available here on Amazon. I don't know if I can have two iMON Knobs, but at this point I'm pretty sure that I can have one iMON Knob and one Powermate. Anyway, I'll post those results once I have the iMON Knob in-hand. The bottom line is that the Powermate will either work great or it won't work at all. = = = = UPDATE I've now had the Powermate for 2 weeks and the iMon Knob for several days (see my iMon Knob review here on Amazon). The Powermate and the iMon work fine together. I am much happier with the iMon's software quality, but I still like the Powermate hardware better. But for now, one of each is working fine attached to my HTPC. The Powermate software is still flakey at boot-up and I have to unplug/replug the USB cable. Also, Griffin's support has been nonexistant -- I've tried emailing and telephoning. SoundGraph (the iMon folks) have much better support. So if you need two knobs attached to one computer, 1 iMon Knob and 1 Powermate works fine; wth the known problems with the Powermate's driver at bootup.
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