Microsoft XBOX 360 Controller for PC

              Microsoft XBOX 360 Controller for PC

 With console gaming being very popular. The traditional gamepads are still the best option for all in one controller to play games at home. Microsoft XBOX 360 is one such console which has been in every gamers mind. Its controller is known for the best experience served by many users.

1. Brand Talk-

     This gamepad is manufactured by Microsoft, the well known American Software Company who have had a strong comeback in the video game console industry with the release of the XBOX 360 in 2006 ("that is after the flop display of the XBOX"). One of the main attributes of the XBOX 360 is its awesome controller. Having got good critical reception for the controller, Microsoft decided to make it compatible with the PC ("Or Windows to be specific").

2. Avatars-

    This gamepad is available majorly in two types, wired and wireless. It is also available in black or white colour for each type. The controller that I am reviewing is the black wireless model.

3. Out of the Box-

    The box looks like a typical input peripheral box that we have been seeing since the invention of the computer with hook holes at the top to keep it hanging in the store ("for you to spot it"). I can say it is well packed. You get the controller, wireless USB adaptor, 2 AA Duracell Battery, the user manual and the XBOX Configuration Utility Disk. The quality of the contents is top notch as usual by Microsoft.

4. Design and Build Quality-

   Design in gamepads is a major factor, because its comfort to your hands determines the true gaming experience. This controller has kept no stones unturned in this area. The design, placement of buttons is marvelous. The revolutionary right and left analog stick placement is a boon for every gamer out there. The directional pad is placed in between the analog sticks. There is an XBOX guide button is placed in the center of the gamepad. The start button is placed to its right and back button to its left. The ABXY button is placed as usual on the left side.

Top Side

 On the back of the gamepad lies the Left, right Bumper and Trigger buttons. There is a port in the middle for plugging the gamepad to the XBOX console or PC. At it's side there is button which allows many wireless controllers to be connected to the receiver.

Back Side

 At the bottom of the gamepad there is the battery housing, which can be taken out by pressing a button above it. 

At the back side of the controller there is a 2.5 mm headset port, which lets you connect an XBOX compatible headset.  Coming to the wireless receiver, it is well built and has a button in the middle which helps to connect to other controllers. The controller is well built overall. I somewhat don’t like the feel of the feedback of the ABXY which is a bit loose, its not that I am complaining but felt it would have been better if they were a bit tight.

5. Performance-

   a) Game Compatibility-

             The XBOX 360 controller for PC supports a vast number of game titles. It is mainly based on the XInput platform, a driver that Microsoft provides with the Supplied Disk that enables support to a vast game library. Some of the famous games supported by the controller can be seen by clicking the following link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_XInput_support. You can also extend support to many game titles by installing various software available on the web. The XInput driver is only compatible with Windows XP Service Pack 1 and later versions. So users of windows with versions prior to Win XP SP1 will not be able to enjoy the library support. You can also connect this gamepad to your XBOX 360 Console.

b) Experience-

          Well I have had a good experience with this gamepad. You are drawn into the game with the comfort the gamepad provides. It nicely fits into your hand. The analog sticks are thoughtfully placed and are very easy to reach. The gamepad has a good weight feel. The wired version will be very light because of the absence of battery. But because of the presence of two batteries at the middle, there is a more sense of balance when you hold it. There is also force feedback available in the gamepad, but it's effect is not that convincing to let you feel the pain of the game. This gamepad is best if you have a huge TV and want to play with the comfort of your couch.

c) Wireless performance-

         This gamepad support the 2.4 Ghz WiFi Band. To get started you will have to connect the wireless receiver to your computer's USB port, the controller can be connected by pressing the guide button ("Voila! You are ready to play"). You can play upto a distance of 5 metres from the receiver. There is no lag in the input and is the same as that of your wired controller ("Thank God!").  

d) Extra Features-

      The gamepad can also be converted to a wireless mouse or a partial keyboard by installing some nifty utilities. I have installed a software called JoyToKey which is good. It lets you assign the buttons on the gamepad to various input functions like right click, left click, space, enter and many more.

e) Warranty-

  This gamepad comes with a one year warranty, which I suppose is enough for such type of a gadget.

6. Conclusion-

     The XBOX 360 Controller for Windows is a well thought decision by Microsoft to introduce it to general consumers. Priced around Rs.3000 in India (about $50) it is a very potential accessories that many gamers would want to have, given its beautiful styling and ergonomics.

Sony HD-E1 External Hard Drive Review

    SONY HD-E1 1 TB External Hard Drive Review

      With ever increasing quality of content which translates to higher file sizes, the need for higher capacity medium has become a necessity. With the price of external hard drives plummeting, the acceptance of this device is on a positive note. Many reputed brands want to cash in on this market segment, which has resulted in the availability of many external drives in the market. Sony HD-E1 is one such hard drive which is a great contender in its market. Let's check out the drive from Sony.

1. Brand Talk-

    This external hard drive is manufactured by SONY, the Japanese Electronics Giant who are known for their quality in products. Sony is not a major player in computer hard drive market, but have made a name for delivering reliable products. They have only one major type of external drives and they are named Sony HD-Ex. Where 'x' normally denotes the size of the hard drive. Their latest hard drive line up ("I mean it was there since 2010, I think") have the same looks.

2. Avatars in the Market-

   This hard drive is available in many colours for a particular size. For the 1 TB version it is available in black, silver, pink, gold and all these colours are metallic.

3. Out of the box-

     The box looks pretty basic. 

The Box

 

Unboxing it you find the external hdd, data cable, warranty card and the user manual. The hdd and the cable are of very good quality for sure.

4. Design and Build Quality-

    Design in general and looks in particular is very important for an external hard drive. This is because you are always carrying it, and certainly want your friends… ("or strangers") to look at it and complement you. This hard drive does just that. Describing its looks, it is woooov!!!.

The beautiful drive

 It has spectacular looks ("Something like a delicious aluminium biscuit"). It is arguably the best looking external hard drive that you will find in the market. The great looks, aluminium casing and the metallic colours certainly complement each other. It has a dimension of 80 x 16 x 126 mm and weighs 220 g.  The hard drive is kept simple, with Sony's branding on the top and nothing more fancy stuff in it. It has a proprietary port at the back which connects to a USB connector at the other end through a cable. 

There is a light hidden inside the back panel for indication when the hard drive is plugged to the pc. 

Sony's Proprietery Port

At the below there are the foundation rubber pads at four corners and the mandatory logos to portray its compliance to various standards available out there. 

The Bottom Side

Build of the device is excellent; the aluminium casing gives a robust feel. The brush aluminium finish makes it scratch resistant upto an acceptable degree. The data cable provided could have been a bit long ("it is just 2 ft guys") as I found it was just adequate if you are using it with a laptop, but for users with a PC it might seem difficult to manage to keep the hard drive on the table as normally the CPU Unit is kept below the table. Overall it is a thumbs up for Sony's spectacular design and robust build quality. 

5. Features-

 a) In built software-

 The Hard Drive comes with pre-loaded software which enhances the user experience and extends functionality. The software pre-loaded are Data Transfer Accelerator, Backup Manager, Password Protection Manager and FAT32 Formatter.

i) Data Transfer Accelerator speeds reduces the time taken to copy a large file. Sony claims that through USB 3.0 it can download a 500MB file in 9 sec with the software and 19 sec without it, through USB 2.0 it can download a 500 MB file in 16 sec with the software and 30 sec without.

ii) Backup Manager can backup the files from your pc to your external HDD.

iii) Password Protection manager is a utility to encrypt a part of your hard drive space with a password. You can choose the amount of space to be protected and that space will only show once you unlock it using the password you have set. But misplacing or forgetting the password will make the encrypted space unusable forever ("so choose an easy password").

iv) The FAT32 Formatter formats the hdd to FAT32 from NTFS. You can also reformat to NTFS when needed. You can format it to FAT32 to use it with the Playstation 3 console.

b) Performance-

     Now coming to the real life performance, the hard drive does fare well in terms of performance. Sometimes it is a bit sluggish when used in USB 2.0, but otherwise it is a descent performing hard drive. It has 256bit AES Data Encryption and also does not need any external power.The hard drive does not get heated with prolong use, so you don’t have to worry of that part.

However I liked the built in software like Password Protection Manager and Data Transfer Accelerator as they to some extent deliver as claimed.

c) Warranty-

   This hard drive comes with 3 years domestic warranty which might vary for other countries. This is a good gesture by Sony by providing an adequate warranty period.

6. Conclusion-

    With external hdd's becoming a necessity, there is a huge competition in the market. Since the main parameter of hard drives is it's usable space, there has to be something extra to attract customers and Sony has done just that. It is priced around Rs.4700/- to Rs.5200/- (Around $80), I think this will certainly attract customers given it's superb looks and performance.