Cooler Master brings their ControlPad to Kickstarter
Cooler Master brings their ControlPad to Kickstarter
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You can look at this product in two ways, as a gaming aid or as a productivity aid, or perhaps both. On the gaming side, Cooler Master offers analog control, a feature that provides both the advantages of a keyboard and the precision found with the analog sticks on gamepads, steering wheels and flight sticks.Â
Right now analog key switches are pretty much exclusive to Wooting’s One and Two series keyboards, but Cooler Master plans to enter the market with an alternative, with what they call “pressure sensitive analog keys”. This opens up a world of new options, allowing single key presses to be used for multiple macros or to define different movements speeds in-game depending on key pressure.Â
Cooler Master has already created a prototype of their ControlPad, with Kickstarter acting as a means to gauge interest in the final product, paying their initial manufacturing costs and for software development.Â
   Let’s use a light switch analogy. In a digital input method, the controls are binary – the input controls whether an object is ON or OFF. Think of it like a standard light switch. A standard keyboard without Aimpad technology works this way.
In an analog input method, the controls have varying degrees of ON or OFF, depending on the intensity of their registering. Think of it like a dimmer light switch where you can control the intensity. This is how Aimpad functions.
Cooler Master plans to make their ControlPad suitable for both gamers and professional users, hoping to crease dedicated keycap sets and macros for professional software packages like Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Illustrator.
On top of the ControlPad’s 24 keys, the unit also has two precision wheels, which can be used to program specific features into apps, whether it be something simple like a volume wheel or something more complex. With this kickstarter, Cooler Master also plans to offer backers both Cherry MX and Gateron key switches, depending on their preference.  Â
Cooler Master has decided to bring the ControlPad to Kickstarter due to the product’s niche nature, as investing manufacturing time into it could result in some major losses for the company if market interest isn’t there. Cooler Master hopes to earn $50,000 with their Kickstarter to push the development of their ControlPad forward.Â
Early bird backers of Cooler Master’s ControlPad will receive the final product for $55/$75 for models with Gateron/CherryMX switches respectively, with backers also receiving an “Early Bird Goodie Bag” as well as an extra set of keycaps (Gaming, Photoshop, Premiere or Illustrator). Latecomers to the ControlPad Kickstarter will receive a ControlPad for $100 with an additional set to keycaps.
Cooler Master’s Kickstarter will finish on November 25th at 12:25 PM UTC. Â
You can join the discussion on Cooler Master’s ControlPad Kickstarter on the OC3D Forums.Â