Phillips SGC-2909 Review
by Thomas Ward
Jan. 21, 2009
Recently there has been a lot of talk about the new Phillips SGC-2909
game pad sold in many retail stores across the U.S.A. It sells on
average for approximately $15.00 USD. As an owner of an SGC-2909 game
pad myself I can say it is a fair price for this handy little game
controller. So why all the talk?
When you remove the SGC-2909 out of the packaging you will quickly
discover it has a very intuitive design and is quite comfortable to hold
for a long period of time. The device is 6 inches wide, four inches
long, and has two handles on the bottom for holding the device. Each
handle has rubber hand-grips that keeps the device from sliding around
in your hand and also adds comfort in its use.
In addition to its comfort value the SGC-2909 has a very nice layout of
your basic game controls. Starting on the top-left corner you have a
four direction POV controller. For games that support POV hat this
control allows you to change the direction the player is looking or
aiming in most modern 3D FPS style games. To the right of the POV
controller is a circle of four buttons. Starting from the top and moving
clockwise they are escape, mouse, analog, and select. On the right-hand
side of the SGC-2909 we have a circle of action buttons. Starting from
the top and moving clockwise we have button 1, button 2, button 3, and
button 4. In most games these would be fire controls, run, jump, and
other action controls. In the center of the SGC-2909, below the analog
button, there is two joysticks labeled A and B. The A joystick moves
your character around in the game world while the optional B joystick
can perform special aiming adjustments etc. Finally, on the front of the
controller is four additional buttons labeled 5, 6, 7, and 8. While
these can be customized to perform any game action you want I find these
make great fire controls as they are easy to reach and squeeze.
Perhaps one of my favorite features of the SGC-2909 is the retractable
USB cable that comes with the device. When you want to play a game
simply pull it out, plug it in a free USB port, and start playing. When
you are finished there is a little switch on the front of the controller
which allows you to wind the chord back up inside the unit for easy
storage. If you do a lot of traveling or just want to store it without
the chord in your way you can retract the chord so that only three
inches or so is sticking out of the unit at any given time. This is by
far my favorite feature of the unit since I don't always keep my
controller attached to a PC, and prefer to store them in a desk drawer
or laptop carrying case when not in use.
If everything I have said is not enough reasons to purchase a Phillips
SGC-2909 the price is certainly right. For $15.00 to $16.00 you get a
rather handy game pad that seams to work well with every game I've tried
it with to date. So far I've tried Troopenum, Rail Racer, Mysteries of
the Ancients, Shades of Doom, Puppy 1, and have encountered no serious
compatibility issues. I think if you are looking for an inexpensive,
intuitive, handy game pad the Phillips SGC-2909 is a good deal. Other
game controllers such as the Logetec Rumble Pad costs approximately $30
to $40, and the only feature it has over the Phillips SGC-2909 is force
feedback support. If you are willing to do without force feedback
support the SGC-2909 could be right for you.
---
Gamers mailing list __ [email protected]
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected].
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to [email protected].
