“Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror” is a long and confusing name for a controller. Nowhere in the four-word-title is there anything alluding to the fact that it’s a sweet multiplatform gaming controller. So, just to make sure we’re clear: It’s a controller. It’s sweet. And you can use it for the PS3 and PC. We’ll get back to the gaming thing in a bit.

At its very core, the “Conqueror” (that’s what I’m unofficially, officially renaming it to) is a wireless keyboard/mouse combo. The USB AIR dongle—which stores within the controller body quite awesomely—just plugs into your PS3 or PC for easy setup and use. The full QWERTY keyboard, complete with function keys and everything else you’ll ever need, works great for web browsing and other light-to-medium typing duties. The motion sensing gyro mouse also works really well and completes a perfect setup for those with HTPC’s or those who like to kick back on the couch while browsing.

For gaming, the Conqueror worked better than expected. Playing through some of the more casual games in my Steam library, like Beat Hazard and Super Meat Boy, the dual analog stick controls, d-pad and face buttons all seemed responsive and even let me beat a few times in SMB—not saying it was the controller, but it surely didn’t hurt me. Not wanting to solely base my review on casual games, I switched over to my PS3 to try out some Battlefield.

You’ll all be very excited to learn (as I was) that the Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror is compatible with KontrolFreek’s entire range of gaming products. This is good news, of course, and it’s been added to our controller compatibility guide which makes it official.

Things on the Battlefield went well. I was doing my thing and the controller didn’t miss a beat. The build quality and battery life is excellent and it feels really good in the hands. My only (minor) complaint is that the triggers aren’t perfectly positioned—but hey, neither are the DualShock3’s triggers and no one seems to care about that. I didn’t expect it to necessarily be a “performance” controller anyway; so I was pleasantly surprised it performed as well as it did.

For $99.99 the price of the Conqueror may induce some sticker shock at first—but once you take in to account that it’s replacing a mouse, keyboard and video game controller for PC and PS3, it all of the sudden doesn’t seem so high. Combine that with the fact that you can use your existing collection of FPS Freeks, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

A dispute over pay and working conditions resulted in about 300 workers climbing to the roof of one of the buildings at Foxconn Technology Park in China early last week. The incident began when employees asked their bosses for a raise but were denied. Employees were told either to quit with compensation or to keep their jobs with no additional payment. Many employees took the former, but the company decided to terminate the agreement anyway and not pay the promised compensation. The workers protested the action by threatening to jump to their deaths.

The standoff eventually came to an end when the mayor of Wuhan showed up and literally talked the former employees off the ledge.

These particular employees were responsible for manufacturing parts for Xbox 360 consoles and production had actually come to a halt for several hours during the protest.

Microsoft had this to say:

"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue," a spokesperson told the Huffington Post UK.

"We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge.

"Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."

Foxconn factories in China were already under examination because of several suicides by employees in the past five years—actually forcing the company to install anti-suicide nets at some of their facilities. In addition to Xbox 360 components, Foxconn also manufactures products for Apple, Sony, Nintendo and many other Fortune 500 companies.

It’s true. After a week of insane holiday deals from us, our entire stock of FPS Freek CQC has been decimated like the surface of Reach after the Covenant invasion. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, apparently every serious gamer on the planet decided that they were going to treat themselves to a set. We don’t blame you and we’re not complaining, but this means that some of you procrastinators won’t be able to experience how great CQC’s are.

We do, however, still have a small amount of holiday bundles left that feature FPS Freek CQC as part of the package deal and at discounted prices. Our Perfect Arsenal and GamerPack Recon both feature the CQC and are available for purchase right now (while supplies last, of course).

As many of you FreekNation loyalists already know, last night we officially released the FPS Freek CQC. We are very excited to get this great attachment on your controller, but first, I wanted to take a few minutes to explain some of the benefits and reasoning behind the new CQC.

Since the very beginning, customer feedback has been our number one source of determining the products that we bring to market. Without you, we’d probably still be working on developing time travel mouse pads or adamantium implants for domestic pets—so, we thank you for all of your input and direction over the years. FPS Freek CQC was developed just for you!

Some people have small hands—not freakishly small or anything—just small. Female gamers and 13 year-old boys, for example, have smaller hands than NBA players do, generally. So it makes sense that there should be an FPS Freek that’s more accessible for people with different hand-spans.

FPS Freek CQC isn’t only for those with smaller hands, though. Testing has shown that our current FPS Freeks have a slight adjustment period that varies from person to person. That period is almost nonexistent with the lower rise of the CQC, making it a great “in-between” FPS Freek. Moving to the FPS Freek from the CQC is again less dramatic, causing adjustment periods to go away almost completely.

Using the CQC alone also brings your thumbs back closer to the controller’s face buttons without sacrificing precision control. This creates a more natural feel while also adding an insane level of grip and comfort over stock Xbox 360 or PS3 thumbsticks. Trust me when I tell you that you will leave the CQC attached to your thumbsticks all the time, no matter what game you’re playing. They are that good!

Another great reason to try a set of FPS Freek CQC is that they are fantastic when mixed and matched with other FPS Freek products. Use a single CQC on your left or right thumbstick in-step with your favorite FPS Freek on the opposite stick and discover a custom combination of deadly accuracy that’s just right for you. Try out some different combinations and be sure to tell us about your favorite on our Facebook wall.

Honestly, no matter how you play, CQC is another FPS Freek you’ll be glad to have in your arsenal.

Buy CQC Now

Atlanta, GA – October 11, 2011 - KontrolFreek, the leader in creating performance gaming gear for the active gamer lifestyle, today announced it has been awarded a new patent, US Patent # 7993203, by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its gaming control stick adaptors. In addition, KontrolFreek anticipates the future approval of additional patents related to its performance gaming gear.

KontrolFreek’s ergonomically designed controller add-ons were created to provide improved comfort, grip and maneuverability to gamers playing on Xbox and Playstation consoles. In 2007 KontrolFreek introduced its first product, the Speed Freek® controller add-on for racing games, followed soon after with FPS Freek®, designed to serve the needs of the large and rapidly growing First Person Shooter audience. KontrolFreek now produces and sells more than 10 controller add-ons individually designed for shooter, sports and arcade game franchises.

“This patent highlights important key differences in our products and validates the unique contributions KontrolFreek is bringing to the console gaming market,” said Ashish Mistry, President & CEO KontrolFreek. “KontrolFreek’s commitment to innovation is demonstrated through our continued efforts at improving the gaming experience for hundreds-of-thousands of enthusiast, competitive and professional gamers worldwide.”

In addition to the patent award, KontrolFreek has continued to achieve top-line business growth, surpassing 400 percent year-over-year sales growth, and expanded distribution into key retailers via partnership with Microsoft Stores. 

In addition to new products that will be announced before the end of the year, KontrolFreek’s continually expanding portfolio of gaming controller accessories currently includes:

First-Person Shooter

• FPS Freek – KontrolFreek’s flagship controller accessory was created with the sole purpose of better precision and accuracy in first-person shooters via greater leverage, better control and less force.

• FPS Freek EPIC - Created as a tribute to the Gears of War franchise, with a crimson emblem and concave thumb surface designed for optimum comfort and grip.

• FPS Freek LEGENDARY - Extended controller thumbsticks let Halo players make smaller adjustments to track and hit targets faster and more accurately.

• FPS Freek PRESTIGE - Aim is dramatically improved and thumb-fatigue alleviated while playing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Sports

• Football Freek™ – The convex, Euro-style football design is intended for maximum grip and superior ball control in football games including FIFA 12 and Pro Evolution Soccer.

• Speed Freek - This “U” shaped attachment allows for tighter turns and faster lap times in racing games.

• Speed Freek APEX - The racing controller has been updated with improved design features and ergonomic comfort to ensure maximum control across tracks or terrains and at high velocity. 

• Tee Freek™ – Golf ball-like thumb grip and added analog stick height increases range of motion for straighter drives and more accurate short games.

• TD Freek™ - The convex, laced thumbstick grip virtually eliminates thumb slippage. A must-have for fans of Madden and NCAA Football.

• Hoops Freek™ - Basketball-textured thumb pad increases accuracy through a 40% increased range of motion.

Arcade

• Rcade Freek™ – Retro-inspired analog stick enhancements are perfect for side-scroller, platformer, shoot 'em up or classic 2D arcade games.

Life is funny. Sometimes you don’t know something’s broken until one day you get a contraption in the mail that looks like a gadget off of Batman’s utility belt and you snap it on to your controller. Even then, as you proceed to relearn everything you know, you wonder if what you knew was the right way to do things anyway. You savvy? Probably not.

Below is my review of The Avenger controller adaptor by N-Control. The opinions herein belong to me alone and do not reflect those of KontrolFreek.

The Avenger snaps easily to your standard Xbox 360 controller. All you have to do is open it like a clamshell, insert your controller and close until it snaps. The Avenger also comes with a couple foam stickers that you place on both bumpers and the “A” button. I wasn’t sure at first why these were even included (they made the whole package seem hokey) but after playing with them for a while I quickly understood that N-Control has their reasons. They add a subtle yet effective tactile-ness to the remaining “naked” buttons. Nice touch. You’ll then need to make a few small adjustments by experimenting with how you would like to position the levers/rockers. Once you’ve got everything where you want it, you’re mostly good to go. The “trigger skis” feel a tad awkward at first—especially because I normally let my index fingers do the shooting—and the intimidation aspect is certainly something to consider. I’d recommend staying offline until you get a feel for it.

After playing a few levels of Halo: Reach’s campaign, I started to adjust. I was able to reload and switch weapons without ever taking my thumb off the right stick—definitely a plus when tracking those pesky Elites. Actions felt intuitive and fast, however, sometimes during intense firefights my fingers would accidentally do something I didn’t want them to do, like switch weapons instead of melee. Obviously, with more practice and further adjustment of the lever-thingys this can probably be remedied. Even while using the Avenger not as intended (by ignoring the levers and just using it like you’d normally use a controller), the mechanism that engages the face buttons brings the buttons much closer to your Freek-raised right thumbstick and lets you make some ultra-fast actions. Goodnight Covees!

The many positives do come at a cost, though. Every headset will not be compatible. The SteelSeries 7XB that I’m currently using is not compatible; nor will most that use a “puck” style jack for voice chat. Bummer.

Overall, I really like the Avenger. It’s a cool looking attachment that functions well alongside some FPS Freeks. With some more practice, I think I could probably go online and be competitive—I won’t yet—but I think I could. The learning (or relearning) curve is a commitment. It will take some time and patience to get comfortable with it. I have no doubt, though, that in the right hands the Avenger could be a dangerous weapon.

Retail price: $49.99

http://www.avengercontroller.com/