Asus Eee Stick gets official

To be bundled with Eees, along with special games

6 August 2008 14:02 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Asus has officially launched the "Eee Stick" as seen earlier this year at the Computex trade show.

Calling the launch a "world's first", the Eee Stick is described as an "easy-to-use yet highly versatile Plug and Play wireless controller" for PCs that translates users' physical hand motions into corresponding movements onscreen.

The Eee Stick comprises of an Activation stick, a Navigation stick and a 2.4GHz RF dongle. Asus says that even though the sticks are vibration-capable, they consume very little power, providing up to 72 hours of continuous play on two AA batteries per stick.

The motion sensors built into the Eee Stick offer three modes of operation: 3D motion, pointing and tilt. The 3D Motion mode responds to movement along all axes as well as wrist rotations, this mode is said to be ideal for playing sports, action and "beat 'em up" games.

The Pointing mode focuses on aiming, and Asus describes this as "perfect" for FPS and other gun-based gaming, while the Tilt mode, which translates forward, backward and sideways movement, is said to be designed for racing and flight games.

With the tagline "Get into the swing of gaming", the Eee Stick will be bundled exclusively with certain models of the Eee, as well as the Eee Box, apparently along with a collection of games developed or adapted specifically for use with it.