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Roccat SOVA Gaming Lapboard USB Keyboard English Layout - for PC, Xbox One, PS4, LED Light (Blue), Mechanical Keys, Built-In Mouse Pad, (Part# ROC-12-181)

£9.9£99Clearance
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While storage was a big problem for both the gaming lapboards I tested, it was much more of an issue for the Lapdog because there’s really no elegant solution to keep your mouse safe. And not the anemic little thing with the touchpad from the conference room at work. You need something better. Something bigger. But the worst part about the pillow is the hump in the middle. It sits right between your legs, which puts the lapboard into a position that’s acceptable for WASD-and-mouse use but very uncomfortable for general typing. I ended up putting it aside almost immediately, and I can report that the Lapdog works just as well without it. The DIY-ness of the Sova sounds a bit sketchy too. 3D printed technology is great - we love it, but not selling quality modules to consumers seems like a major misstep. Early verdict

Of course, playing games in the living room is quite different to playing games at a desk. For starters, the desk doesn't exist, and unlike the myriad of console boxes sitting under our TV, Windows 10 isn't really designed to be used with a controller. Instead, you need a mouse and keyboard, whether it's for simple things like logging into Steam and firing up a game, or actually using them to play said games. Corsair's K83 Wireless entertainment keyboard is one way of doing it, but a proper lapboard such as the Roccat Sova is definitely the way to go if you want to replicate that full best gaming keyboard experience from the comfort of your couch.Of course, the Sova isn’t just for PC gaming — it’s also a fast and comfortable way to queue up music or videos to watch on your TV, compared to relatively clumsy mobile and TV apps. You may need to find a spot to keep it — the sideways placement shown above doesn’t work too well with a mouse attached — but having it accessible can be something of a time saver. But since it’s powered, you need a separate power supply, which has to snake its way across the room from your computer.

The Sova is also a little messy. With three cables potentially in play — one from the Sova to your PC, one for your mouse and one for your headset — you need to rely on good cable routing to keep things tidy. You might consider a wireless gaming mouse or headset to maximise the portability of the setup. Wrapping up But is it really practical to try and use WASD and a claw grip while hunched over the coffee table? No. What you need is a lapboard. I think the layout of the keyboard is particularly well-chosen; it’s compact but still includes all keys sans the number pad, ensuring simulators and other in-depth titles can still be played without issue. keyboards are popular because they only shrink or remove a few keys compared to a TKL; most of the space saving is done by reducing the gap between different areas of the keyboard and placing keys like Insert, Delete and Home in a single column on the right side of the keyboard. However, these changes mean that finding replacement keycaps is sometimes difficult. When I first started playing PUBG with a coworker, he found it amusing that I played in my living room, bouncing around and eating and occasionally throwing things. This is not, he explained, how people normally play. I’m new enough to gaming that I had no idea what that meant. I didn’t know that most of the time, PC gamers played … well, butts down, heads up.Credit is provided by Novuna Personal Finance, a trading style of Mitsubishi HC Capital (UK) PLC, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register no. 704348. The register can be accessed through http://www.fca.org.uk Now there's no beating around the bush here - the Sova is absolutely massive. Measuring 280x646x37mm and weighing 2.35kg, it's a lot heftier than, say, the sleek Razer Turret, which has a fold-away mouse mat for easier storage, and it's a bit of a faff to make room for it on our coffee table once I'm done playing. Pictured above is the Roccat Sova, which goes on sale Aug. 31, and below it the Corsair Lapdog, available in limited quantities right now. Online, they both look, and frankly sound, pretty much the same. But once you get them both out of the box, the differences are immediately clear. More like a horse

The Sova is a comfortably expansive device, spanning the width of an average couch cushion. It’s divided into three zones, with an integrated keyboard in the upper left, a palm rest in the lower left and a mouse pad on the right side. The palmrest and mousepad are formed from plastic panels, which can be removed by pushing them up from the bottom. This presumably opens the door to functionally or aesthetically different alternatives, perhaps even made by third-parties or 3D printed at home. The Sova is first and foremost a PC controller. Something for you and a friend to use to create a second set of inputs while playing PC games, and for the most part it works fairly well. Design At 16 feet long, the Lapdog’s included cabling is more than enough to get you where you need to go. But with that power supply, it begins to look a little kludgey. Given its rigidity, the cord is also hard to store when not in use. The last and most important part of the design are the modular wrist rest and extendable mouse pad units. While no plan is in place to offer different styles of mouse pads or additional cushions, TechRadar was told that 3D-printer schematics would be provided to print your own modules. We likedWe had great fun using the Sova, turning the traditionally solitary pursuit of PC gaming into a more social experience to be enjoyed with friends.

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