Introduction

I would like to thank Saitek for making this review possible.

Saitek is an established company and has made a name for themselves with their gaming devices. They also offer chess computers and audio solutions.

This is how Saitek describes itself:

Founded in 1979, Saitek entered the gaming market in 1993 and since then has grown to become a major brand in gaming peripherals for the PC. All our products are designed by gamers for gamers, to help them get the best out of their favorite PC games.

Our 2004 range includes many exciting new products, as well as enhancements to our existing product range to improve their performance further. We’ve also refined our manuals and programming guides to make it even easier to install and customize Saitek controllers.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our products. All our controllers are produced in our wholly-owned factory to ensure that they perform to the highest standards today and for many years to come. Saitek PC Gaming – superb design; total control.

What is the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit?

Looking at the icon of this review may make you wonder what kind of strange device this is.
There are a few manufacturers out there, creating keyboards specific for gaming. Ideazon and Wolfking are just two such companies. Their keyboards usually use symmetrical shapes or well known formats and names. The Ideazon gaming keyboard uses the "butterfly", since the core gaming buttons are arranged like a butterfly, while the Wolfking offers a round, symmetrical device. Both of these may be approaches which are ideal for marketing purposes and general recognizability. The downside of such shapes and layouts is our hand. The hand is not symmetrical, thus any device forcing our hand into an unnatural state can be improved upon. The Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit is just such a device, but lacks the same attributes of the Ideazon and Wolfking offerings. The Pro Gamer Command Unit gives the hand the best possible layout, without forcing it into an unnatural state. Back in the late '90s Microsoft's natural keyboard, which featured a bent layout to offer a natural hand setting did the exact same thing. Saitek has chosen to deliver a device which looks very futuristic and may not be perceived as a gaming device like other such devices. But do not be confused or fooled by these looks, as they guarantee very comfortable use over extended periods of time, which is much more important than looks.

Let's take a look at the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit.

Packaging

The packaging of the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit has a large window up front, showing the entire device. This is great as any potential buyer can somewhat place their hand on the device and get a good idea of the functionality and feel of the pad. The back lists all the features of the gaming device in multiple languages. The full color packaging can be hung up on a shelf and the unique device certainly is an eye catcher.


There is a manual and a CD inside the box. The manual only features a diagram and a single picture. The rest is only text. You may want to get comfortable with the unit before using it by reading the manual.

A Closer Look

The Pro Gamer Command Unit looks great and is of very good build quality. It is curved upward to fill up the palm of your hand. The bottom of the device has three rubber pads to secure the unit in place.


While the bottom half of the Command Unit only features a single button, the top is filled with enough button to cover all the general functions in most games. There are a total of 20 buttons, each numbered clearly. The buttons 2, 5, 6 & 7 build the center of the device and act as the "WASD" or cursor buttons found on normal keyboards. The thumb pad features a small joystick and two large buttons. It can be adjusted to fit the length of your thumb. There is a silver knob to secure it in place.


There are three modes with different back light. The default mode lights up blue while the "First Person Shooter" mode is green. If you want to play a real time strategy game, just push the mode button up one further, changing the light to red.

The button functions are as follows: