When Sony introduced their clip-on keyboard for the CLIE, they also introduced a game controller, the PEGA-GC10. This controller snaps onto the T, NR, NX, SL, and SJ series CLIEs, connecting through the bottom accessory connector using a small pigtail connector.

The gamepad is arranged a lot like a Playstation controller. On the right side, there is a four-button cross that's easy to press with your thumb. Each button has an arrow indention on it, and the buttons are tapered slightly towards the middle. On the left side, there are A and B buttons that are used during gameplay. They are set at an angle, similar to the Gameboy Advance. In the middle of the controller, there are four smaller buttons, labeled "Home", "Menu", "X", and "Y". Home usually takes you back to the launcher, while Menu acts like tapping the menu icon in the silkscreen area. X and Y aren't usually used by themselves, but act as shift keys -- holding either button lets you use the direction pad as to emulate the jog dial. X-up and X-down are scroll up/down, X-left is the back button, and X-right acts as a press of the jog-dial.

The game controller has a few other notable features. There is a hold switch on the front that will disable the button controls, allowing you to transport your device without waking it up. The serial connector has a button that loosens the connection when pressed, making it easy to remove. The sides of the pad hold the controller tightly to the CLIE device, but they use a high-friction but soft plastic surface that won't scratch your device. The game pad also comes with a drop-prevention strap that lets you connect the controller to the retaining point on the CLIE so you won't drop the device in case the controller becomes detached.

The controller comes with a CD that has a driver application, the game Columns from Sega, and a few shareware demos. While the CD is for Windows, all the applications are provided in PRC form, so they could be installed from a Macintosh or Linux box. Columns is really well done, with 320x320 high-res graphics. It uses the sound capability of the T and NR series devices to good effect, providing both background music and sound effects. The UI of the game is optimized for the gamepad, with every setting accessible through button presses.

The other games on the CD are trial versions of Zap! 2000/2016 (Astraware), Tetris Classic (Pocket Express), DaDa Formula Racing (Dazz), and Atom Smash (Red Mercury). Tetris has an Win32-only installer, but the others provide bare PRC files. The CD also has PDF versions of the controller and Columns manuals.

I tested the controller with a variety of games, and it worked very well for all the ones I tried. Columns shows off both the controller and device to good effect. Galax operated very well, as did Zap 2016!, Atom Smash, and SFCave.

The driver has controls to let you reassign keys to buttons, to enable/disable the game controller, and to enable "key emulation". I'm not exactly sure what that last option means, but the manual suggests changing this setting if a game won't work with the controller.

Finally, the game pad comes with its own carrying case, specially molded to hold the connector and the gamepad. There was enough room to also hold the attachment strap, if you want to use that.

While I'm mostly positive about it, I do have a few gripes. First, it will drain your battery faster than just using the buttons on the evice. My CLIE T615C went from 75% to 35% of its battery after about forty minutes of game play of Columns, with the screen at medium brightness and sound at medium. It looks like it is OK to leave the driver active. Second, the control panel really should have the ability to customize the controllers settings on a per-game basis. While most games allow you to adjust their controls to fit the game controller, there are a few that use a fixed scheme, and if you adjust your key settings to match that, you'll just have to go back and readjust them later. Finally, there is no way to adjust the function of the menu, home, X, or Y keys.

Is the controller worth $40? Considering the poor buttons on the T-series and the fact that it uses a connector that looks likely to be the Sony standard for the near future, I'd say yes, especially if you're an avid Palm OS game player. Columns is a good port that alone would be worth $15, the hardware is well constructed, and the software seems to work well. With its jog-dial emulation, the controller even works well for exiting your current game and finding another one to play, all without using the stylus.

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Ben Combee is the lead developer of CodeWarrior for Palm OS and a big fan of the Palm OS platform. His personal site is www.palmoswerks.com

Review: CLIÉ™ Game Controller PEGA-GC10 http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/4295/review-clié™-game-controller-pegagc10/

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