OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator (nia) – The Log

 

Starting with the outer packaging, the nia is presented in a plain white box with a picture of the unit on the front. The lack of information at this point makes the unit seem quite mysterious with only the words “Advanced BioTechnology for Gaming” printed up the right-hand side.

 

 

Flipping the box over reveals a picture of the headband along with five paragraphs about the unit. Within the first sentence, OCZ state that the nia is not a substitute for a mouse, but more of a companion. Hopefully this will prevent users from believing that they can use it to fully control a character in-game as soon as they get the device home.

 

 

Contained within the box are the bare necessities: a driver CD, USB cable and fairly basic instruction manual. Both the nia and the headband were securely contained within their own custom-moulded foam block.

 

 

 

Much to our surprise, the nia is actually tiny in comparison to what OCZ’s stock photos lead you to believe. This is also a significant down-size from the last time we got to see the nia in prototype form.

 

The build quality of the device is easy to see and feel from the offset, and the nia looks very stylish in its brushed aluminium casing on the desktop.

 

  

 

 

The headband is constructed entirely of rubber with three diamond-shaped carbon nano-fibre-based sensors at the front. Also down the sides of the headband are two further sensors that pick up muscular signals such as the raising of your eyebrows.

 

While the moulded rubber construction does make the headband feel slightly cheap, it’s also bound to be extremely robust and provides the flexibility required to fit all shapes and sizes of head.