Novint Falcon Review - Episode 2: Unboxing

Here’s the box that drew quite a number of looks from the people around when I was carrying it through the mall. The obligatory size-reference, a quarter, is provided next to the box ;)

The back of the box, showing Falcon from different angles (which is a good idea), together with some bundled games and Newton (Novint’s mascot?). The words “Feelin’ it” also highlighted in a logo, conveying what Falcon does.

Opening the box, aaand, nothing to see yet? Aaah...

So, what were those grooves originally designed for? They create the impression that some thing(s) missing from the box.



The Falcon is finally out of its box; but not really. The certificate of authenticity for the limited edition is a nice thought (also, printing it on a translucent plastic film is a nice touch). Novint says that they can detect the limited edition version (through its special grip), and are planning to release some features in the games that can only be accessed by the first 5000 people that purchased a Falcon, giving early support to the company. I hope that they’ll keep their promise, and we’ll actually have, even a little bit of, advantage over ‘regular’ users.



The first spotting of the bird of prey! It’s about to come out to wreak havok in the gaming industry (well, or at least my desktop :P ). I can already hear all the mice running away trying to to squeeze themselves into the first crack that they can fit into.



The box is finally open, and the Falcon is visible for the first time, with other box contents.



Here’s what you get for $100. Or $150. Or $190. >:> Power adapter, USB cable, two grips (one white regular, one transparent limited edition), Falcon, documentation booklet, N VeNT games and tutorial disk, and the driver disk.

The Falcon has its limited edition beak attached, and is perching on its box.

Not all was nice and dandy during unpacking. Falcon had scratches on it at three different places:



Interestingly, none of the arms, or other parts in the box seem to be responsible from these scratches (e.g., arms do not touch the surface at the scratched points). Therefore, looks like these scratches were inflicted pre-assembly. Nonetheless, it's not a good feeling to buy something brand new, and open the package only to see that it's factory-scratched. Anyway, obviously it's only a minor cosmetic damage that I can live with (but, but...).

Overall, it was quite an exciting experience opening the package of Falcon. I've seen many pictures of it, and even tried it once at a retailer store very briefly, but still, the feeling of owning such a unique piece of equipment was exciting enough.

Please check back for Episode 3: Installation