AZIO found a market segment all to themselves with their Retro peripheral lineup, which took the typewriter-style keyboard design and ran with it using rarely seen higher-end materials for the keyboard and mice including leather and wood. We saw also at Computex last year that the company wanted to make a new series of peripherals inspired by retro cameras, with the then-called Iris K-Pad being the first entry and based on the Leica analog camera design. Our coverage led to them being contacted by another entity that used the Iris name in this category already, so we feel somewhat responsible for AZIO having renamed it to the Fokal. We met AZIO at CES this past week, and they spoke more about the Fokal, including letting us know that the crowd-funding campaign is underway and already successful.

The Fokal moves away from the typewriter-style keycaps in favor of more traditional, and comfortable, keycaps and promises a fully customizable control knob which can be used for multimedia and lighting (RGB) controls by default, as well as being a joystick too. There is also full software support for more utility, with up to seven profiles on board for various use cases. The base unit is a 75% form factor keyboard as with their R.C.K. we saw recently, and there is a separate number pad unit for those who need it which is further built to suit number crunching with extra keys as seen below. The units can connect wirelessly over Bluetooth or RF, with a massive 5000 mAh battery for the primary unit promising weeks of use on a single cycle. The Indiegogo campaign, still going for another 24 days as of this post, has already hit ~400% of the goal, and units are expected to ship in April. Pricing with the current discounts range from $184/246, with MSRP going from $230/330 for the base unit/combo with number pad.

XIGMATEK today released the Poseidon RGB (model: EN42272), an ATX mid-tower case that combines two tempered glass panels with a lavish use of RGB LED elements. The front and left-side panels of this case are tinted tempered glass panels. The front panel is accented by a vertical RGB LED strip running along the right side. XIGMATEK is including four 120 mm RGB LED fans with the case, three of these come pre-installed along the front intakes, and one as the case's sole rear exhaust. The fans and embedded LED strip feature 3-pin addressable-RGB inputs. An included 4-channel RGB LED controller drives the four, which features a tiny RF remote control that lets you cycle between presets and toggle individual lighting. The same controller doubles up as a 4-channel PWM fan-controller, which takes inputs from the remote. There is a significantly cheaper variant of this case (model: EN42265), which lacks the fans and combi-controller.

The XIGMATEK Poseidon features a conventional horizontally-partitioned case layout, with the upper compartment holding the motherboard tray that suopports ATX (and smaller) form-factors, while the bottom compartment holds a double of drive bays and the PSU bay. The case can take add-on cards up to 36 cm in length, CPU coolers up to 16.5 cm in height, and PSUs up to 17 cm in length. Storage areas include four 2.5-inch mounts, and two 3.5-inch/2.5-inch trays. Besides the three 120 mm intakes and one 120 mm rear exhaust, the case features two 120 mm top exhausts with a detachable dust filter. The case measures 400 mm x 205 mm x 450 mm (LxWxH). Front panel connectivity includes two each of USB 3.x type-A, and USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and HDA jacks. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Energous Corporation, the developer of WattUp, a revolutionary wire-free, power-at-a-distance charging technology, today announced Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification of its first-generation WattUp Mid Field transmitter, which sends focused, RF-based power to devices at a distance. As the first FCC certification for power-at-a-distance wireless charging under Part 18 of the FCC's rules, this development represents a new era of wireless charging, and opens up a tremendous opportunity for the electronics industry.

Energous' WattUp Mid Field transmitter underwent rigorous, multi-month testing to verify it met consumer safety and regulatory requirements. As the first Part 18 FCC approved power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter, the certification marks a significant milestone for the consumer electronics industry and paves the way for future wireless charging ubiquity for nearly any small electronic device, including smartphones, tablets, fitness trackers, smart watches, earbuds, wireless keyboards and mice, smart speakers and more.