The future is now at this past Consumer Electronics Show, the place to be if you want to see what new gizmos companies will want you to buy. While normally CES is all about TVs and smart phones there’s been some interesting announcements for gamers as well. This was the place where a year ago Steam Machines and PlayStation Now were announced. This year PlayStation Now subscription services and PlayStation Vue were announced. What is also interesting are the third party announcements like the ones from Nyko.

Nyko announced the The Data Bank, and The Type Pad. The Type Pad plugs into the headphone jack of the Dual Shock 4 controller and allows for any bluetooth enabled game or app to use it’s qwerty keyboard for input. It also features a handy navigation stick at top and appears to be designed not just for messaging but for use with the PS4’s web browser as well, with dedicated ‘.com’ and ‘@’. The device also features an On/Off button which will allow it to conserve power and be used as needed. Handily the device can be charged simultaneously along with the controller via the micro USB, much like the next device by Nyko – the Data Bank.

The Data Bank, as Nyko describes it, will allow players to have a less expensive option to upgrading the HDD on their PS4. Currently, if you want to upgrade your drive, you’ll have to shell out for the required 2.5” laptop HDD. The ease of switching drives is off-putted by the expense of purchasing the drive itself. Enter the Data Bank. Shooting for an entry price of $40, the expansion bay will allow you to forgo the 2.5” laptop drive for a 3.5” desktop drive. The unit fits neatly into the drive bay of the PS4 and it also fits thematically with the PS4’s aesthetics which is important, as it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb sitting atop the PS4. Additionally, like the Type Pad, it shares the PS4’s power supply so it won’t use one of the too few USB ports. As for how big you can go with storage, the claim is that up to 2TB will be supported, however rumour has it that 4TB may be possible despite the fact that it has not been tested. Given that 3.5” drives tend to cost half as much on average compared to 2.5” drives it certainly opens up opportunity for upgrades.

Discuss:

Have you run out of space on your PS4? Have you been frustrated by the current input options on the PS4?

[Via Pocket-lint]