Technologies

Review: This Portable Controller Is the Perfect On the Go Gaming Accessory

The Crkd Neo S is a fun, little controller with a reasonable price — and a few quirks.

Gaming controllers are a dime a dozen, and it’s not easy to know which ones are worth spending money on. Often, the question is whether you really need to upgrade to a new controller when you still have the one that came with your console. However, the truth is there are so many more ways we can play our favorite games now, including on our phones and tablets. Plus, having something you can quickly drop into your bag in case you want to game on the go is super helpful, too.

I’ve been testing a lot of controllers lately, and the Crkd (pronounced like «cracked») Neo S offers nearly everything you’d want in a good, easily portable game controller — and it’s affordable, too. The company let me check out the Frost Edition, and I’ve been quite impressed.

What I like about the Crkd Neo S

Hardware and customization

Crkd mostly nails the hardware on the Neo S. Firstly, I had not used a rectangular controller before, but it felt very comfortable after just a few minutes. The slightly protruding grips on the back help out quite a bit.

The buttons are really clicky, the joysticks are stiff without being too rigid and the triggers feel great. Gaming with the Neo S for a couple of hours at a time was a pleasure, and I never missed an input due to mushy controls.

The Neo S connects wirelessly via Bluetooth, but there’s also a USB-C port and an included cable for wired gaming. Up to three devices can be connected at a time. Once set up, I was able to quickly switch between my PC, iPad and Nintendo Switch in just a few seconds.

It’s impressive that it’s as good as it is, considering its size. The Neo S is small enough to tuck into a large pants or jacket pocket if you really need to, and it easily slipped into my backpack. Although, the lack of a carrying case meant the sticks caught on my bag occasionally, but it’s quite easy to travel with.

Another fun thing about the Neo S is all the different special editions available. I have the Frost Edition, which is exclusive to the Apple Store (and currently sold out), but there are options like Retro Gold, Classic Clear, Fortnite and several others. You can add them to your «collection» in the Crkd app, and the app will tell you the product number of your controller and even give it a rarity rank depending on how many were made.

It would be cool if you could collect points or something by adding more to your collection, which you could then redeem for discounts on other controllers or accessories, but right now, points seem to be for bragging rights only.

One other impressive thing about the Neo S is the pro-level of customization built into it. Considering its price and size, you wouldn’t necessarily think you could customize almost everything possible input on it. Things like the vibration intensity, trigger sensitivity, even the dead zones for the joysticks — all things that you can normally only customize on controllers that cost a few hundred dollars.

Despite all of its features and compact design, the Neo S is still reasonably priced. At the time of writing, you can find most editions for about $40 to $50, though newly released editions are typically around $60. Plus, you get even more discounts if you buy a few at a time (like if you want to upgrade the kiddos’ Switch controllers). That’s really not a bad price at all for such a good controller, especially with as much customization as this one offers.

What I don’t like about the Crkd Neo S

For as good as the inputs on the Neo S are, the haptics are surprisingly mediocre. They aren’t as bad as others I’ve used, but I would recommend keeping them on the lowest setting or just turning them off. They’re nice to have for some games, but I’m just not a fan.

Also, while the controller is extremely customizable, tweaking those settings is pretty confusing. Changing any of them manually on the controller requires pressing a combination of the big Crkd button at the top and some other random button. It’s not at all intuitive, so you either have to memorize the different button combos or look them up every time.

Thankfully, you can change everything in the Crkd iOS or Android app, but that means pausing your game, connecting to the other device, changing the settings and switching back to the console. It’s quite a lot of steps, and it doesn’t save settings between devices — you’ll have to change them every time.

This confusion also translates to the setup process. Pairing to and switching between devices took some trial and error at first, and even so, you have to remember which button combo connects to which device (D-pad up plus Crkd button for iOS, D-pad right plus Crkd button for Switch, and so on). Having a tiny LCD screen that could help walk you through stuff might help, but my recommendation is to just pair the controller with one device and leave it.

Should you buy the Crkd Neo S?

All that being said, I would absolutely recommend the Neo S in a heartbeat. It’s a really solid little controller that’s incredibly portable and quite comfortable to use. Plus, the immense level of customization means you can get pro-level controls for a fraction of what you’d pay for something like an Xbox Elite controller.

The collectible nature of the special editions also adds another layer of fun to the Neo S.

Personally, I wish I’d discovered Crkd controllers years ago.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Dec. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 26.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are tough today — I thought maybe 1-Across was referring to the Grinch, or even Oscar the Grouch, but was I ever wrong! Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Furry and green, say
Answer: MOSSY

6A clue: State known for its potatoes
Answer: IDAHO

7A clue: Like a faithful friend
Answer: LOYAL

8A clue: Had a beverage
Answer: DRANK

9A clue: Pronoun frequently paired with «her»
Answer: SHE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Not spicy, as salsa
Answer: MILD

2D clue: Reasons for wrinkled noses
Answer: ODORS

3D clue: Words from a doctor checking your tonsils
Answer: SAYAH

4D clue: Comedian Gillis
Answer: SHANE

5D clue: Part of an egg used to make hollandaise sauce
Answer: YOLK

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 26, #459

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 26, No. 459.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. That purple category once again has players looking for a different, but related, hidden word in four of the clues. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Big Apple jock.

Green group hint: College football fun.

Blue group hint: On the road.

Purple group hint: Hunt down a word in other words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A New York athlete.

Green group: Bowl games.

Blue group: Associated with a team road trip.

Purple group: Ends in a movement verb.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a New York athlete. The four answers are Islander, Net, Ranger and Yankee.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is bowl games. The four answers are Alamo, Gator, Liberty and Pinstripe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with a team road trip. The four answers are bus, flight, hotel and visiting locker room.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a movement verb. The four answers are foxtrot (trot), newsprint (sprint), terrace (race) and thunderbolt (bolt).

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26, #929

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 26 #929

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is full of fun pop-culture references. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Golden state cliches.

Green group hint: Funny films.

Blue group hint: Rock on.

Purple group hint: Not white.