The QuNeo sports a selection of pads of various shapes and sizes, and each of the pads is equipped with various selections of LEDs. The device itself is the same size as an iPad, and equally thin, so it will apparently fit into iPad holder accessories. (The edges are vertical, like an iPad 1.) The QuNeo weighs less than my iPad 3, due to its plastic casing and the lack of battery, glass screen and most of the rest of what makes up an iPad. The device is USB bus-powered via a micro-USB socket on the left-hand edge (the same place as the 30-pin connector on an iPad) and, also like an iPad, there's no reason why the QuNeo can't be operated hand held, although the cable connector is in a slightly awkward spot. The device does have a tendency to flex slightly, which would worry me in a more conventional mechanical controller, but I had no reliability issues during the review period.
The heterogeneous layout of the pads on the QuNeo is novel, but not unfamiliar. Most of the area is occupied by a four-by-four pad matrix — just like a drum machine — while the remaining space is filled with fader-like strips, buttons on their own or in pairs, and a couple of circular discs that the documentation calls 'rotaries'. Nothing is labelled, but everything visually resembles parts of other, more conventional, control surfaces. The QuNeo has no moving parts as such: all the panels respond to pressure and — in all cases except for the small buttons — position. The 'drum pads' (as we'll call them for the remainder of the review) are raised above the front panel while the 'faders' and rotaries are recessed. At this stage, it might be a good idea to plug the QuNeo into a computer to see what happens...