Chatpad Hands-On Preview At GameSpot
- Scribbled on July 21st, 2007 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Hardware Peripherals, Microsoft Xbox 360, Previews
GameSpot has a nifty hands-on preview of the Xbox Live Messenger Kit - or, as we like to call it, the Chatpad.
The Messenger Kit will include the keyboard chatpad and a new wired headset. The chatpad is designed to slide into the base of the Xbox 360 gamepad. The pad feels a little awkward as you fit it into place, but it snaps on with a satisfying click as the pad’s plastic retention pegs find their corresponding holes on the gamepad. The snug fit makes the pad feel like it’s a part of the gamepad. The unit adds some weight to the controller, but the heft seems manageable. We played a few games with the chatpad installed and found that it didn’t interfere with game controls. The edge of your palms will rest on the left and right sides of the chatpad, but you’ll still be able to use the buttons and analog sticks just fine.
The chatpad itself feels solid. The keys provide adequate, clicky feedback and are spaced well enough for fast typing. It uses a standard QWERTY layout, and many of the keys have special alternate values that you can activate. The alternate modes can be activated by using the green and amber keys on the bottom left and bottom right of the chatpad. The pad also has a messenger button that can open up the messaging window onscreen. For players who like to game in the dark, the pad has a built-in backlight that will illuminate the keyboard whenever a key is pressed. We tried plugging a USB Xbox 360 gamepad with the chatpad into a PC desktop system, but we couldn’t get Windows to recognize the chatpad as a text input device.
Awesome, dude. Now, does this mean the Xbox 360 version of World of Warcraft is coming?
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