PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad review

As hard as it might be for you wizened, Atari-era gamers to understand, there are plenty of people out there who think that today's gaming controllers need even more inputs; even more buttons. That's largely thanks to the inclusion of in-game messaging on most platforms, and, for those whose platform of choice is the PlayStation 3, Sony has introduced the QWERTY Wireless Keypad clip-on. It works as advertised, making text entry much easier and including some bonus touchpad functionality too, but along with those new buttons comes a few new headaches, and we're not entirely sure they're all worthwhile.

Design

The Wireless Keypad is a small, lightweight thing that uses a spring-loaded clamp to affix itself onto your wireless controller -- whether it be of the tingly DualShock3 variety or the rather more frigid original. Once attached it covers the PS, Start, and Select buttons, which are replicated for your convenience in the same location (just a bit higher). There's the full QWERTY spread ready for prodding, plus a few extra buttons, including dedicated ones that bring up your messages list and your friends list. Logical additions, they, because most people who buy this will be sending messages to friends.

It has a smart, sophisticated look, but those buttons are awfully, awfully tiny -- touch-typing here will take a good bit of practice for even the most experienced texters. They also don't give much feedback when pressed, barely registering any movement at all, leaving you to frequently look up at the screen and see if your input has been registered (which wouldn't be a problem if touch-typing were easier). Also, the device protrudes from top of the controller, which can be a bit of a reach. Years of smartphone use has left us with freakishly elongated thumbs, yet even we found ourselves having to tilt the controller upward to reach some of the keys. This is in contrast to the Xbox 360's Chatpad, which sits below the controller and is generally more comfortable to use.

Another major difference between the two products is that, while the Chatpad relies on the Xbox 360 controller for power, the Wireless Keypad has a separate battery. In fact, beyond the spring-loaded clamp, it's completely independent of the gamepad. On one hand this means it won't put any additional strain on the controller's power (not an issue we've heard anyone complaining about), but on the other, rather more frustrating hand this means you now have yet another hungry device requiring sustenance through a Mini-USB plug -- and one more gadget to forget to turn off, too.

Gallery: PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad

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Touchpad

As mentioned above, the buttons aren't the easiest to hit or the most responsive we've ever used, but typing with the Keypad is still infinitely better than entering text with the D-pad and on-screen virtual keyboard. The scrolling touchpad functionality, however, is rather less usable. The concept is a bit odd to begin with: you press a key on the bottom of the keypad (the one with a picture of a finger pressing a key), which suddenly turns the whole thing into a large, rather bumpy capacitive touchpad.

The idea is to sweep your finger nimbly across the keys to navigate the XMB or web browser, and while that is a nice idea, in practice it just doesn't work very well. The precision is very poor (probably thanks to the gaping holes between the touch-sensitive keys) and your fingers tend to stick just a bit on the shiny buttons as they move from one to the next. It's only occasionally useful for running through long lists, but generally isn't even worth enabling.

Wrap-up

So, is it a useful gadget and, more importantly, is it worth your $50? Despite its annoyances it does what it advertises: it makes the process of entering text much easier than the alternative of using the D-pad. For heavy users of the PS3's messaging system or for anyone who has already spent hours pimping out their pad at Home in preparation of nights full of text-based discussions, it may be a worthwhile investment.

Compared to the Xbox 360's Chatpad it's a bit less comfortable and a bit more clumsy, but is much lighter and has less of an impact on the ergos of the controller. Ultimately we're not particularly fond of either device, and we're guessing that love for one over the other will more or less fall along party lines -- as most console gaming discussions do. The real deal-breaker here is that $50 price, which seems steep compared to the Chatpad's $30. For that we'd rather buy ourselves (most of) a new game and stick with a wireless USB keyboard.

[Das Gluten @ Dec 19th 2008 2:00PM]

FUGLY!

[Levi @ Dec 19th 2008 2:03PM]

that was almost as good as 'first'

[slycooper_rocker (lorddshadow the amazing) [anti-panda death squadron force five] @ Dec 19th 2008 5:39PM]

hello fuzo

[ddd @ Dec 23rd 2008 6:32AM]

Seems the clueless morons at Engadget could not be bothered reading the manual before reviewing, and did not know they had a calibrate the touchpad...

Seriously people go elsewhere for your news, these guys are retards.

[Lars @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:31PM]

Also they completely failed to mention how it connects.... they just said "wireless". So does it use a dongle or is it Bluetooth?

If it's Bluetooth then the extra cost is completely understandable, and arguably worth it if you don't want yet another dongle taking up a port and/or getting lost. Also, is it standardized or proprietary? Meaning can I sync it with my PC/laptop? It might be handy for presentations or whenever I have my computer hooked up to my TV or a projector. Come on Engadget, where's the tech in this article?

Whoever wrote this isn't Engadget material IMO.

[Accurepl @ Dec 19th 2008 2:04PM]

Gotta love the pic with the Atari Jaguar controller. Man that thing was awful.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 19th 2008 2:08PM]

As bad as the controller was, Cybermorph (the game for which it has an overlay installed) was worse.

It's hard to believe Atari could produce a controller that bad in that timeframe. There were so many examples of how to do it well already out there by then.

[Matthew Lenz @ Dec 19th 2008 2:03PM]

See if you can lay your mitts on a refurb gyration keypad. They have much better range than most wireless keypads and they are considerably smaller than a regular keyboard (albeit harder to type on as well if you have big hands).

[mos @ Dec 19th 2008 2:04PM]

I would buy that.

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2008 2:53PM]

I would too, if it had a 3G connection w/data plan and no restrictions against using it for controlling unmanned aircraft. Talk about a sweet way to save your FIY drones when the programming fails.

[pikkoz @ Dec 19th 2008 2:26PM]

But can't sony allow us to jack a simple usb or wireless keyboard for home chatting?

[y3k.nik @ Dec 19th 2008 2:30PM]

they do?

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 19th 2008 2:46PM]

The PS3 supports most USB keyboards. There are even some wireless USB boards available now.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 19th 2008 4:31PM]

They do. They work just fine.

Sony has a fairly open peripheral strategy. For example, no $100 20GB HDDs.

[KillaChaos @ Dec 19th 2008 8:26PM]

MediaBoard Pro, Bluetooth Wireless, touchpad, and full keyboard.

For about the same price.

[Falcon636 @ Dec 19th 2008 2:05PM]

well, does it have to be connected to the controller? if not (cos im 14 and have smaller fingers) i can put it either on my lap or on the sofa next to me so there wont be a problem with reaching it.

[Almo @ Dec 19th 2008 2:10PM]

That's a good question, since it's externally powered and doesn't seem to connect directly into the sixaxis/dualshock 3, I suppose it can be used as a wireless keyboard on the side, seems interesting!

[y3k.nik @ Dec 19th 2008 2:29PM]

I am guessing it needs to hook up to the controller because it might not have bluetooth on it implicitly.

I might be wrong however.

[TimStevens @ Dec 19th 2008 2:31PM]

It's completely stand-alone, so if you wanted to use it unattached from the controller you certainly could. But, having to pick it up whenever you wanted to send a message doesn't sound particularly convenient, either ...

[Erik Tomlinson @ Dec 19th 2008 3:23PM]

I thought all along that you were supposed to just store it on the PS3 controller and take it off to type - it looks absolutely retardedly difficult to use where it is now, and then what's the point of having separate bluetooth and battery if you're just going to keep it on a device that already has that functionality?

How easy is it to remove? A couple seconds, or is it a pain in the ass?

[Mo @ Dec 19th 2008 5:36PM]

you can, but its really funny feeling to hold all alone.

and engadget... please don't hate... the chatpad does a FANTASTIC job of shutting itself off when not in use. I Had it the DAY it hit game stop (which was WAAAY early) and have only charged it 2wice since then... granted i havent been chatting it up crazy style in home, but i use it fairly often.

[KillaChaos @ Dec 19th 2008 8:23PM]

@TimStevens

I was thinking about getting the MediaBoard Pro, but got this instead. I don't plan texting to suddenly surprise me and force me to enter "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" in 3 seconds.

[chaosrain @ Dec 19th 2008 2:05PM]

I've got a chatpad at home but don't use it. I don't even have a 360. I just use a 360 controller for some Windows games. I'm quite perturbed that MS hasn't released a driver for the chatpad. You plug it into your 360 controller and get the ba-dum tone from Vista that a new device has been added, then...nothing. Buttons do nothing in windows...booooooo.

[Teh Lup @ Dec 19th 2008 2:12PM]

Wow, thanks for the input.
I have a wired 360 'windows' controller I use for the rare PC gaming experience. But love the hell outa my 360 chat pad. Wonder if M$ is aware of the that issue.

[Chase @ Dec 19th 2008 2:05PM]

ugly as sh!t!!!!!

[WhyFi @ Dec 19th 2008 2:07PM]

Engadget photographer - I know that you're all giddy over the narrow depth of focus of your nifty-fifty, but this is a product shoot - we want to SEE the product, not guess at what's behind the bokeh....

[Tankyu @ Dec 19th 2008 2:28PM]

My thoughts exactly! A smaller aperture would do wonders for the amount that is in focus.

[UK Trojan @ Dec 19th 2008 8:36PM]

I actually think it's a great shot. There are a thousand pictures of this thing all over the internet (including Engadget's own original post) but this is the first shot I've seen that actually shows not only how thin it is but that it isn't going to interfere with the front buttons or the sixaxis USB slot.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 19th 2008 2:07PM]

Thanks for the review. I wasn't expecting this to be particularly good, and it looks like my world won't be rocked.

[DZ @ Dec 19th 2008 2:10PM]

The nice thing about this is that because it has its own battery you DON'T always have to keep it attached to the PS3 controller. And from the looks of it, might make typing easier if you just used the PAD itself. Plus its a little smaller than a Wireless keyboard if you don't want to keep one of those sitting on your lap, etc.

Just my $.02 since i have not tried said device out for myself. But i will probably buy one once they go down in price... to me that's the only downfall of the device right now.

[Dez @ Dec 19th 2008 3:49PM]

somehow I doubt the price will move much in the future. If you're using it as just a keyboard, and not bothering to attach it to your controller (it looks too clunky to actually use on the controller anyway), then you might just want to save up some cash and pick up a Logitech Dinovo Mini keyboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126039

You can pick one up a little cheaper than that if you shop around. Thing is even made with PS3 in mind, with a switch on it to change to PS3 functionality. Trackpad takes a little getting used to, but still better than the really odd solution sony came up with on this one. Not a bad deal if you consider that you can use it with your PC too. Personally, I use a dinovo edge, but that's a bit larger.

[Levi @ Dec 19th 2008 2:10PM]

I'm waiting for there to be an abundance of "just use a USB keyboard" comments.

I think this thing looks like a great product. Not perfect, but definitely a lot better for a console than a keyboard. Half, if not most of the reason I have a console, is to enjoy the ease of sitting back on the couch with a controller. Hooking up a normal keyboard (even wireless) to a PS3 takes away some of that simplicity, and makes the use of the system a lot more cumbersome. Although this lil guy might have some issues, it really looks like a great solution to kick back and send a few quick messages in-game without having the extra bulk of a real keyboard.

Someone on PS3Fanboy said it feels a lot like the G1 keyboard. If that's true, I'd be happy with it. I just got to try out a G1, and it was very comfortable. The device is just too expensive, though. That is the down side, and the biggest reason I can see people going for the USB keyboards instead. If I find myself completely addicted to a multiplayer PS3 game (I'm hoping KZ2 will fill those shoes), and also find the need to chat in said game, I can see shelling out the extra bucks for the comfort of a QWERTY attached to my controller.

There's always the possibility that a Gamestop or EB could get some returns and sell them in the plastic bags that used accessories come in... in which case we could give it a quick feel-up first.

[Dez @ Dec 19th 2008 3:56PM]

Why do you want to love this device so much? It just seems a bit forced... I think the ideas for the keyboard was good, but just poorly executed. putting it on top of the controller instead of the bottom makes it seem awkward to hold. The mouse control idea was ok, but not the most elegant solution.

Point being, if you're going to do something, you should do it right. There are plenty of options for around $50 with superior functionality, they just don't snap on top of your controller. Actually, thinking about it, since this doesn't even use any of the controller for power, or sending a bluetooth signal, or anything like that... why even bother with this?

[Levi @ Dec 19th 2008 7:00PM]

"Why do you want to love this device?"

(A) I just told you. It offers the ability to type with a full QWERTY keypad without the added baggage of a computer keyboard on your lap/couch/coffee table.

(B) Your definition of functionality in this case might not be the same as everyone else'. I'm pretty good at typing with a thumb pad, and I value the compact size and wireless nature of the controller. If you prefer typing on a full keyboard on your lap, then fine, this is more functional for you, but not for me. If I take your reply at face value, I do not see more functionality in a $50 wireless keyboard (if it were to be used with the PS3 only) than this device unless you just REQUIRE a real keyboard. I do not. The WHOLE POINT is that it snaps to the controller and is small. So when you say the other options are better but "just don't snap to the controller," then you are completely contradicting the point of the device.

(C) I already said the device is too expensive for me right now.

[Neil @ Dec 19th 2008 2:12PM]

I'd rather get that little wireless keyboard Engadget showed the other day that had the blue backlight for the keys.

[Nomi @ Dec 19th 2008 2:13PM]

Not bad...

[Shugg @ Dec 19th 2008 2:15PM]

I know I'm gonna be called a fanboy fir this,.iPhone /touch offer this free app that allows u to send messages from ur iPhone to Xbox and view all yoour friends lists avatar n tells u what games the playing scores etc,.I think it's tight. I Xbox about 26 hours a week

[cj @ Dec 19th 2008 2:33PM]

I think this guy actually believes that iPhone is a game console lollolololololololololololololoololololololololololololol

[CDN Crockett @ Dec 19th 2008 3:08PM]

@cj

It is,

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/apple-the-iphone-is-a-gaming-console/

[Levi @ Dec 19th 2008 7:10PM]

lol if Engadget says it's a console, I guess I can't argue... BiA is so terrible on it, and it had potential... Though, Sim City on the iPhone is a good plus for it.

Taking the OP seriously, that sounds really cool... like, you can use the app in conjunction with the 360 as a keyboard? Or just to send messages to peoples' Live accounts? If you can like type in-game messages with the iPhone and have em pop up on the TV screen, that would be about as awesome as it gets.

[Inker�inen @ Dec 19th 2008 2:14PM]

Make it compatible with PSP! Ppl will chat while playing! :)

[smcallah @ Dec 19th 2008 2:19PM]

Why do you think Atari-era gamers don't know about lots of buttons?

Did we forget about the keypad controller for the 2600? Or the standard Atari 5200 controller? Or the Colecovision and Intellivision controllers? Lots and lots of buttons.

It's NES-era gamers that were afraid of buttons!

[Silverfrog @ Dec 19th 2008 3:48PM]

It has nothing to do with fear. It has to do with the controller fitting squarely in one's hands so that your thumbs can reach every single button without re-positioning your hands.

That is how you make a non-awkward controller. That's why NES sold about 1000 times what the Atari 5200 did. And by the way, the Atari 2600, by default, had one button. And I liked that one better than any subsequent Atari controller.

[slycooper_rocker (lorddshadow the amazing) [anti-panda death squadron force five] @ Dec 19th 2008 5:42PM]

that's why i didn't like the n64 controller. it was a bitch to hold.

[inteller @ Dec 19th 2008 2:20PM]

how anyone can think that bastardized aftertought is "ok" is beyond me. fanboy or not, you'd have to be crazy to use that junk.

[AP @ Dec 19th 2008 2:24PM]

I've got one of these, and it works fantastically. It's extremely convenient, and very functional. The touchpad feature is really great, and it's no issue for me to browse the internet with it.

[WickedEast @ Dec 19th 2008 2:38PM]

I tried it, navigating and typing, and it works okay for me as well. Not for typing your essays but is fine for a quick chat.

[dogzy @ Dec 19th 2008 2:28PM]

I just use a dinovo edge kb and a standard wireless mouse, seems to work fine.

[Charlie Styr @ Dec 19th 2008 2:28PM]

I just use a wireless keyboard that I found lying around the house, far easier, just have it sitting next to me, when I want to send someone a message, boom! It's there ;-)

[gabe @ Dec 19th 2008 2:32PM]

i love the xbox chatpad

lights up, great feedback from the keypresses, and more than anything it actually feels good with the controller.