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The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands

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radar2670
12/06/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Way too expensive. I know I can use any wired USB keyboard. Are there any other wireless keyboard options avail for the PS3?
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/07/08

@radar2670:In theory, any Bluetooth keyboard should work with it.
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xnamkcor
12/07/08

@Foxstar Sixtail: Would there be legal issues if devs added Wii Remote functionality to games?
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/07/08

@xnamkcor:On that, I honestly don't know. Some people likely already have, at least homebrew wise.
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Chalkdust
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
From every impression that I've read, this DS3 keypad feels and works much better than pictures indicate. It looks out of place and awkward, but people seem to be saying it just works in practice.

Personally, it's not worth $50 right now to me. It seems like a nice device, and I like that it can be used on the controller or separate, but you could get a full BT keyboard for less than half the price!

I would've liked to see backlit keys, especially for the price tag. With longer charge cables getting cheaper, the battery drain of the keypad shouldn't even be that much of an issue I'd think.
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Gam3r
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
I knew this would be better than the 360 pad when I first saw the pics of it. Having it above the controller is a much better design choice, unless people care more about how the pads look than how they actually function. Better than keeping a keyboard sitting by you all the time too. Sony did an excellent job on this one, it's too bad people are predisposed to talking shit about it for some reason.
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/05/08

@Gam3r:You sound like the biggest shrill.
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Jun581 says foxstar is a bitch and sucks kotaku...wait my phone is ringing
12/06/08

@Foxstar Sixtail: well you're a douche and the biggest shill. prick!
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/07/08

@Gam3r:Sorry, I left a 'r' in there. And please bring better debating points to the table.
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Xagest
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Screw PS3 functionality. I'm using this baby to control my HDTV-attached PC. I already have the analog sticks working as mouse and scroll wheel. Having the keyboard really beats anything wired (or the god awful on screen keyboard).
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GOLD5
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Waits for PSP keyboard...*COUGH*
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/05/08

@GOLD5:It's not coming. It died a year or so ago.
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Also people are forgetting that by using the PS3 controller battery, your basically shortening the life of the controller even MORE.

I don't know how Microsoft got the 360 controller so right this gen after the huge joke that was "The Duke" on the first Xbox, but whoever they have designing controllers and attachments for controllers needs a raise. A big one.
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Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
You can get mini sized USB keyboards in any Wal-mart, Teco, Target and whatnot across the freaking world for 10-20 dollars.

Sorry Sony, but I have a card table, your not getting me on this.
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NeVeRMoRe666
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Hmmm...I would just use a headset, much easier and faster...
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ph15h
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Any idea if this would work on the PC as well? :P I need a bluetooth keyboard and I'm thinking about buyin one that suits multiple purposes... C'mon custom Drivers!
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Gilbert Tang Jr.
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
I still think $50 is outrageous for this device, but I still really want it. I appreciate that it connects independently and has its own charging. That means I can use it sans controller if I really wanted to and it's not going to sap juice from my already too-short-a-battery-life controllers.

I'm interested in knowing more about this touchpad feature. Are you saying that while in this mode as you sweep your fingers across the keys it translates that movement into that of a mouse pointer?
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Antiterra
12/05/08

@Gilbert: Yup, that's exactly how it works. Press the Touchpad key and the entire surface acts like a touchpad, with the Enter key used to click on links, open XMB menus or launch files.

@yanipheonu: Huh, yes, it does (the flash may have screwed up the colours on the above pics). It's the exact same black matte finish as the controller.

By the way, here's some useful info that, oddly enough, is not documented in the instructions manual: the keypad has a reset button on the bottom.

I messed up the pairing the first time around (I should really learn to RTFM): the keypad was unresponsive and the three LEDs wouldn't stop blinking, even with the power switched OFF (was there a ghost in my shell?).

And then, my natural genius (that, or years of practice messing up hardware, which turned "where's-the-reset-button?" into a natural instinct) led me to the solution...

So, yeah, Reset is my favourite button in the world, on any device, ever.
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Murderdolls
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
"This is a must for home"

Sure! Only if home can hold my interest for longer than an hour.
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Horusz
12/05/08

@Murderdolls:

I agree, I tried the beta and it sucked hard.

So sad that Sony puts so much money in it's development, it's a waste.
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EnigmaNemesis
12/05/08

@Horusz:

Yeah, because clearly your the target.
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shadow763
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Wow, I am amazed how ugly the blue 360 controller is. Just looks cheap.
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Chalkdust
12/05/08

@shadow763: Yeah reminds me of N64 controllers. :p
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Enochrewt
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
Personally I like my 360 version because it gives the controller some weight, and makes it feel more like the old Duke controllers from Xbox1.

I don't know how heavy the PS3 one is, but it seems like it would screw up the balance of the controller being on top.
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Zookey
12/05/08

@Enochrewt: I got one--you'd be shocked--it really doesent--which is odd because, on its' own, it feels very solid--so you'd think it would weigh it down but it doesn't feel akward like the N64 rumble packs or anything like that...
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Antiterra
12/05/08

@Zookey: I got one too (traded in my old Sixaxis and got the keypad for 20 euros), and another thing that pleasantly surprised me was that you can just detach it and leave on your desk.

Since it's completely independent from the controller (and doesn't drain the latter's batteries), it doesn't need to be attached.

That's very useful when you're just exchanging 2-3 messages with a friend while gaming solo.

And the touchpad function works flawlessly, too (just make sure you read the instructions and calibrate the device, because it's jumpy and erratic until you do).

And yes, I know USB keyboards work, but not everyone wants to have a full-sized keyboard lying around at all times. I had one (a relatively compact keyboard that I'd use only for the PS3) and found it very impractical. The less clutter, the better.

All in all, the keypad was absolutely worth the purchase for me. But as usual, YMMV.

I'll agree that $50 or €40 is too expensive, no matter how nifty it is, but I'm sure online deals will pop up soon enough.
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Quicksilver4648
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
I like the 360 pad and it works like it should, but I don't like the PS3 keypad requires its own batteries.
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BlueToast
12/05/08

@Quicksilver4648: I think it's great. It makes actually connecting the chatpad optional. And it allows you to charge it when you are using the controller.

on a side note: How long does the chatpad last on a 360 controller without rechargeable batteries? Does it noticeably shorten the battery life?
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Adam In Texas
12/05/08

@BlueToast: I don't think it really changes the battery life on the 360 controller at all. It doesn't draw power unless you hit a key on it (then the backlight comes on for the keys) I can't tell a difference when playing with it at least (I use the rechargeable 360 battery packs on my controllers).
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BlueToast
12/05/08

@Adam In Texas: I would imagine that the PS3 chatpad will use more power. As it has to maintain it's own BlueTooth connection.
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doubtful
12/05/08

@BlueToast:

I would imagine (hope) it works like the Blu-Ray remoted which doesn't make a connection and use battery power until a button is pressed.
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omicron1
12/05/08

In reply to The PS3 Wireless Keypad, In My Cold, Cold Hands
And consoles continue their inexorable march towards becoming half-functional PCs that only play shallow games.
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Chalkdust
12/05/08

@omicron1: If you've gamed on a console, when was the last time? The Sega saturn? SNES? Earlier?
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