With the consumer-fest that was Christmas fading into memory, thoughts inevitably turn to more wholesome things, like the January sales. Stuck for what to buy in order to take the edge off having to go back to work? PS3 Attitude reckons you could do a lot worse that the PS3 wireless keyboard. Perfect for a virtual night out in Home, rather than an expensive real one in town…
Check out the review here.
It’s sure is popular, there isn’t a sinlge one left in the whole of Oxford!
Comment by E-ROLE — Jan 5, 2009 @ 3:49 pm
Amazon have been out of stock for a few weeks (probably because they were selling the wireless keypad for GBP 6 under Recommended Retail Price).
I bought one in GAME (at R.R.P) a few days before Christmas so I didn’t have to resort to typing out messages via the usual XrossMediaBar on-screen keyboard in “PlayStation Home” over the festive break, but then I didn’t log-in to “Home” at all.
I thought the keys on the keypad were a little too small to use (reminding me of the keys on the Treo 600 mobile telephone handset) & a few other reviews I have read (since I purchased the accessory) seemed to agree with me.
I did, however, think the mouse gesture interface worked well (once it was calibrated).
The keypad is not something I (will) use every day, but it is more convenient than balancing a full-sized USB keyboard on my lap.
(Yes, I know I can buy a smaller USB keyboard, but full-sized ones are only 4 or 5 quid each, versus at least 20 notes for the reduced size peripherals).
The PS3 wireless keypad now takes pride of place permanently attached to by White & Black ‘Stormtrooper” DUALSHOCK(r)3 wireless controller I imported from Japan that is also fitted with ‘GeoTeck Real’ triggers
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jan 5, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
“…to my White & Black…”
Sorry, my man-flu is causing “b” & “m” to look the same
Comment by fanpages — Jan 5, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR THREE SPEECH!!!!!!!!
Comment by JohnSketch — Jan 5, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
tiny tiny mouse paw sized keys! sticking with my sexy iMac k/board fanx.
@ js - you thawed out from your trip to Scotchland yet?
welcome back!
those GeoTek triggers have to be the best add-on ever,
along with rubber caps on the sticks for super extra grip.
joypad is srsbizness
Comment by mobiletone — Jan 5, 2009 @ 6:32 pm
question: did anyone bother going on HOME over the xmas period?
Comment by mobiletone — Jan 5, 2009 @ 6:38 pm
@Mobiletone
I did, met loads of great people, lots that live around me. We get along quite well.
Home is great!
Comment by E-ROLE — Jan 5, 2009 @ 6:48 pm
I logged into Home just yesterday, was away the rest of the time. I told this girl ( could have been a bloke in disguise ) on the US servers that she could have made an effort with her appearance, as a joke as I know full well there really is not much on offer in Home at the moment and she walked away. Obviously, no sense of humour state side.
Comment by CartBlanche — Jan 5, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
Was toying with the idea of getting one, for LBP since KB support has been added in the last patch
(Got bored of home, deleted it)
But have seen a really cool illuminated mini USB keyboard on eBay, still torn…
Comment by Mr.Monkey — Jan 5, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
I got one of these for Christmas and was impressed with the quality, surprisingly it works much better than I was expecting.
It is compact, but personally I don’t think the keys are too small to use comfortably. Indeed thanks to it’s QWERTY layout I found I was able to touch type with my thumbs rather easily.
I also like the logical use of the shoulder buttons for additional keys and the way the shift key remembers it’s been pressed for the next key used so you don’t need to hold it down.
I don’t use it a lot, and I like how it has an off switch for when you’re not using it, but when I am doing something on the net or sending a Message to a Friend etc it’s an absolute God send, I could never go back to the on-screen keyboard anymore!
Lastly, the mouse function is a pleasant surprise, I’m not sure how often you would use it, but it’s really well implemented and works much better than I was expecting. You only need to lightly touch the surface of the keys for it to recognise the movement, very similar to those laptop touch-pads. It will be interesting to see if it’s ever incorporated as a gaming interface, as it seems a bit wasted only being used on the Web Browser (which personally I think uses the analogue sticks just as well)
Comment by Apnomis — Jan 5, 2009 @ 8:28 pm
@FP/Mtone
Yeah I got a set of gioteck triggers £3 from PLAY ages ago, missed out the OPM freebie give away…
Worth every penny, never looked back since, also just modded my 360 d-pad yesterday. Wish I did it sooner…
& My Official Ps3 headset has finally been dispatched! Got email this morning, reviews seem to be varied will give it a whirl when it lands… If I can’t get away with it will have to track down a Logitech Usb vantage, that seems to be “teh bezt” headset…
Comment by Mr.Monkey — Jan 5, 2009 @ 8:40 pm
[Mr M.]:
GAME have “Tom Clancy’s EndWar” with bundled official wireless headset for GBP 39.98 presently… but I wouldn’t recommend you send your newly despatched model back… you won’t see the refund for months.
(”SOCOM: Confrontation” with the same headset has just gone up a fiver… hope anybody who was going to pre-order has done so already so that the lower price will be honoured. The extra notes must be to fund the patches required before the online-only title is playable before release in Europe)
['tone]:
Are the rubber caps on the analogue sticks your own invention? I’d get those trademarked & officially licensed if I were you; they sound a great idea
Talking (typing) of good ideas…
Anybody from the States who wishes a fancy colo[u]r for their Region 1 PS3?
[ http://www.colorwarepc.com/p-99-playstation-3.aspx ]
Here’s one in red you can win…
[ http://www.ps3center.net/page/7/ ]
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jan 5, 2009 @ 9:54 pm
@Mr Monkey. Official USB headset rocks. That was my best Christmas present. It’s not the most comfortable thing to wear but then none of them are! What’s good about it is that it looks cool, especially when charging! and matches my other official accessories. More importantly you get on-screen feedback for battery level and (I think) volume. It’s also one of the only headsets with a mute button on it. Handy if you use open-mic.
Comment by reakt — Jan 6, 2009 @ 9:34 am
‘touchpad mode’ allows you to ’stroke’ the keys
wtf? how well does that work? Do you literally run your finger over the entire keypad?
I mite still go with the BT mini keyboard/trackpad on amazon, I think I would get annoyed with having to constantly attach and detach it…
Comment by lxd — Jan 6, 2009 @ 10:09 am
@fp
Not bothered about Socom, hence buying the standalone headset (paid £17 for it, it’s back up to £25 on Amazon now), also Endwar is on my rental list for 360…
The rubber caps Tone speaks of are called Cap Stickz or something like that, have seen them on a few sites… Personally have no problem with my any of my analogue sticks…
Did have to get a silcon sleeve for the wii nunchuk tho, as the plastic it’s made out of seem to make my hands really sweat, but I digress….
@Reakt
I also got a Gioteck PS3 headset that has mute button (most phone Bluetooth headsets have a mute too), but yes the intergrated battery level display and talking while charging hands free on the stand (so I read somewhere) + the “official” tag were the big selling points for me…
(Tend to always get 1st party accessories, Im fussy)
Have read a few reviews that the sound still sometimes drops, and worried about comfort. But like I said, will give it a test drive when it arrives.
Comment by Mr.Monkey — Jan 6, 2009 @ 11:13 am
Actually the rubber cap pads are called
*drumroll*
Caps4stix
Comment by Mr.Monkey — Jan 6, 2009 @ 11:26 am
The keypad is OK - it’s certainly more convenient than the on-screen keyboard, if not actually much faster. Sadly it is very small, so you can’t really type on it, it’s more like texting - hunt and peck.
Still, until Sony fix the USB keyboard problem* it’s nice to have a keyboard instantly available, and it is very light indeed so it doesn’t affect controller usage much.
A note of caution though - it does raise the Start and Select buttons quite a bit, so I always remove it when playing Warhawk for example.
* The USB keyboard problem is that if the PS3 switches on with a USB keyboard plugged in it is allocated controller number one, which then messes up many games if you start them with your controller, which is now number 2. Yes, you can reassign them, but having to do so every time you switch it on is unacceptable. The BD remote is controller 7, why can’t the keyboard automatically be controller 6?
Comment by nemo — Jan 6, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
@nemo
Is it the same if it’s turned on with the keyboard plugged into the second usb port?
Comment by Mr.Monkey — Jan 6, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
[lxd]:
“wtf? how well does that work? Do you literally run your finger over the entire keypad?”
Yes, that is exactly what you do.
[Mr M]/['tone]:
I think we are due some commission.
Play.com have just had a huge surge of interest in:
“Exspect PS3 Silicone Analogue Caps”
[ http://www.play.com/Games/PlayStation3/4-/7765248/Exspect-PS3-Silicone-Analogue-Caps/Product.html ]
Now out of stock, but they are sat at #5 in the “Top Sellers” list for the PS3.
Nowhere in the list yesterday!
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jan 6, 2009 @ 5:50 pm
@ fp - hahaha! i’ll take my commission in postal orders i think
but anyone wanting a pair can get them for 99p a pair from here* :-
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ_nkwZcaps4stixQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ
@ nemo - a usb k/board assign problem srsly?? i have 2, that’s TWO usb keyboards plugged into my PS3 and not once have they ever been assigned as controllers.
* plus postage and kittenz
Comment by mobiletone — Jan 6, 2009 @ 8:15 pm
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