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Messenger Kit gets unboxed and exposed


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Messenger Kit gets unboxed and exposed

 

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messengerkitexposed33.jpg

 

Gather around fanboys, it's time for an electronics unboxing! The scissor wielding crew over at Gear Live got their hands on the new chatpad included Messenger Kit, which releases this Tuesday, and decided to chronicle the ritualistic unboxing process. Click through their unboxing pictures, be amazed at how all the contents were carefully stuffed inside the packaging and how pretty the chatpad's backlight glows. Yes sir, electronics unboxings rock especially when they feature Xbox 360 products.

 

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This definitely goes on my "To Get" list now. Woo Hoo !!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ars Technica Reviews the Messenger Kit

 

By Jeff Smykil | Published: September 18, 2007 - 10:52AM CT

 

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars...er-kit-xbox-360

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I've often longed for some kind of minimal typing solution for my 360. Frank always replied with such speed in vigor whenever I sent him a message via Xbox Live; his USB keyboard led to frequent and long-winded messages. While I did envy the speed in which he shot out messages, I was not willing to plug a USB keyboard into my Xbox 360. Thus, the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit seemed to be the perfect solution to my messaging problems.

 

The Chatpad is white—sorry Elite owners—and made of the same plastic as the 360 controller. It fits nicely into the contour of the controller, leaving only a small ridge in the back and on the sides. In the front, the keyboard does not lay flush with the controller face but instead protrudes approximately .5 inches. The device plugs into the Xbox controller where a headset would normally plug in and uses the same pins.

 

With only 47 keys, the keyboard layout doesn't feel cramped at all (the keys are almost perfectly spaced for thumb typing) and the audible feedback that one hears when a button is pushed and then released leaves little question regarding whether you missed the key or not. Typing simple messages with no punctuation is where this device shines; if you wish to spice things up a bit, you tend to run into trouble.

 

chatpad Since most of us are used to Shift and a number for things like the exclamation mark and dollar sign, there's a learning curve to the control. Much like a laptop keyboard, the Chatpad has "function keys" that allow more characters to be entered with only 47 keys. These function keys live at the opposing edges of the bottom row of keys. Instead of Fn, we have green square and orange circle. To get an exclamation point, we have to push "green square" + "Q" instead of the more traditional "shift" +"1". The other problematic quirk of this layout is that the "backspace" (delete) key is next to the "M" key, leaving you frustrated whenever you reach up to the end of the number row with the intention of deleting that unnecessary punctuation mark.

 

The add-on doesn't add much weight to the controller, but it should be noted that those of you with longer fingers will find that the Chatpad does inhibit your ability to fully encircle the "legs" of the controller. Instead, your fingers are forced to lay flat on the back of the device; a trouble that often led me to take the chatpad off when I wasn't using it.

 

Of note is the headset that comes with the Chatpad, as it connects via a single long, skinny, 1/8" plug—meaning that it should work with any third party headset; a nice bonus. As for the new, included headset, it has the controls built into the cabling, so you'll have take a hand off the controller to adjust the volume or turn the mute functionality on.

 

If you like to message your friends on Xbox Live or are one of the few people on earth that use Microsoft Messenger, then this product is a buy. It's a simple, elegant, and accessible typing option for those not interested in a bulky keyboard, even if it has a few little usability issues. If you don't bother with any of that, or have giant hands and don't like plugging and unplugging, then stay away. Either way, at under $30, it's an easy enough impulse purchase.

 

Verdict: Buy

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This one is definitely a must-buy accessory IMO, altho I prefer "Chatpad" to "Xbox Live Messenger Kit". (stupid M$ marketing morons).

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