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Friday, August 22, 2008

PS3 controller add-on; Wireless QWERTY keypad!


You thought the public statement Sony made yesterday regarding a new 160 GB SKU was all? Well, think again my friend. Pictured is the new Wireless Keypad. As you can see, it's very reminiscent of Xbox 360's Messenger kit, as they are both QWERTY keypads that cleverly buckle onto their respective controllers. In this instance though, the pad aligns to the top of the controller, rather than the bottom - a design choice that we fear could make the pads heavy front heavy, especially the featherweight Sixaxis.

Even so, the keypad is pretty much ideal if you need to fire off a quick message to someone on your friends list, and now that Sony has got the in-game messaging system sorted via Firmware 2.40, these accessories are pretty well timed. It should also be good for web browsing too, although Sony may have somewhat reduced its own market share by being so generous with Bluetooth keyboard compatibility.

Other features include a 'Touch pad mode', which is apparently something like a mouse trackpad, although even scrutinizing the product pics sheds no light on how it works.

The Wireless Keypad is out in November in the US, and will be with the rest of us sometime before the end of the year. Perfectly in time for Christmas! There's little chance of Sony missing out on extra sales during the Christmas hardware rush, so I'm guessing late November is a possibility. Prices are still being decided.

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