Wireless keypad attachment revealed for PS3

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 20th 2008 at 11:30AM }

A new peripheral for the PS3 has just been announced at Leipzig. A wireless keypad is similar to Xbox 360's current chatpad, but it will connect to the controller through the top USB port. The chatpad will also enable "touchpad mode for mouse input." A picture of the keypad attached to a controller, after the jump.

Equipped with Bluetooth(R) functionality, the Wireless Keypad can be paired to PS3 by simply connecting the keypad to the USB cable that comes bundled with the PS3 system. Also, two shortcut buttons, a Communication Button and a Message Box Button, are placed on the lower part of the Wireless Keypad, enabling users to jump to pre-set features on XMB(TM) (XrossMediaBar) such as "Friends" and "Message Box" during game play, which help PS3 users to smoothly communicate with each other. Additionally, a Touch Pad Button allows PS3 users to use the entire surface of the keypad as a touch pad, allowing them to easily maneuver the pointer while web browsing, simply by sliding their finger on the keypad surface.

Tags: keypad, leipzig, lgc08, ps3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Jason @ Aug 20th 2008 11:35AM

sweet, maybe it will be functional and out of the way.

SgtDuty @ Aug 20th 2008 11:35AM

Awesome!

The Aggie CEO @ Aug 20th 2008 11:39AM

is it made by Sony tho?? I dont want some bullshit by madcatz.......

Andrew Yoon @ Aug 20th 2008 11:44AM

Yes, this is an official Sony accessory.

benny boy @ Aug 20th 2008 11:39AM

Just what Home users need. It's such a pain typing evrything out on the PS3 controller and a normal keboard is to big to be left lying around the living room. I was just thinking that something like this should be made.

echike @ Aug 20th 2008 10:00PM

Yep I agree with you on that one and it looks like they're releasing it arounf the home beta launch this year:D

Kyuba08 @ Aug 20th 2008 11:46AM

I agree with Benny. Using the controller for home will be a pain, so I'm glad they announced this. I'll probably pick one up.

Allingby @ Aug 20th 2008 11:46AM

I think this could be good, BUT... I think it rips off MS, witch isn't so good, I still love to call BS on MS cause they make nothing but ripoffs:P

Devin @ Aug 20th 2008 12:29PM

That's like saying MS ripping off Sony with their controller having a D-pad and 2 joypads, but how else could they have done it? It goes the same for this. Personally I will just use my bluetooth M+K.

Simstim @ Aug 20th 2008 6:23PM

the keypad for the 360 is great, why not copy a good idea? plus this has touch sensivity which is a nice improvement.

i'll pick this up depending on the price

HAAS599 @ Aug 20th 2008 11:48AM

we need pictures!

reson8er @ Aug 20th 2008 12:06PM

+1!

The_Punisher @ Aug 20th 2008 11:48AM

Sold. It takes so long to type messages.....

Dom @ Aug 20th 2008 11:54AM

yes pictures please. there have been many times when i almost bought the madcatz one because it is the only option avaliable. this would be a must have...for me atleast. i send more messages now that i can access the xmb while in game, if i'm playing online it takes way to long to even tell my friends to join my party.

reson8er @ Aug 20th 2008 12:04PM

Very nice, I need to self the logitech board I have. The pad seems like a great addition.

charlie @ Aug 20th 2008 12:10PM

Sweet i hope its under $40.

PDouble @ Aug 20th 2008 12:12PM

They have a pic up on the PlayStation Blog

Blooper62 @ Aug 20th 2008 12:13PM

they have pictures of this and new psp on the playstation blog!

Kyuba08 @ Aug 20th 2008 12:19PM

Here you guys go.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/

Look BIG and strange...

Kyuba08 @ Aug 20th 2008 12:21PM

Well, let me take that back. It actually looks pretty interesting.

Kyuba08 @ Aug 20th 2008 12:29PM

Pictures from Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/2780863293/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/2781722342/in/photostream/

wauktownzown @ Aug 20th 2008 12:40PM

this is a must buy for me!

bmfinc @ Aug 20th 2008 12:44PM

I wonder how much? I am guessing $60+, it looks awesome but it will be price dependent for me.

Klerk Cant @ Aug 20th 2008 12:50PM

.. smh.. i really wish i got this news earlier..like 3 weeks earlier.. i got the heavy, limited keys, bullisht madcatz one.. im typing with it now.. i have to look at the pad to type and on top of that, i have to type extra hard. i really hope the sony one dont have the same problems.

justinb @ Aug 20th 2008 12:54PM

That thing has got to be the coolest looking keyboard ever!

Popfrogs @ Aug 20th 2008 12:54PM

Pretty damn sweet, according to the Sony blog it has batteries that charge via USB and can be used with smartphones and other devices that support bluetooth keyboards.

iamkid @ Aug 20th 2008 12:55PM

thats pretty cool for people who dont have a mic, the typing takes forever.

elephant_stone @ Aug 20th 2008 12:58PM

I bought on of these a few months back in anticipation for Home for like £17.99 ($35?):

http://i.expansys.com/i/b/b113674.jpg

maybe I should have waited seeing as it has a built in mouse touch pag, D'oh! I dont even use the keyboard I currently have lol

John S @ Aug 20th 2008 12:58PM

I wonder how heavy the thing is. I like the shortcut keys. Interested to see how well it'll work as a touchpad.

I have these skins for my controllers from Pelican, I really hope I don't have to take them off to attach the keyboard.

ajiezer @ Aug 20th 2008 1:38PM

I hope it doesn't get in the way of the l and r buttons

Otis @ Aug 20th 2008 2:04PM

I got a white DS3. So I hope it comes in white.

Ves @ Aug 20th 2008 2:06PM

Perfectly planned, it will come out around the same time Home gets the open beta tag.

francisco @ Aug 20th 2008 2:18PM

lol it looks funny on top XD but i like haha

kevin @ Aug 20th 2008 2:23PM

for the incredible price of?
coming out when ?

Anthony @ Aug 20th 2008 2:32PM

I could of sworn there was something like this out already... But i could be mistaken. But yes, this is a GREAT accessory for HOME, i wish i could bluetooth my HTC device and use THAT as keyboard, that would be sweet.

Echnaton @ Aug 20th 2008 2:37PM

I'll get one :-)

JMillionNYC @ Aug 20th 2008 4:06PM

i will be getting this. it will be great for when i like to surf the net on my ps3 and/or do random stuff. touchpad sounds cool too

biggrapp @ Aug 20th 2008 4:57PM

schweet!!!

JayVe @ Aug 20th 2008 5:00PM

I love the idea of a 1st-party keyboard for the PS3, but this thing has some SERIOUS ergonomic issues. Most important, is that the keys themselves are so far away from the analog joysticks. I don't know about you, but I'm just about ALWAYS using the analog joysticks. I hate to say it, but I think Microsoft's implementation is better. The keys on the chatpad all fit within the space between the controller grips, which is much closer to the rest of the thumb positions on a controller.

As an exercise, try holding your DualShock and try reaching all the way up to where the number keys would be in this keyboard.

The height of the keyboard in this Sony solution is another issue. The keyboard has a 'lip' around the bottom edge. When attached, this lip forms semi-circular walls around the D-pad and face-button areas. This raised structure also sets the keyboard on a different plane than the other buttons on the controller.

Ergonomically, this is a series of awful design choices as it forces your thumbs to not only move around to find the keys, but they require movement up and away from the plane of face buttons and joysticks.

Example Image: http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/playstation.joystiq.com/media/2008/08/ps3_3keypadcontrollertdogether.jpg

The last thing is the keyboard backlighting. When you are playing in a dark rec-room, being able to see the keys is VERY important, so I am going to ASSUME that the keyboard is backlit. The problem arises with the alternate characters, which are painted on the surface, and not the keys. Any kind of semi-advanced punctuation is lost in poor lighting conditions such as player's dim living rooms or dorms. I've had this exact same problem with Sony PDAs in the past. Often, the lights of the keys make it MORE difficult to see the special characters painted in the slight background.

Again, the 360 chatpad came through with the entire keyboard being readable in complete darkness. Example Image: http://blog.game-zero.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/chatpad.jpg

Sony is no stranger when it comes to borrowing good ideas; heck, the PS3 controller is essentially an enhanced SNES pad. I simply wish they'd taken more design decisions from Microsoft's chatpad design instead of throwing all sense of usability for the sake of being different.

Miguel @ Aug 20th 2008 5:48PM

I agree, I dont really see how that is comfortably usable.

darko @ Aug 20th 2008 6:32PM

The way the PS3 controller sits in your hand your thumbs are naturally towards the bottom of the pad, with your hands curved in on the back. Putting the keypad at the bottom would make it closer to the thumb sticks, but I think you'd struggle to use it without straining your thumbs or knocking the sticks about.

By putting it on top when you release your thumbs from the sticks they will be in a more natural position (i.e. pointing upwards and inwards above the shoulder buttons, towards the keyboards centre) to use it comfortably.

I think the proximity to the thumb sticks is a non issue. It's not going to be as fluid as using a PC keyboard and typing in game. You will have to stop to use it, the Xbox 360 keypad is no different in this respect either. If you want that kind of thing then get a head set. As for the backlight, I guess technically you shouldn't be playing in the dark anyway (from an H&S pov).

Sony won't just be putting this out there without any kind of ergonomic testing anyway, so it'll obviously work fine. But I guess we can only judge it by its appearance right now anyway.

lorddshadow @ Aug 20th 2008 5:33PM

this is excellent! this is the perfect complement to in-game xmb

SOCOMRAIDER @ Aug 20th 2008 6:11PM

If money is of no object. And you use a lot of media functions on the PS3. The DiNovo Mini is a good option without having a huge keyboard.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/3848&cl=us,en

Though the cheapest you can find it is $120. But like I said, if money is of no object to you.

skin.bintin @ Aug 20th 2008 6:51PM

This looks good. I don't think it has been implemented as well as the Chatpad on the Xbox360, as this one looks too out of the way, and being about the controller, may mess up the weight distribution blah blah blah.

All the same though, it's a great addition, and I welcome it. Thanks Sony. :)

Soapy911 @ Aug 20th 2008 6:56PM

coool! it'll probably make my sixaxis feel like a dualshock :p

exetermako @ Aug 20th 2008 9:28PM

Oh, thank the Lord. Everytime I know I have a lot of typing to do I have to whip my huge Microsoft wireless keyboard (it doesn't work in Vista so I figured I might as well keep it for something since it cost me $60).

Arnon @ Aug 21st 2008 1:36AM

Wait wait.. so you're supposed to reach ABOVE the controller, when you're thumbs are placed BELOW the controller? I don't understand.

Metal_Gear @ Aug 21st 2008 12:49PM

Are people surgically attached to their dualshocks?

You can let go if you need to, there is never going to be a part of a game when you have to control your character AND type so nothing will explode if you have to take your right hand and release the controller, then you could extend your index finger and type with that while continuing to hold the controller with your left hand to prevent sudden decent and resultant smash of your controller and keypad attachment.

Just been announced and people are moaning already...