Belkin F8GFPC001 Nostromo Speedpad n50 10-Button SpeedPad

Rating:
Summary: Best keyboard replacement you can buy
Review: The Nostromo N50 is truly an advance in game input devices. It is easy to program, and comfortable to use. Really simplifies game controls.

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Summary: Latest update fixes all problems!
Review: This is a great FPS game controller, designed to be used with the left hand (think: WASD) while your right moves the mouse. The latest free update (as of this writing) v2.6, allows it to work perfectly on XP machines, plus adds a bunch of new features that some people were whining about. For example: you can now use the D-pad for shift keys! This lets you quadruple the number of functions of each of the ten main keys without sacrificing any of them as shift keys! (That right there takes out most of the user complaints about how it wasn't quite perfect enough for them.) Someone was saying that there are 8 keys, but no, there are 10. Two rows of 5 = 10 last time I checked. Plus the 8-direction D-pad. The throttle control is useless, but so what? It doesn't get in the way, and is easily ignored. The macro programmability is extremely powerful and immenently useful. Oh, another change with the new v2.6 update is the ability to edit macros that you have recorded! Yes! And, as always, you can easily set it up so that a particular key-mapping "profile" is automatically loaded when you start up a particular game -- and you can just leave it plugged into its USB port when not playing games, it doesn't take over any keys on your regular keyboard when inactive. If you play a lot of FPS games, you will LOVE the way this thing handles! You can frag for many more hours now before feeling any fatigue in your left hand. After you get used to it, you will not want to go back to your keyboard. The only thing about it is that southpaws need not apply (unless they use their mouse in their right hand. I know a few that do.)

Rating:
Summary: Good idea, failed implementation.
Review: When I saw this, I was really impressed by the concept. It's commonly accepted fact that the best combination of control for an FPS game is a keyboard and mouse. I thought this would be the first thing to break that. I was wrong. There are simply too mnay limitations in the hardware and software for me to like this product.
1) Simply not enough buttons. I would have named this greatest product of the year if there was one more column of buttons on the left and another row at the top, making it 15 instead of 8. You may think you can press more buttons with this than the keyboard quickly (mostly because of the D-pad) but the sad truth is you can't, especially if you switch weapons with the number keys above the letters on your keyboard.
2) The D-Pad is much slower and clunkier for movement than WASD or a similar configuration, but fortunately you can use the keys on this controller for movement and the D-pad for other buttons (I used forward for jump, back for duck, etc.) This leads you into the next problem...
3) Nothing but the 8 keys at the top can be used as shift keys. I REALLY don't see why this is necessary. It's a simple software issue. If you could use the D-pad as four shift keys, the number of key combinations you could press would be much higher, and you wouldn't need to move your hand to the keyboard to preform more obscure functions. There's very few keys at the top as it is, and I don't want to reduce that number by wasting them on shift keys. Heck, if anything could be used as a shift key you could theoretically TYPE words with this thing one-handed, although that's clearly not the intended purpose. It's sad to see such potential be wasted by the software.
I do still use my n50, though, and I think it was worth the money, but I use it under odd circumstances. I was disatisfied with the product overall but I liked the D-pad, so I cracked open the case, took out the important circuitry and the D-pad, attached it to a metal bracket which I can slide in an out of a slot I made under my keyboard which allows me to effectively replace the space bar on my keyboard with this d-pad. I don't imagine this would be too hard with any other controller with a d-pad, although I haven't tried it.
I don't recommend this product for anyone who wants a keyboard alternative for FPS games or any games that require quick action. However, if you intend on cracking it open and using the D-pad, you can greatly improve your frag count with a little work.