Hands-on with the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit

Announced earlier this month at E3, the snap-on "chatpad" for the Xbox 360 won't arrive on shelves until September, but I got a little hands-on time with the accessory this weekend. Did my thumbs warm to the keypad, or did the extra bulk make me a laughing stock on Live? (OK, maybe I already am a laughing stock on Live, but that's another matter.)

The chatpad itself comes in a kit that's now dubbed the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit ($30, and a new wired headset is included). The compact, lightweight pad snaps securely onto the controller, making for a nice, seamless fit. Once installed, the chatpad blocks the 360's wired headset jack; hence, the extra headset, which plugs into the front of the keypad (just below the spacebar).

When I saw the initial pictures of the chatpad, I was worried that it would add considerable weight and bulk to the 360 controller—in my tests, however, I found that the controller was only a tad heavier, while the bottom of the chatpad curves up, giving my fingers plenty of room. I played Gears of War for a couple of hours using my new chatpad-enhanced controller, and after a few minutes of gleefully chainsawing a swarm of Locusts, I forgot the pad was there. Nicely done.

Typing on the backlit keypad with my thumbs was no problem—I'd say it's about equivalent to pecking away on a Sidekick. A key to the left of the space bar calls up your Windows Live buddy list so you can start texting your pals, and you can use the pad to type in text fields within the Dashboard (nice for keying in long WPA passwords).

While I'm pleased with the chatpad itself, I wish Microsoft would open up the chatting possibilities to all gamers on Xbox Live—as it stands, you can only text with players using Windows Live Messenger. That said, the Messenger Kit is a pretty solid package for just $30.

Related:
Microsoft Preps Xbox Keypad for September [Yahoo! Tech]