Belkin Nostromo Speedpad n50 10-Button

bought one can use it, no drivers, reviews are old don't buy!!!!!

The Belkin Nostromo Speedpad n50 is by far the greatest PC Gaming device of it's day. It debuted in 2001-2002, and I quickly bought one for 55.00 dollars. Every penny was worth this little guy. After about 30 minutes of gameplay you will never have to look down at the keys. This device is designed with one thing in mind, to create seamless gameplay between you and the game. You forget you are even using a gamepad, the controls become second nature, and your abilities and scores rise immediately. Now, for some more in-depth rating of this device, see below.Functionality: Easily 5 out of 5 stars. There is a wrist pad that can be adjusted for different hand sizes to provide a better reach for the keys. 10 total keys are set in the top of the gamepad, designed and angeled perfectly for FPS players' typical controls. There is a D-pad that can be reached by the thumb, as well as a scroll wheel that can be reached by the fore-finger. Every single button can be completely customized on the n50, and three profiles can be created and 'hot-keyed' by a simple switch on the n50, so that you can switch profiles/key-sets 'on-the-fly' without having to re-program it. One of the best features of this device is the software that is bundled with it, and immediate customer support by Belkin. Simply stated, the software allows for immediate customization of any and all keys on the keypad, and get this, you can even create profiles in the software linked to any program in your computer. For example, I set profiles for Counter-Strike, Battlefield 1942, Vietcong, R63: Raven Shield, and Swat 3. As soon as I boot up whichever game, the software recognizes the game, and the gamepad controls for that particular game are selected automatically by the software. This is a truly amazing feature, and bundled with the fact that this is the most amazing gamepad on the market, for just about any platform, it makes for the greatest deal (and innovation)in gaming history.Value: Now, this gamepad sells for typically less than 20.00 dollars, and is well worth every penny. There is a new version available now, the n52, which has new features, improved buttons and control, and enhanced software. The n52 (amazingly enough) improves a great deal upon the already nearly-perfect n50, and is priced at anywhere between 30.00 and 55.00 dollars, depending on where you buy it. I recently purchased the n52 from Amazon for 30.00 dollars, and am currently awaiting the shipping of it so I can crack it open and rule the FPS realm to a new degree. I will post a review on the n52 soon enough, but if you want an amazing value for one of the greatest PC products ever available, purchase the Belkin n50, and you will never use a keyboard again. Honestly.Overall, a perfect gaming device that I have yet to see anything comparable to.I would also recommend a number of other devices to go with the n50 or n52, particularly, the MX500 or MX510 Logitech series of mice, or if you have some series money, the BFG Boomslang 2100 mouse or the Adesso Razer Viper 1000 mouse. I personally use the MX500 Logitech Silver Mouse, and the n50 (soon the n52), and it is truly an amazing couple. Thanks, and enjoy the n50, an amazing product I cannot praise enough.

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.

And oldie but a goodie. For too long I've used the keyboard and I just could not get used to much else, this included. That said, there is nothing wrong with this product at all. Solid!

As someone who has gone to bed at night with their left hand stuck in the "fighting crane" position, I can say this device might save you from arthritis (hope the FDA doesn't sue me for touting the pad as having "medical benefits"...). As a bonus, it might make you a better player too.As others have said, you can map the various inputs (keys, d-pad) to single keys or key combos. You can also allocate some of the keys as "function" keys (nostromo uses red, green, and blue to denote different function levels) to expand the range of available mappings (for instance you can have 10 normal keys, or 9 normal and 9 "red" keys, or 8 normal, 8 "red", and 8 "green", etc.)That said, its' two main flaws are the d-pad, in both feel and durability (the n52 improves on both) and that it has been generally deprecated by the n52.Others might say that a well-mapped standard keyboard negates the need for a specialized keypad. I would agree to a point. For me, the n50 brings comfort and minimizes errors in key usage during games, which helps in keeping one's focus on mastering the enemy.I have since gone over to the n52, but bought a new n50 just in case. I recommend the n50 to those curious as to what a keypad can do without shelling out for an n52. And for some, it may be all you need.