A few more details on the Xbox 360 ChatPad/Messenger Kit

A little more info on the Xbox 360 ChatPad/Messenger Kit:

Q: Will the Chatpad work with my PC?
A: We haven’t made any announcements about this functionality. I did see that in a GameSpot hands-on they couldn’t get the PC to recognise it as a text input device (read it here), but surely you’ve got a keyboard anyway?

Q: Does it let you type international letters?
A: Yes. As far as I can tell, almost all the most widespread international variations on the English alphabet and punctuation marks are available through the shift keys

Q: Does the backlight drain the controller battery more quickly?
A: Hard to tell. I’m sure there’s some minor effect, but the backlight only comes on when you’re using the Chatpad so it’s unlikely to cause a noticable drain.

Q: How heavy is it?
A: My scientific mehtods (ie kitchen scales) show that a standard Xbox 360 controller fitted with a rechargable battery pack weighs 280g. Once the Chatpad is added that rises to 350g. So the Chatpad adds 70g of texty goodness. The distribution of the weight is very good and you honestly won’t notice it’s there after a little while.

Q: How quickly can you type “A thunderous meerkat crashed through the hedges while a xylophone-playing zebra sat on the veranda” using the Chatpad?
A: It took me precisely 12.3 seconds. Finger of fury!

The Messenger Kit (as it’s being called in the U.S.) should be available for $30 in early September and comes with a retooled headset that plugs in through the ChatPad.