We know that Sony are working on an official keyboard add-on for the PSP but that won’t be here until mid 2009. Why wait that long when there is a perfectly good Xbox Chatpad just sitting on the table over there…
..NO! Heresy! Microsoft and Sony were never meant to be combined in this way! That is right up there with co-habiting dogs & cats, that is.
A depraved hardware modder over at AcidMods has taken an Xbox 360 Chatpad and performed unholy rituals upon it to make it work with the PSP. There was probably solder involved. Solder and goat’s blood.
PSP Phat and Slim Open Keyboard in action!!!!! [AcidMods via PocketGamer]
For somewhere around .09% of the populace, the first thing to do with any new gadget is to tear it apart and see what makes it tick. One ambitious consumer/modder did just that with the new Xbox 360 Chatpad (see our impressions here). Here’s a list of things he learned about the device:
- 7 connections to controller - Simple to open - Plastic was molded in July of 07
And most interestingly, the “brains” Microchip PIC16F883 is easily accessible and looks “fun to hack.”
The new Xbox 360 Chatpad is pretty great. Despite most LIVE users being more inclined to voice chat than text message online, I can appreciate the solid construction of Microsoft’s new peripheral. At first glance, the Chatpad looks like it will never fit on the controller, but the unit snaps on snugly. And you quickly find that its well-spaced keys are comfortable and prevent spillover button presses. Going from playing to typing requires a simple shift of balance—there has clearly been a tonne of thought put behind the device’s practical ergonomics.
But it really tires out the hands. More »
