Digital Home Thoughts: The Xbox 360 ChatPad (Messenger Kit) Reviewed

The Xbox 360 Chatpad is an accessory that ideally should have been available when the Xbox 360 was released, but as they say, better late than never.

I don’t do a lot of messaging on my Xbox 360, but I picked up the Chatpad because when I do need to type out a message to someone it’s much easier and faster to use a keyboard than the laborious on-screen keyboard. The impetus for releasing the Chatpad was the Xbox 360 dashboard update that brought in Messenger functionality. The Chapad snaps into the bottom of the Xbox 360 controller, and is compatible with the wired and wireless controllers. As far as I can tell, there’s no black version, so you Xbox 360 Elite owners are out of luck for keeping the black theme going. In terms of fit and finish, the Chatpad doesn’t disappoint – it’s an exact match to the white controllers and when snapped onto the bottom of the controller (which is fast and easy) it looks like it’s part of the controller. There’s no ugly gap or different coloured plastic to make it look like an afterthought – Microsoft did a great job with the look and feel of the controller.

In terms of usability, the Chatpad works generally well, but it has some issues. The feel of the keyboard is decent, though not as impressive as your average QWERTY keyboard on a mobile phone. My biggest problem with the Chatpad’s keyboard is how it breaks one of the standard rules for keyboard layout: the backspace key, rather than being somewhere in the upper right corner like every other keyboard in the world, is instead in the lower right corner. I had to hunt for it every time. Like any new keyboard, I’m sure that after a few hours of use it will become second nature.

My biggest disappointment with the Chatpad occurred when I activated the Media Center Extender software and accessed my media. I was looking forward to using the Chatpad’s keyboard in the same way I use the keyboard when sitting in front of my Media Center computer: to find artists or albums by typing in what I’m looking for and letting Media Center filter the content. Surprisingly, the Chatpad keyboard does absolutely nothing when in the Media Center Extender mode. This also means there’s no easy way to search for TV shows to record (another task I’d happily do via the Xbox 360). I’m not sure if there’s a technical reason why this doesn’t work, or if it’s just an oversight, but it’s a significant omission in my eyes. I think it’s short-sighted of Microsoft to release a product that can’t be used in all the logical places a user would want a keyboard.

The Chatpad can be purchased anywhere Xbox 360 accessories are sold and can be purchased for $29.99 USD from Amazon.com [Affiliate] – which is a reasonable price, unlike many of other Xbox 360 accessories (I’m looking at you, 120 GB hard drive). Other than the lack of Media Center Extender functionality, the Chatpad performs quite well and would make a fine addition to any Xbox 360 owner’s toolkit – assuming that chatting is part of what you do, or want to do, with your Xbox 360. The kit as a whole is dubbed the "Messenger Kit" and also includes a headset, but since I have the wireless headset, I didn't even give the one in this kit a second glance.

Personally, I’m looking for a way to permanently de-activate the Messenger component because it’s somehow displaying a status message from months ago when I updated it to say I was in Seattle – so now, every time I log into Messenger via the Xbox 360, people think I’m in Seattle. I can’t find any way of changing this, and it’s certainly not the status message I have when I log in on my desktop PC. I also get people sending me URLs when I’m on my browser-less Xbox 360 – either my Messenger profile doesn’t indicate I’m on an Xbox 360, or people aren’t paying attention. Either way, it’s irritating, yet I can’t find any setting on the Xbox 360 to stop the auto-login of Messenger. Every time I start up the Xbox 360 I have to manually log out of Messenger. But hey, when did this turn into a rant about Messenger on the Xbox 360? The Chatpad is a solid piece of hardware worth getting if you find yourself getting fed up with the on-screen keyboard.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. At the moment, he’s loving Halo 3 and sees its HUD every time he closes his eyes.