Customer Reviews

Belkin Nostromo Speedpad n50 10-Button

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

i loved this device, and had it for almost 2 years... but i've since upgraded to the n52 and will never look back. the n52 is heavier, has more buttons, and has a slicker layout than the n50.

that said, the n50 is a great tool. i used it mostly for fps games (mostly b1942), and it's a champ.

by default, it'll try to map the movement keys to the dpad, which is a total mistake. do yourself a favor and set the keys to something close to your actual keyboard layout (with the wasd keys in the center), then program the dpad to the other functions that you use all of the time but usually have to take your hand off of the home keys to reach (like jump, reload, crouch, prone). with this sort of setup, you'll find that you'll be able to reload on the run, duck, and jump while doing other things - which will greatly improve your game.

some things to remember with the n50 -

the scrollbar is next to useless, and, unless you work for a circus full-time, you'll never be able to reach it. i'd say that the same holds true for some of the keys to the left and right of the 'home' area. also, the rest area on the n50 is somewhat uncomfortable and way too light in comparison to the n52. also, make /certain/ that you install the drivers that are up on their site (3.0), not the ones that come with the cd (which are older and buggier).

anyway, if you're looking at this product, i'd suggest dropping the extra 10 bucks and getting the n52. it's a more refined product, and really works better.

see you on the battlefield.

This is a great FPS game controller, designed to be used with the left hand (think: WASD) while your right moves the mouse. The latest free update (as of this writing) v2.6, allows it to work perfectly on XP machines, plus adds a bunch of new features that some people were whining about. For example: you can now use the D-pad for shift keys! This lets you quadruple the number of functions of each of the ten main keys without sacrificing any of them as shift keys! (That right there takes out most of the user complaints about how it wasn't quite perfect enough for them.) Someone was saying that there are 8 keys, but no, there are 10. Two rows of 5 = 10 last time I checked. Plus the 8-direction D-pad. The throttle control is useless, but so what? It doesn't get in the way, and is easily ignored. The macro programmability is extremely powerful and immenently useful. Oh, another change with the new v2.6 update is the ability to edit macros that you have recorded! Yes! And, as always, you can easily set it up so that a particular key-mapping "profile" is automatically loaded when you start up a particular game -- and you can just leave it plugged into its USB port when not playing games, it doesn't take over any keys on your regular keyboard when inactive. If you play a lot of FPS games, you will LOVE the way this thing handles! You can frag for many more hours now before feeling any fatigue in your left hand. After you get used to it, you will not want to go back to your keyboard. The only thing about it is that southpaws need not apply (unless they use their mouse in their right hand. I know a few that do.)

I'm an avid gamer and I'm always looking products to improve my left hand performance in the games I play. A lot of excellent players in the Unreal Tournament and Quake gaming communities swear by the Nostromo game pad. Essentially, Nostromo weans the user from the keyboard, to a programmable pad designed to provide quick access to programmed sequence commands. For instance, in UT, the complete sequence to translocate involves three commands, 1. Get the translocator, 2. Fire or toss the translocator, 3. And finally hitting Alt Fire completes the translocator command completes the translocation. Notromo allows the user to complete multi-tiered commands, like translocation, in the stroke of one key, instead of three. This sort of shortcut will save time and as every gamer knows time is of the essence in executing a game command.

The more savvy gamer will recogize that what I've just described is a simplified program to write "raw keybinds"; or programmable commands that can be tied to specific keys by accessing the game console and typing the word "preferences". It is admirable that Nostromo is providing a simple keybind program for the novice gamer, who knows nothing of the arcane mysteries of programming keybinds. Every gaming newbie should do everything in their power to level the playing field with the pros and Nostromo helps. The veteran gamer will realize that Nostromo is providing a program to do what he or she can already do themselves by writting and executing their own raw keybinds.

The second advantage of Nostromo is the actual design of the game pad itself. It is designed to replace the keyboard with a compact unit that has ten keys, a directional pad and a throttle to replace often clumsy method of searching for the correct key on a full sized keyboard. Using the efficency of a well designed gaming pad, the user should be able to improve his or her game speed by improving reaction time. Yes and no...Nostromo does help some folks improve their fragging, but again the savvy player knows if they use the standard key pad on the keyboard, they will have 15 readily accessable command keys instead of Nostromo's 10. The design of the key pad on a computer keyboard is even faster and more than Nostromo's double-decker design of "Five over Five" command keys. Nostromo's design is too wide and the user must finger stretch to touch keys, while the compact design of the computer key pad requires no finger stretching.

If you decide to use the Nostromo game pad, be forwarned: there is learning curve for the user and until you master the Nostromo device, your game will suffer. In my case, it made no sense to master and use the Nostromo technology because I had already developed a playing system using raw keybinds and the standard computer key pad that was superior to Nostromos. A final word of caution on Nostromo: The newer anti-cheat enviroments of Pure and CSHP are very unfriendly to any suspicious keybinds. As a result, many of the more exotic keybinds will not be usable in the newer anti-hack playing enviroments. To veteran players: I am a founding member of the notorious Magnificent 7 Crew. The Nostromo game pad is far and away the most popular gaming device in the world. Many awesome clan players from the Hairy Zark Assasins, the Virtual Space Cowboys, Guns of Death and the Black Legion swear by the Nostromo pad. However when I questioned some of the Nostromo enthusiasts in more detail, most of them admitted to me that they never tried the standard key pad, instead of hunting and pecking on a big keyboard. Before you spend 28 bucks on Nostromo, try using the key pad as your left hand command central, along with a Logitech MX500 mouse for your right hand. For advanced gamers the single most important improvement to your game will come from adding good graphics card, if you already have a reasonably good rig. The ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card (about a hundred bucks) will make a real difference in your game play. As we already know, however, it matters not whether you have a monster computer, an Logitech mouse, a Radeon graphics card, or a Nostromo game pad...what matters in the world of gaming is practice, practice and more practice.

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.

As I glance over at my Nostromo I am almost reverent about it. I do not always rant in a positive way about new computer products, but about this I will rant. I am a serious Age of Empires series player, and now have moved into playing Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, and cannot imagine how you could play these games without a Nostromo 50 device.
I own a Microsoft "Strategic Commander" also, having purchased that first, since nothing else was available, but kept longing for something which was simpler and easier to use, something with a more ergonomically perfect layout. The "Strategic Commander" has some serious faults in use and I find those faults have lost me too many games played against adept opponents on the Internet.
But Nostromo's device came out, I saw a review announcing it on "Tech TV's" "Screen Saver's" web site and didn't hesitate to go out and get one that day. I am that addicted to my games!
There is simply no comparison between this and all the other gaming devices I have used. It has everything I could possibly think of to put into a game controller, especially for a RTS game. Every one of the ten keys can be individually programmed as you see fit using the included software. You can assign a single key, like a number, which allows you to move groups of units around in the AOE games, or program macros for the various keys, so that you can order units to build the buildings you need. The separate modes made possible by the various colored keys, red, green, and blue, allow you to have a separate "mode" you can use, so that it is like having four different game pads available to you.
I find the ten key system to be ideal, it seeming far more natural to me to have "keys" like this to push when I am using the thing, and the "dial-pad" you can use to control directional moves, if that is what you want to do, is far more natural to use than the one on the "Strategic Commander." I do not use it to move, instead having programmed these extra keys with functions like "Control" or "Alt," which are very useful in AOE games. You need these to assign units or groups a number, and to cycle to them in an instant when you are in the midst of the game.
Every "profile" you create for any of your games can be saved in the software's easy to use modes, and you can use the "load-out manager" to install them for each different game. There are ready-made profiles for various games available with the included software, and you can also download them from their website. I don't use these because I have made my own and find it to work best for me.
An extra benefit of this device is that you can use it for things other than games. I have a normal calculator's keypad programmed into one of the profiles, and I can enter figures with my left hand in a far more natural way for myself than the usual external keypads included on the keyboard for this purpose, as well as an external plug-in type to use with a laptop. I programmed the dial-pad with the addition, subtraction, division and multiplication functions, and it works great for me.
In the various flight simulator games the throttle control that is built in is a boon, and I have been able to finally fight a good dogfight with some of the aces out there.
I cannot recommend this product highly enough, and no, I don't own stock in the company! Buy one and play a mean game!

I'm a prety hard core gamer. When I first saw the Nostromo n40 Gamepad, I thought it would be the best thing for my gaming since the mouse. Installation was very easy to do - just plug it into the USB and insert the CD. The gamepad also felt very natural in my hand. It's also very easy to create different configurations for my games. It seemed prety great until I sat down and started gaming with it - it was then I found the reason why I never use this.

The gamepad only recognizes up to 3 simotaneous button pushes at a time. If you press 4 or more, the pad goes crazy unlike what would normally happen with a keyboard. Pressing 4 or more buttons might not seem like something you do much but you'll be surprized how much you do (especially in FPS games).

For instance, I was playing Medal of Honor with my Nostromo. I move diagonally right while crotched (a total of 3 button presses to do). While I'm doing this, I might press the "use" button. But because the nostromo goes haywire after 3 button preses, I would whip out a grenade and throw it at my feet.

Although the nostromo had great potential, it's one serious flaw prevented me from using it more than three times. It's now somewere behind my computer gathering dust.

The Nostromo is a truly great product. If you play first person games, such as Ghost Recon, the Rainbow 6 series, AvP2, or any others, you're gonna want to pick this up asap. You have no idea how bad the keyboard is until you use this thing.

It takes a little getting used to, and configuring is confusing at first, but after the first day, it was such a breeze to configure.

Let me start off by saying that I used to use the direction keys on the keyboard for my FPS movements. The Nostromo is wonderfull compared to my old setup. Not only does it offer the same general layout I was used to, it also offers more keys, and they are programmable as well. You can also configure 3 different shift states for all the buttons. In fact, you can program in a combination of key-strokes for a single button. All in all this is a huge step up for me and I've barely scraped the tip of the iceberg. If you are already fully versed in WASD movement then you will not get as big of a gain out of the box but again, the n50 is VERY customizable. Also, I run Windows XP and have had no trouble with the n50 after downloading the newest version of the software. A must have!

If you play fps (first person shooter) games you MUST have this. No more keyboard pains. It is like having your mini keyboard with only the keys you need and plus. It is a breeze to program it (takes just a couple of minutes): you assign your favorite moves to the key you want and off you go. Plus there is a palm rest, that might make the difference you need for a few more frags.

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.