Review: Belkin n52te
josh, 4-Nov-09 » Belkin n52te Speedpad review, by Josh
The Belkin n52 Tournament Edition
Some of you out there who are reading this are probably in the same situation I was about a year ago. You were a gamer but had no good gaming gear. You were listening to your mates tell you about their new G15 keyboards and their G35 Headsets and saying to yourself you should really get a gaming keyboard for yourself... it might help you play a bit better and would help if you could make a few macros for it. Then, regrettably, you actually looked at the price of gaming keyboards and realized that, considering your current lack of employment, you probably can’t justify spending that much on a keyboard... even if it is damn cool. Well my friends fear no more for there is a subsection of the keyboard market that is specifically aimed at you! That’s right... the keypad market!
The unit itself is a pretty clever design that allows you to access all the buttons easily and quickly.
If you’re unfamiliar with what a gaming keypad is, the basic idea is that it replaces the left side of your crap ordinary keyboard with an ultra responsive macro handling gaming section. Most gamepads are essentially a replacement for your left hand resting on the keyboard. They feature roughly the same key layout but with a gaming pedigree that will save you the cost of a full keyboard, give you the portability to travel around to LANs, and ultimately will improve your game if you’re willing to get past the initial change of keyboard to gamepad.
The pad allows your palm to rest comfortably over the buttons within striking distance of any key.
I was lucky enough to acquire one of Belkin’s n52te Speedpads, the only gamepad made by Belkin at the moment. The original n52 suffered from a lack of gaming pedigree and unfortunately did not go over so well, but the Belkin team have come back with the tournament edition which, by all accounts, fixes all the problems that plagued the original. As I said earlier, the speedpad basically replaces the left side of your crap keyboard with a gaming keyboard (it’s a separate object though... it’s not actually replacing your keyboard... you’ll still need that for typing) but with added functionality. The n52te features not only a replacement for the main gaming section of your keyboard (I’m talking tab through r on row 1, caps through f on row r, and shift through c on row 3) but also features a scroll wheel, a directional pad, a space bar button, and a quick change thumb button to move between the three profiles, but we’ll get to that later.
Flipping the switch on the back turns on the blue backlighting.
I mentioned gaming pedigree before, and how it was something the original n52 lacked. Well the gents at Belkin paired up with one of the masters of gaming peripherals, Razer, to make sure that the n52 tournament edition is the best possible gaming device. The Razer participation is most evident in the on board memory that stores three profiles which you can change with the included software. Every single one of the keys can be single key changed or macro’ed, resulting in nearly infinite possible arrangements for the discerning gamer. The profile system allows up to 3 unique settings to be on each button at any time. For example, right now I have profile one setup for FPS and TF2 in particular, then profile 2 is RTS ready for games like DOTA and HON, and profile 3 is changed up for Hitman: Blood Money’s unique controls. You don’t have to go in and change the settings each time you want to play a different game either, as the changes can be bound to a key and completed on the fly. Again, in my setup I’ve switched the buttons for switch profiles and spacebar because I thought that the button they intended to be space was in a bit of an uncomfortable position, so with the help of the Razer software... I switched it... that easy!
The Razer interface allows you to customize each button on the n52te, as well as configure the different profiles to your different playing needs.
In appearance the n52te is actually a really good looking device. The whole unit takes up the desk space of a game box so it’s a whole lot smaller than its gaming keyboard counterpart. The speedpad features a palm rest which has a very nice rubberized grip on it... again the razer influence is there. The palm rest raises your hand above the keys into a very comfortable position above the keys and with easy access to every key except the “space bar” key (but as I said you can change that). The unit is a shiny black plastic with matte black keys and the matte black rubberized palm rest. The only exceptions to the black are the opaque scroll wheel, the logo on the side, and the little coloured lights to indicate what profile you are currently set on. The really cool bit however is when you turn it over. Flip the switch on the bottom of the unit and the entire keypad and scroll wheel light up with a bright blue backlight, blending in well with the rest of your gaming rig which probably glows the same blue colour.
Now down to how it feels. Well... to put it simply it’s like a keyboard. The only real gripe I have about it is the button they intend you to use for the space bar. For me (I consider I have pretty large hands) it’s just out of position. The natural place my thumb wants to be to hit the spacebar is much closer to where I am working wasd, so I just reset the positioning of the spacebar to a different button. It’s a small thing, but it is a thing. The price tag of $70US might be a little steep for just a gaming peripheral, and make no doubt about it this is very much a gaming peripheral, but when compared to a full gaming keyboard there is definitely a benefit to be had. I suppose you could create one profile which is for your favourite modelling software or Photoshop, but for the most part this is going to be a gaming device.
The blending of Razer’s technical knowhow and Belkin’s styling leads to a device that not only works really well when put into game, but looks like it belongs in any good gaming setup. The smooth clean styling of the device compounded with Razer’s multiple profiles and on board memory (take your setup anywhere, no software install required) makes the n52te the perfect companion for any gamer on a budget. The pros definitely outweigh the very minimal cons and I would recommend this wholeheartedly.
The n52te sits quite nicely in your gaming collection... or mine at least. :P
The Keypad rests slightly below the support, providing easy access to all the keys as well as the scroll wheel.
The three different profiles are indicated by a different coloured light at the palm end of the unit.
Final Score: 4.5/5 If you’ve not got a gaming keyboard and want one but don’t have the money... buy this. Equally as responsive and useful for half the price of a full gaming keyboard.
The Belkin n52 Tournament Edition
Some of you out there who are reading this are probably in the same situation I was about a year ago. You were a gamer but had no good gaming gear. You were listening to your mates tell you about their new G15 keyboards and their G35 Headsets and saying to yourself you should really get a gaming keyboard for yourself... it might help you play a bit better and would help if you could make a few macros for it. Then, regrettably, you actually looked at the price of gaming keyboards and realized that, considering your current lack of employment, you probably can’t justify spending that much on a keyboard... even if it is damn cool. Well my friends fear no more for there is a subsection of the keyboard market that is specifically aimed at you! That’s right... the keypad market!
The unit itself is a pretty clever design that allows you to access all the buttons easily and quickly.
If you’re unfamiliar with what a gaming keypad is, the basic idea is that it replaces the left side of your crap ordinary keyboard with an ultra responsive macro handling gaming section. Most gamepads are essentially a replacement for your left hand resting on the keyboard. They feature roughly the same key layout but with a gaming pedigree that will save you the cost of a full keyboard, give you the portability to travel around to LANs, and ultimately will improve your game if you’re willing to get past the initial change of keyboard to gamepad.
The pad allows your palm to rest comfortably over the buttons within striking distance of any key.
I was lucky enough to acquire one of Belkin’s n52te Speedpads, the only gamepad made by Belkin at the moment. The original n52 suffered from a lack of gaming pedigree and unfortunately did not go over so well, but the Belkin team have come back with the tournament edition which, by all accounts, fixes all the problems that plagued the original. As I said earlier, the speedpad basically replaces the left side of your crap keyboard with a gaming keyboard (it’s a separate object though... it’s not actually replacing your keyboard... you’ll still need that for typing) but with added functionality. The n52te features not only a replacement for the main gaming section of your keyboard (I’m talking tab through r on row 1, caps through f on row r, and shift through c on row 3) but also features a scroll wheel, a directional pad, a space bar button, and a quick change thumb button to move between the three profiles, but we’ll get to that later.
Flipping the switch on the back turns on the blue backlighting.
I mentioned gaming pedigree before, and how it was something the original n52 lacked. Well the gents at Belkin paired up with one of the masters of gaming peripherals, Razer, to make sure that the n52 tournament edition is the best possible gaming device. The Razer participation is most evident in the on board memory that stores three profiles which you can change with the included software. Every single one of the keys can be single key changed or macro’ed, resulting in nearly infinite possible arrangements for the discerning gamer. The profile system allows up to 3 unique settings to be on each button at any time. For example, right now I have profile one setup for FPS and TF2 in particular, then profile 2 is RTS ready for games like DOTA and HON, and profile 3 is changed up for Hitman: Blood Money’s unique controls. You don’t have to go in and change the settings each time you want to play a different game either, as the changes can be bound to a key and completed on the fly. Again, in my setup I’ve switched the buttons for switch profiles and spacebar because I thought that the button they intended to be space was in a bit of an uncomfortable position, so with the help of the Razer software... I switched it... that easy!
The Razer interface allows you to customize each button on the n52te, as well as configure the different profiles to your different playing needs.
In appearance the n52te is actually a really good looking device. The whole unit takes up the desk space of a game box so it’s a whole lot smaller than its gaming keyboard counterpart. The speedpad features a palm rest which has a very nice rubberized grip on it... again the razer influence is there. The palm rest raises your hand above the keys into a very comfortable position above the keys and with easy access to every key except the “space bar” key (but as I said you can change that). The unit is a shiny black plastic with matte black keys and the matte black rubberized palm rest. The only exceptions to the black are the opaque scroll wheel, the logo on the side, and the little coloured lights to indicate what profile you are currently set on. The really cool bit however is when you turn it over. Flip the switch on the bottom of the unit and the entire keypad and scroll wheel light up with a bright blue backlight, blending in well with the rest of your gaming rig which probably glows the same blue colour.
Now down to how it feels. Well... to put it simply it’s like a keyboard. The only real gripe I have about it is the button they intend you to use for the space bar. For me (I consider I have pretty large hands) it’s just out of position. The natural place my thumb wants to be to hit the spacebar is much closer to where I am working wasd, so I just reset the positioning of the spacebar to a different button. It’s a small thing, but it is a thing. The price tag of $70US might be a little steep for just a gaming peripheral, and make no doubt about it this is very much a gaming peripheral, but when compared to a full gaming keyboard there is definitely a benefit to be had. I suppose you could create one profile which is for your favourite modelling software or Photoshop, but for the most part this is going to be a gaming device.
The blending of Razer’s technical knowhow and Belkin’s styling leads to a device that not only works really well when put into game, but looks like it belongs in any good gaming setup. The smooth clean styling of the device compounded with Razer’s multiple profiles and on board memory (take your setup anywhere, no software install required) makes the n52te the perfect companion for any gamer on a budget. The pros definitely outweigh the very minimal cons and I would recommend this wholeheartedly.
The n52te sits quite nicely in your gaming collection... or mine at least. :P
The Keypad rests slightly below the support, providing easy access to all the keys as well as the scroll wheel.
The three different profiles are indicated by a different coloured light at the palm end of the unit.
Final Score: 4.5/5 If you’ve not got a gaming keyboard and want one but don’t have the money... buy this. Equally as responsive and useful for half the price of a full gaming keyboard.
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| Category: | Hardware Reviews |
| Posted: | 4-Nov-09 7:07:27 pm |
| Author: | josh |