User-created profiles, which are technically single files, can be submitted to Belkin via e-mail, making them available for others to download.
The software can recognize games by their executable filenames, and automatically load the appropriate profile when that game is started. In total, this allows up to 104 different functions. The state-button can be set to act as a temporary shift button that works while it is pressed, a toggle button, or it can be set to work until it is pressed again. If a user changes the state of the device from the normal one, the red, green, or blue LED lights up, and all other controls now represent a different function. The n52 has 4 different color-coded states, indicated by 3 LEDs below the fifteenth button. They can also be programmed to change the device's "state". To the right of that, there is a round button, as well as an 8-way D-pad normally found on gamepads, intended to be used with the thumb.Īll of these controls can be programmed with the included "Nostromo Array Programming Software" to emulate any keyboard function or keyboard macro. On the right side of the device, there is a scroll wheel, like those normally found on mice, which can be controlled with the index finger. Below where the thumb rests, there is a slightly wider keyboard-style button, labeled 15, similar in use to the shift key on regular keyboards. These keys can be controlled with the users second to fifth fingers. The n52 has a movable hand rest which can be set to 2 locations or removed to create 3 different hand positions to better suit various hand sizes by means of lifting the rest off the unit.Ī large space is used for a keyboard-like section with 14 keyboard keys, numbered 1 through 14, by default used to represent the WASD space on regular keyboards in the case of first-person shooters, one of the intended target audiences of the n52. The user must place his left hand on the device to use it, as it was designed for right-handed people, who usually use a mouse with their right hands. It features a rubber-coated base, and is weighed down with a metal weight for stability. The n52 is made in a black and silver design with a few orange accents.
The n52 requires a Pentium 233 MHz or equivalent with 32MB RAM, as well as 30MB free hard drive space. The programming software does work on Intel-based Macs.
It is also supported under Mac OS 9.04 or later, and Mac OS X v10.1.2 up to 10.4.8.
Additionally, the Windows Vista driver can be used to install the device on a Windows 7 system and retain all functionality. The device is currently supported under Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP (both 32- and 64-bit versions), and Vista (both 32- and 64-bit versions). It is the followup to the older SpeedPad n50, and is also intended to replace the keyboard during gaming. It can also be used outside of games, for example to support cartographic software. The N52 allows your hand to rest at a more, comfortable angle. Other game pads like the WolfKing Warrior and the Ideazon Fang arrange WASD to be more comfortable and convenient, yet still require your hand to rest on it flat. In extremetech's review they point out how the Nostromo SpeedPad n52 was different than its competitors and the standard keyboard.Īlthough the layout of keys is aligned the way they are on a standard keyboard, the arch of the N52 and placement of the hand as it rests on the unit do make it a lot more comfortable to use, giving it better feel than your average keyboard. It can be considered a keyboard/ joystick/ mouse hybrid, which allows for a more convenient control method for many video games.
Nostromo is a unique name, but was also the title of the main starship in the 1979 Alien (film) and the 1904 novel Nostromo and the Razer Nostromo, also a gaming keypad. The Belkin Nostromo SpeedPad n52 is a USB computer gaming peripheral designed for gamers by Belkin. ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)īelkin Nostromo SpeedPad n52 Manufacturer Such statements should be clarified or removed.
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