ODD PROD: n52te
By Shaun Hatton - March 10th, 2008
The Belkin n52te takes the awesome design of the Nostromo n52 SpeedPad and adds back lighting to it.
“Just what is the n52te?” you may be wondering. Well it’s a computer peripheral that first and foremost is a video game controller. Taking the WASD key movement setup found in most first-person PC games and mapping them to easier-to-reach keys, the n52te effectively makes using a keyboard for gaming a distant memory. All of the keys are programmable with not only mapping functions, but also complicated macros, too.
And it’s not just for gaming. Let’s say you have a complicated set of Photoshop macros. The n52te, with included software, can pull that off, too. All with just the click of one button. Of course, this all has to be programmed in the first place, but once that initial set-up is out of the way, you might end up forgetting a few keyboard shortcuts.
Now let’s say you have to switch programs. Not a problem for the n52te. It knows what program you’re using, so you don’t risk accidentally applying a Photoshop macro to a Word document, for instance. The controller even has 4 different modes it can switch through - so you can set multiple mapping and/or macro sets for individual programs. The whole thing may sound complicated, but it really isn’t. I’ve been using its predecessor, the Belkin Nostromo SpeedPad n52 for the past four years, and I have absolutely no complaints other than the fact that they don’t make a right handed version of the product. I’d love to be able to replace my keyboard entirely with two of these.
The n52te is set to release soon in Canada. For more information, check out n52te.com.
