frontThe Razer Nostromo is an intriguing piece of hardware. The name may sound familiar to some enthusiasts who remember the n52te 'speedpad' from Belkin, which is pretty much an identical piece to what we are reviewing today. That product was collaboration between the two companies, and Razer has adopted and given new life to the keypad known as the Nostromo. This lucky peripheral has the pleasure of being tested by two of our contributors, one a keypad newbie and the other a Logitech G13 junkie.

Product Name: Nostromo

Review Sample Provided by: Razer

Review by: Wes

Pictures by: Wes

Specifications

  • Ergonomic form factor and tournament-grade layout
  • 16 fully programmable Hyperesponse keys
  • Programmable 8-way directional thumb pad and scroll wheel
  • Instantaneous switching between 8 key maps
  • Unlimited macro lengths
  • Stores up to 20 different game profiles
  • Adjustable soft-touch wrist pad for exceptional comfort
  • Backlit keypad and scroll wheel for total control even in dark conditions
  • Enhanced Razer configurator software
  • Approximate dimensions in mm: 184(L) x 160(W) x 59(H)
  • Approximate weight: 250g
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Wingless92's Avatar
Wingless92 replied the topic: #16464 05 Jul 2011 19:43
Very nice Adam, Cory. I have tried to use these and I just can't, but that's me. I was reading through it just to hear what Cory thought of it. I know he's in love with the G13. Agreed, the screen on the 13 does seem a bit outta place. Do you really need the screen on that thing? The keyboards, you betcha. I use mine all the time. It's great for checking temps in game or seeing what your RAM usage is.

I like the design overall. It certainly looks better than the G13 and it looks way more comfortable.

So Cory, would you still use the G13 or this everyday?
NitrosDragon's Avatar
NitrosDragon replied the topic: #16744 19 Jul 2011 00:01

Wingless92 wrote: So Cory, would you still use the G13 or this everyday?


I'm a Logitech G13 user, and am also curious about this.
garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #16746 19 Jul 2011 00:41
cory would prefer the g13 and adam the Nostromo. Cory uses all of the g13's keys something the Nostromo can't match
NitrosDragon's Avatar
NitrosDragon replied the topic: #16851 22 Jul 2011 19:34

garfi3ld wrote: cory would prefer the g13 and adam the Nostromo. Cory uses all of the g13's keys something the Nostromo can't match

Very cool. I use all of the keys on my G13, too, for most profiles. I never thought I actually would, when I first bought it, though.
Kayden's Avatar
Kayden replied the topic: #18601 21 Aug 2011 05:07
I bought the N52te aka Razer Nostromo back when Belkin was in charge of it in 2007, the main reason I got it was because I had the N52 and loved it, but that love was not shared with the N52te. The biggest problem was the firmware and software support from Belkin, they just sucked big harry donkey balls. The analog stick didn't work in some games, the keys would be slow to respond in some games and personally my wrist hurt. When I saw Logitech's offering with the G13 I quickly jumped ship and haven't looked back at it since 2008.

It seems like not much has changed but the name, the UI and fixing some of the problems still plaguing it a year after release. I haven't tried in 3 years and I might give it another chance, but the G13 display is very convenient since I use LCD SirReal Panel to watch my temps and other system information, but most importantly it doesn't hurt my wrist. This is because I have long fingers and with the N52te they would hang over or them, but the G13 my palm can rest flat and does not hurt my wrist, along with my fingers not hanging over or feeling sore.

In all physically the N52te was fine, it would only become problematic after a long period of use, but the software and firmware lack of support just killed it for me. I gave it a 3 out of 10 when I used it, perhaps that will change or it wont, but one thing is for sure I wont move away from my G13 anytime soon.

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