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Nostromo is designed to be used with your left hand. The shape of the product makes it unpleasant and nearly impossible for those who like to use their mouse with left hand and keypad with right. Nostromo has 15 programmable buttons which are by default programmed to represent your keyboards five left side buttons (from q to t, a to g and z to v). Also the 15th button is binded to space bar by default. There is also a D-pad to be used with your left thumb and one button for it.
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The handrest has two possible positions to be in. Therefore it should be quite easy to find the most comfortable setup for your personal use. In the lower right corner of the product there are three leds which indicate the profile currently in use. You can save up to 20 profiles to be used with different games and situations.
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In use Nostromo keypad has a blue light all over it which makes the keypad look very geek and tempting. These lights can also be disabled using the switch located below the unit, if you like. Nostromo is connected to your computer via USB slot and recognized by your computer as a default keyboard. However if you plan to actually use the product, installation of the drivers is almost necessary.
Driver program and testing:
Using the provided setup program is fairly easy. Just select the profile you wish to custom and bind the hotbuttons to whichever button, or combination you wish. You can also make short macros for the buttons. You can also select which profile to use by clicking the profile number from the setup program.
Testing:
I tested the nostromo using many of my favorite games. In every game it worked smoothly with no hiccups. Binding the buttons was easy and thanks to good default values I found most buttons to be in places where i expected them to be. Personally I did not find much use for the D-pad, but I suppose that in strategy games it might have a function. Unlike normal keyboards, you could hold up to 9 or more (I did not test more buttons) down simultaneously and every button is still recognized. For example my Logitech DiNovo keyboard does not allow me to push W, D and Space buttons together. If I do that, the space button action will not be recognized. However there are no such problems with the Nostromo.
Conclusion:
It might be hard to justify the 70€ pricetag of Nostromo. Undoubtedly it does exactly what it is supposed to be, feels good and does not have the disadvantages of traditional keyboards in gaming. With enough programmable buttons and 8-way d-pad it is a perfect choice for extreme players. In short: if you’re extreme player and have extra 70€, then go to your nearest reseller and buy one of these. Casual players, like myself, should stick with their keyboard and suffer with it, Nostromo isn’t worth it.
Pros:
- Enough programmable buttons
- Customisable wrist pad
- Looks good
Cons:
- A bit pricey
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