Xbox 360 QWERTY thumb keyboard is official

The years old rumors of a QWERTY Xbox controller are true. Microsoft is finally launching a QWERTY thumb keyboard for the Xbox 360, a welcome addition for those of us who don't want yet another keyboard sitting around in our living room. Unfortunately, this officially marks the point where the Xbox 360 just has too freaking many peripherals, and starts to look a bit like it's grubbing. Still, if you want to use the Dashboard's new chat features you'll probably want to snap one of these up right quick. The details you need to know:

• The thumb keyboard plugs into the headphone / data jack on the bottom of the controller. It comes bundled with its own headset, since it doesn't pass the signal through, and cannot work with current peripherals.

• The keyboard is backlit; the chat bubble icon in the photos will be an MSN icon.

• It will be released in the summer. No word on how much, though.

• We got a chance to check it out. The tactility is nice, but it's a bit heavy with all the rest of the weight of the 360 controller.

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