Saitek’s gone wireless happy lately. Besides the awesome With Out Wires unit for the PS2, they are also releasing a wheel which I think is the first of its kind. Well today’s review is for the PC and it’s of a good wireless gamepad that will free you from the cord.

The P3000 Wireless Pad and Docking Station is a Playstation like gamepad for your PC. It features six buttons, two triggers, a D-pad, and two analog sticks that also can be pressed for a total of ten buttons. On top of that, there’s a shift function that’ll double the functionality of each button. The analog/digital button swaps the function of the analog stick and D-pad easily. If you rather use a D-pad instead of the analog button, you can easily switch the two without getting out of the game.

Buttons 1 through 4 are located in a diamond shape on top. Each silver plastic button is a good size but I would’ve liked a little stronger spring underneath them. Buttons 5 and 6 on the upper right of the main buttons are a little smaller in size but easily reachable. The two triggers take up the entire front corner of the gamepad and give you nice big buttons to press. The spacing is ok for all the top buttons but I would’ve preferred the 5th and 6th button were triggers though but that’s because I’m used to the Gravis and PS2 gamepad. Each of the analog sticks offer am ok resistance when moving but could be a little stiffer. Pressing down on each stick produces a nice click and response.

Covering the palm grips is a rubber surface for a more comfortable hold. The rubber is also found on the top of the analog sticks that make for holding the sticks a lot easier with the thumb. Overall I felt the gamepad was pretty comfortable in my hands and my friends with larger hands really like the shape and feel of it. I have a little smaller than average hands and found the pad to also be comfortable.

To power the unit, the P3000 comes with two batteries. One is always charged in the docking station while the other sits in the P3000. What’s very nice about the charging station is that it draws power from the USB port that it’s plugged in. That really keeps the desk clean of cords as one USB plug from the receiver/charging station to the computer is all you need to keep the P3000 working. The charging station also doubles as a gamepad stand so you can sit it on top when not in use. It doesn’t charge the battery that’s in the gamepad though but that’s ok as the battery lasts a good amount of time and the secondary battery is always charging to provide you with continuous use. The battery charges pretty quickly so you can be sure you’ll always have one good power source to power the gamepad.
...