Others say...

"Great if you message alot"
This is a great accessory if you chat on your xbox alot. If you don't use MSN or send a ton of messages to friends it probably isn't worth it. It fits on the controller well, and feels good to use. The back lighting is pretty good, just wished it would stay on a bit longer. It does drain the battery of the controller a bit faster, but that can be expected. Very nice and easy to use. Just wished they made it in the colors of the controllers instead of just the white...It doesn't look as awesome as it could with my black controller that came with my Xbox360 Elite.

"Imperfect but Invaluable for Communicating on your 360"
The Xbox 360 Messaging Kit consists of a detachable keyboard for your controller and a wired headset. If you communicate frequently with your 360 via with private messages, MSN, and/or voice, then it's an essential add-on.

The keyboard (a.k.a. "chatpad") snaps into place at the bottom of any 360 controller between the two palm grips. It adds significant weight to the controller but doesn't otherwise impede playability. I actually prefer the additional heft that it provides - the 360 controller feels a little insubstantial without it, in my opinion - so I leave it connected continuously. It's very easy to put on/take off if you'd prefer to do so.

The keys themselves have tight feedback that feels great, but it's far from 100% responsive - expect some dropped characters along the way. But since we're not typing our graduate thesis on the thing, no big deal, right? Also, all of the keys light up momentarily when you initially press one, so it maintains functionality even in the dark. There are several pre-programmed hotkeys (e.g. launch MSN) and a full-bodied roster of symbols as well.

The headset seems like a toss-in since most Xbox bundles already come with a comparable-quality model. However, since the chatpad covers the controller's native headset port, this model is included because its plug matches a pass-through port on the chatpad. It's a decent headset, but if you're this serious about communicating on the 360, you may just want to think about upgrading to the wireless earpiece.

With the recent release of the New Xbox Experience for online interaction, Microsoft seems serious about making its console the social/entertainment hub of your life. The Messaging Kit completes that aim by enabling text and voice communication in a well-made, affordable package.

"Makes text messaging easier but it has problems"
This product is a great accessory but it does have some drawbacks.

The positives: It does make text messaging easier and much faster. It also allows you to update your profile faster as well.

The negatives: It causes your mike to echo if you mute it. You have to play with the connection and sometimes take off and put back on the chatpad in order to make it stop echoing. But it's not a permanent fix. So expect your mike to echo off and on. The louder your volume is on your headset, the more likely it will echo. Also, the chatpad sometimes doesn't register the buttons you press so make sure you read over what you type before you send it. The chatpad also has a tendency to break or at least have problems keeping a connection so sometimes your friends can't hear you or you can't hear them. Playing with the connections fixes this problem as well.

If you are willing to deal with the echoing mike problem, then this is worth the buy. It does get addicting and I don't think I could live without it. Even with the minor problems

"Very nice"
This definitely makes entering in information easier, and it's especially useful if you sign onto MSN from xbox live. I bought this when I got my Xbox because it sounded pretty nice and I like it a lot. You can attach your headset to it also. It's very easy to type with this because it's just a tiny qwerty keyboard that you can use with just your thumbs.

"1 of the most overlooked bust best add-on"
the 360 text chat pad is probably the best addition i purchased so far that i never thought i needed til i got it and im glad i did. its not just for texting over msn messaging you can use it for anything that requires you to type in letters numbers words etc. no more moving your thumbstick around for minutes to just type in your email address and password 2 log in, you can message people over live with it and it can be used in all the video games to type in your save filing names etc...not only that its extremely light and you wont notice the difference. for the general public only white is available for now but it also comes wit a headset because the other headsets wont fit into the text pad. you actually cut down 95% of the time you used your thumbstick to type stuff in...