It would seem that some joysticks have a tendency of retaining their worth and level of functionality even several years after their launch, probably because there's not much left to innovate in this particular field. And that's also the case with the following device, namely the ST290 Pro, launched by the people over at Saitek back in the second half of 2004, a device which combines several advanced features with a very affordable price point.



For quite a lot of users, a higher level of comfort is the key to a successful gaming experience. For this reason, the ST290 Pro features a three-position palm rest that provides a very comfortable experience that will suit all hand sizes, and which is reversible to support both left- and right-handers.



As far as the available control buttons are concerned, the device from Saitek is pretty well-endowed, since we're talking about a rapid-fire trigger, 5 fire buttons, 8-way “point-of-view” hat switch, lever throttle and a a 3D Twist Rudder control. Plus, for an even higher level of control, the device also sports a single spring gimbal mechanism.



The device connects to any computing system via an USB 2.0 interface and supports the most recent Windows operating systems, including XP, XP 64-bit and Vista (all versions). Unfortunately, though, in order to make the SST software work properly under the latter, users will have to do some additional downloading and installing of appropriate drivers and software versions from the company's own website.



Since we're talking about a rather old model, it's no wonder that the ST290 Pro is among the most affordable of all Saitek joysticks. Thus, depending on the particular vendor, this thing can go as low as 25 US dollars, which might prove to be a rather interesting price point for a lot of gamers.