SteelSeries Zboard Gaming Keyboard
by SteelSeries
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List Price: Our Price: $44.99 You Save: $5.00 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $40.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SteelSeries Zboard Gaming Keyboard
Customer Review: A Gift for Gamers
Summary: 5 Stars
This Keyboard absolutely ROCKS ! I got mine last week from Comp USA. As a hardcore Gamer I can really appreciate this keyboard and its functionalities, first of all when using the standard Windows keyboard its really about the same as other keyboards with the pretty much the same features as other keyboards like Microsoft and Logitech keyboards and sometimes I find its even better, one instance is if you open a program often in Windows like Word Pad, you can program a hot key to open it instead of clicking through windows programs folders. It works the same as programming a radio station on your car stereo, it remembers the last thing you did.. nice ! now the keys do take some getting use to, nothing major though. The keys for do feel a little less quality then other more expensive keyboards but again nothing major. Now for the Huge difference. Clipping on the Gaming keyset is very easy and fast and Zboard automatically recognizes the change for you. right clicking on the Zboard tray Icon and selecting the keyset setup and choosing a Game from a big list that Ideazon supplies and they do frequently add to list. Choosing Farcry it loads all the keys needed that come with the Game and are really nicely appointed for your convenience and ease on the left side of the keyboard all within your left-hand and within fingers reach..Awesome ! Zboard even shows you with a color diagram all the keys and what they do and where they are, it also gives you the option to print out the diagram for easy reference while you play until you get use to what's what and where on the keyboard. UT2004 is also a breeze too with the included gaming keyset. The included gaming keyset isn't very type friendly because of the way the keys are positioned, but in games like these where type chatting isn't of importance especially when the action gets hot it does not become a problem, using talk with a microphone is so much better anyways. All default keys that are in a game will be programmed for you and on the Keyset. if the game isn't on Zboard's list of games well then all you have to do is program it yourself and still then you will have all the keys you need for use at your left-hand and in fingers reach like Thief Deadly Shadows. Other games that require more keys like the upcoming Everquest 2, buying a separate keyset for $20 will be well worth it in my opinion and all you OLRPG Gamers know what I mean when I say trying to program thousand of keys it seems at times and trying to remember what each key does can be a nightmare at the wrong time in a crucial part of a game. the Zboard Everquest 2 keyset does look like a regular keyboard which will aid you in typing in chat where it will be a must to communicate and all the keys will be labeled of their function for you to see and its all programmed for you. That in itself will Kick Butt and will make the game sooo much easier and funnier to play as does the gaming keyset that comes with this set which is excellent for games like Farcry, UT 2004 and Rome Total War. There is no any other Keyboards out there for hardcore Game playing and regular Keyboards that cost as much and more can't do what this Keyboard can do for your game playing and this keyboard unlike regular Keyboards that are always a threat while gaming because of the closeness and position of the keys, mistakenly hitting the wrong key and messing up your game and even taking you out to Windows ... done that way too many times on EQ and DAoC .. now that sucks ! hehe ! this Zboard almost eliminates those problems. I haven't had any issues with Zboard and using Windows XP or any Games. The Zboard is an excellent keyboard and well worth it. after using it I would gladly pay more for it if I had to. it's worth it in my opinion! and I don't mind paying $20 again for an EQ 2 and other Game's keysets for games that I love and play for long time. It's really a Incredible keyboard for Gamers and still Windows friendly.. I Love it !
Any questions feel free to ask me @ hgpowerslave1@yahoo.com
Customer Review: Great gaming keyboard
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using this keyboard for years and love it. I use to avoid first person shooter games because I just couldn't get use to the WASD movement. My fingers would always slip off the keys and I would end up hitting the other keys and end up blowing myself up with a grenade ore something. That all changed when I found the Zboard. I love the butterfly pad on the left hand side that is set up perfectly for ease of movement and improved access to other important keys. The butterfly keys are large and slightly angled to keep your fingers in the proper position. This set up also works great for MMORPGs and man other games that allow WASD movement. The right hand two thirds of the board is a standard keyboard that you can use for typing. The gaming keyboard does not have a num-pad. Some thing had to go to make room for the butterfly pad. Also, there is no ~ key. I guess they ran out of room and figured that was the least used key. Quite a few games do use that key. They should have kept that and got rid of the Ins key. Who uses that? None of that is a real issue. If you need the total functionality of a full keyboard, you just have to swap out the gaming keyboard with the standard keyboard and you are good to go. It only takes 15-20 seconds to do.
One thing to note is that the keyboard requires that the drivers be installed. The keyboard will not function properly without them. Also, the keys are programmable through the software that comes with the board, but there is really no point in that. It is far easier to program the keys within the game itself.
The one premise that this keyboard was built around was the ability to swap out the keyboard with different key sets designed for specific functions. They have key sets that are specific to certain games and applications. In my opinion, you don't need any key sets other than what comes in this package. Every popular game that comes out gets a key set. Most are just the basic key set with with some artwork and keys labeled for specific functions. I really don't find it practical. The FPS ones are not bad, because they are designs are functional but, in most cases, once you set up things the way you like it on the default gaming board, you don't really need to have a specialty board. Most FPS games are set up pretty much the same way. I did get the DOOM 3 one packaged with the game. It did offer a slightly better setup specific to the game, but I could have easily w got by without it.
That said, the additional key sets they create for the MMORPGs seem completely worthless to me. Movement in those types of games are now more like the FPS games. I'm sure that there are still a lot of people in those games that use the arrow keys for movement instead of the WASD, but that is because they lack a better option. The butterfly pad is the perfect solution, but they don't design those boards that way. They basically give you a standard keyboard setup with colorful graphic of the game, and keys labeled for specific function, but it leave movement on the right hand side arrow keys. Movement on the right hand side is impractical. That is the mouse side. People have to reach across their body to use it. People use it that way on standard keyboards because they have to, but you would think that a keyboard designed for gaming would give the a better option. They are not even enhanced butterfly type keys, just the standard arrow keys. I don't understand this design at all and I find them completely useless. I use the standard gaming board that comes in this set for all my gaming.
They also make the MERC gaming keyboard, which I also own. In some ways it is designed a little better for gaming, but unfortunately some design flaws on that keyboard sent me back to my Zboard.
Customer Review: Great board!
Summary: 5 Stars
The zBoard is sweet. The ease of the keysets and the keysets that are available (like the World of Warcraft one) make it a worthwhile buy. The keyboard is comfy and feels good on the fingers. And it has TWO low-power USB ports on it for accessories like your mouse. If you are into gaming and looking for a good keyboard to use, this is one to look at. I am quite picky when it comes to keyboards and I love the zBoard system. ^_^
If you decide to buy one, buying from Amazon.com will save you a few bucks. BUT BE FOREWARNED! As someone else has already mentioned here in feedback, when I received my zBoard, it came with the OLD version of the standard keyset. I have been told by [...] support that that keyset is not even produced anymore so why (and how?) Amazon.com is shipping them with the new zBoard base and gaming keyset is beyond me?? FYI, the current zBoard model is ZBD101.
Amazon.com did offer a replacement if I wanted to send the zBoard gaming system back in, but I really don't want to wait on shipping. lol Plus, I bought mine for gaming mostly anyway so no big deal as I won't be using the standard keyset much. Amazon.com did offer me a 20% refund, though, since I didn't choose to return the item. (So yay! I saved even more money. ^_^) In case you are wondering, the new version of the standard keyset has colored-coded labels (green, blue, white) with more keys/shortcuts labeled. The old version (which I was sent) has all white labels with fewer keys/shortcuts labeled.
The zBoard is a 5/5 for me.
Note: You will want to get the newest drivers from [...]. I have had a problem in the past with updating the driver and had to contact zBoard support to have them tell me all the registry keys that I needed to remove before I could suceessfully install the newest version. I have never again experienced that problem, though. ;)
EDIT 2/4/05: I was contacted via e-mail by [...] support again. They're going to replace the old version standard keyset that I received from Amazon with the new version. I think this is very nice of them, especially considering I never asked for a replacement. Just some food for thought since a couple people here have had problems with [...]/Ideazon.
EDIT 2/21/06: Well, it has been a little over a year that I've had my zBoard. I've had no problems with it - with exception of the wrist rest tabs breaking off, but that's because that part is cheap and the zBoard got knocked off a table twice by my cat. The zBoard base and keysets are very durable, however, (it's been knocked off the couch a few times, too. lol) and work fine. ;)
The gaming keyset IS very awkward to type on like others have mentioned. Usually, I have my World of Warcraft keyset in, though, and have no problems typing. (My boyfriend hates it -lol- and complains until he snaps in the standard keyset.)
Easy, durable, functioning, feels good on the fingers.... Those all describe the zBoard.
Still 5/5 after a year.
Customer Review: Don't buy this version, get the MERC instead or the Viper!
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this keyboard two years ago and have gone through two of them. They layout is great and very useful. No problem with that, but it has a serious tendancy to malfunction physically or wear out. And it usually seems to be related to the fact that you can interchange the boards. Here are some of the problems I had:
1. When I would switch out keysets, the keyboard would go completely dead. I had to unplug and plug it back in again. Then it would work. This got to be annoying because it was completely random, sometimes every time for a day, sometimes it was fine for the next 10 changes! I have no idea if it was my motherboard or the keyboard. But two completely separate zboards did it, the first one was a lot worse. I upgraded my BIOS and followed techsupport suggestions. Nothing fixed that issue.
2. Don't spill anything on it, even just a tiny amount like I did! That completely destroys it, even if it's just a small spill. My bad but yes, it doesn't just wreck the one keyset you spill it on, it destroys the entire base.
3. The numbers/letters on the keys wore out. I had to get it replaced via RMA because they were all disappearing. The final one I didn't have for a whole year so I didn't see if it happened again. Either that or put some clear nailpolish on it to prevent them from wearing off.
4. The final one I bought, within 6 months, the gaming keyset had a malfunction. The chat side space bar completely stopped working. No spills, no rough use. It was sudden. I couldn't play online games and not be able to space words out to my friends.
5. It's really hard to type on the in package gaming keyset - if you are a fast trained typer that is. The spacing and the placement of the keys will screw you up. Hunt and peck people probably won't care but I was trained and found it somewhat irritating to have to relearn to type on the gaming set. It's not a huge problem, just an annoyance. Some of the purchased sets aren't designed this way so no big deal.
In the end, I got tired of replacing it and bought the Zboard MERC (all one piece!)
I think the design is great but it breaks too easily and people seem to be complaining about that a lot. There is only a 1yr warranty so out of that, you are screwed.
I'd recommend going with the viper or the MERC. They are all one piece and still have the same useful design to them. I love my MERC zboard!
Customer Review: Awesome new innovation!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was skeptical, at first about this product. I purchased it as a bundle with the Age of Conan keyset (which included a $20 rebate so I got that keyset for free). I did this as a pre-order and the z-board came about a week before the AOC keyset. I had been playing Call of Duty 4 so this was the first game I tried with the z-board and the "gaming" keyset. Whoa, very awesome. It was a new dimention in my gaming experience. Not only was the keyboard easy to install but it had so many features that I was overwealmed. The keyset itself could be programmed easily for COD4 with a simple mouseclick. All the special keys were mapped and in very finger friendly places. The keyset itself was ergonomically designed for ease with larger movement keys and rounded keys for ease of use. You can even program your own hotkeys and multiple key commands! This product is awesome! The regular keyset is smooth and very responsive. I'm typing this review on it now. There are specialty keys at the top as clear buttons that give you easy one touch access for getting to the z-board website, opening up a web window, the calculator, lists, mail, and all sorts of others. As an added bonus the base itself has 2 USB ports in it so you can quickly add a mouse, flash drive or other USB item. The z-board is very sturdy and well made. Lots of thought has gone into this product and there are many keysets add ons out there to purchase. The very nice thing is that each keyset has it's own memory to remember your programmed keys and pre-programmed keys. Just drop in your keyset and go. I love this product and give it the highest rating. Easy to use, updates on the web, easy to install, smooth key operation, and soooo many special features they are too numerous to name. Check out the z-board website for product info. Just remember that there are two versions a standard keyboard plug (you know, the round one) and a USB one. GET THE USB one. I have heard horror stories about the regular keyboard one. I have had zero problems with installation, use, or with any of the keysets. If you want THE BEST (in my opinion) gaming keyboard and most adaptable keyboard (I say this generally because they have a Photoshop and other "work-type" keysets available too!) this is the one for you.