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 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: Very good keyboard
Summary: 4 Stars
Ok, this is a tough decision. I love this keyboard now, it's great. However, honstly, it doesn't make me play much better, and whenever you want to type anything, you have to switch back to the regular keyboard because it's to hard to type with the gaming keyboard setup. In game you can pick and type good enough, but once your out of game you need to switch keysets. switching keysets isn't hard, infact its very very easy and only takes about 10 seconds.
The one bad thing about the keyboard is even though you think its going to help you play games, for the first week or so, you do worse because you have to learn the keyboard. they keys are setup nice, and once u get use to them, they can prove helpful, however, at first you may be decouraged when you get your self shot a lot because you can't keep up with the new keys.
I play call of duty 2 mostly, i didn't get the call of duty keyset because i have the basic gaming keyset and regular keyset. the basic gaming keyset has the same layout as all the game keysets basically, except keys aren't pre-assigned to specific games... however, I don't always like how they have them preassigned, and the gaming keyset is fully customizeable so you can make any key do anything with in game key options.
Also another thing I love are the 17 clear keys up top.
2 of them are for volume
5 more for music keys(play, pause, skip,....)
then you have 8 FULLY customizable keys at the top that you can program to do anything, from starting a program, to opening a webpage or directory. I set mine up to start ventrilo, xfire, and call of duty 2. also IE, and outlook.
There are 2 usb ports on the back right side of the keyboard, however, just like the Logitech G15 keyboard, both of the USB ports are USB 1.1. kind of a pain cus you can't plug everything into it(my wireless adapter wouldn't work in it), my logitech g7 wireless mouse DID work in it, and my printer DID work in it. so it is still useful, but some people, including me, wish it was USB2.0.
Other then that it's a nice size keyboard, about same as regular, and looks pretty good, i give it a 4 out of 5 simply for it's break in time.
Customer Review: Great Idea -- Bad Execution!
Summary: 2 Stars
The Good:
When I first heard about this board I was incredibly excited. I have been playing BF2 (Battlefield 2) for almost a year now and still continually find myself stumbling over the keys. So it was a godsend to be able to purchase something like this directly intended to help me be better at my game.
The interchangable keysets for different games and applications is quite intriguing -- the first that I have seen. But the price for each is kind of high but well worth it.
The Bad:
The board is constructed well but don't expect this to replace your home keyboard. The "Windows Keyset" that comes standard with this board has all the keys as any run-of-the-mill keyboard but it is awkward to type with (I might be biased since I have a MSoft ergonomic split keyboard).
In-game typing is difficult at best (with the gaming keysets). With most of the gaming keysets the keys on the left 1/2 of the keyboard are laid out like your home keyboard but on the right 1/2 side they are all vertical (not staggered.. like U,J and M keys are 90 degrees vertically on top of each other). The keys feel a little "cheap" .. When you push them down they don't bounce back as much.
The Ugly:
About 2 weeks after I purchases this board (and the BF2 keyset) 9 keys went completely dead. I tried to reinstall the software, reboot and even resinstalled a fresh copy of Windows XP to no avail.
I contacted support and it has taken us 3 weeks to finally reach the decision that I have a faulty base unit. DUH! They are "reviewing my warranty" but most likely it will not be covered because it has been longer than 30 day. Maybe this post is premature but I don't think I am getting a new base unit.
Conclusion:
The expression "Great Idea, Bad Execution" holds true here. My opinion: Don't buy this board. Ideazon has too many issues, not enough support staff and a website that doesn't do anything but look good.
Customer Review: The Best Gaming Keyboard Ever?
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, I won't mince words, This keyboard has to be one of the best innovations of our time.. :) The fact that it is optimized to run with most of the 3rd and 1st person action games out there already makes it a worth buy, plus, if you don't like the way the "preset" keys are mapped, you can customize them to your favorite settings.. :) The use of the keyboard itself is phenomeonal, switching keysets couldn't be easier; snap on, snap off; But what really drew me about this item is the swappable keysets customized for some of todays hottest titles.. For instance, you get the universal Keyset with this set as well as your standard keyboard, this will work for everyday activities, as well as, popular titles such as Battlefield: Vietnam, Battlefield: 1942, Farcry, Unreal Tournament 2003/2004, GTA III/Vice City, and many more! If the game is not listed, don't fret, you can still use it in any other FPS or 3rd person action game (since, the controls are usually the same), but more to the point.. The swappable keysets? Doom 3, Everquest, Age of Mythology... Cool? Yes! Makes playing the game easier and or more fun? Yes! Costs 19.99 a piece? Yes! That's the only reason I can't give it 5 stars, the beauty of it, is also it's boon, *cha ching sound*. Want the Doom 3 Keyset? 19.99. How about the EQ one? 19.99.. Well, if you want to collect them all you'll have to order direct, but if you end up going that direction, you'll spend more on the keysets than the keyboard. That's the only real downside..
To summarize, If you own a lot of the titles listed, or just FPS or 3rd person action games in general, GET THIS BOARD! :), if you don't or aren't very hardcore about it, this board isn't for you. :)
Customer Review: Amazing! Absolutely amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to play with the arrow keys and the numberpad, but this changes my whole way of gaming. After 6+ years of the arrow keys, it is a little hard to adjust over, but with this user friendly setup, you cant lose! Prelabeled buttons for easy configuration, and other buttons for setting up the ultimate gaming experience.
*READ THIS* Follow the websites setup proceedure, not the booklets becuase it is out of date... and you will have NO problems with this whatsoever.
Trying to type a paper? You tell yourself its impossible with the wierd setup, just take off the gaming keypad set and put on the normal keypade set (included by the way) and you will be ready to go, you dont even need to unplug the keyboard or anything, changes whenever you want and it will instantly change over.
Plus, you can buy many keypad sets for under $20 (WoW, CS, 3 BF games, everquest,etc!) but I will definitly get a CS set next, it will be worth every penny. My player name is Stabby King and play me in Natural Selection or Counter Strike, or ask for more opinions.
And for under $40 who can beat that? Pair it uop with the Ideazon Reaper Gaming Mouse for the ultimate gaming proficiency, even save some cash by buying them together! Thank you Amazon!
Only downside is getting used to the letter positions in the default gaming keypad set, but in a few days, you will be used to it. If you cant, then just use the normal keypad set and chage to the gaming set right before you load up the game, very simple.
Customer Review: I think I'll wait for version 2
Summary: 3 Stars
I really wanted to like this keyboard. The design, layout, idea everything was great. Well all was well until I noticed a couple of things.
THE BAD
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#1- I don't like install drivers/software for devices, since they usualy take up valuable gaming resources. Typicly like normal keyboards/mices etc. you don't need to have there terrible software installed to work just fine. On the other hand, the Zboard will not work properly without the "drivers" installed. When I noticed it was taking up 10mb+ of ram in the backround... I wasn't pleased at all.
#2- typing when your actualy using the "gaming" layout is horrible. The keys are spaced out akwardly (probably cause of the folding) of what and takes ALOT to get used too, and you can't hit space with your right thumb :[. I found myself miss spelling word after word, and I just didn't feel right.
THE GOOD
#1- The left hand side is fantastic. Buttons don't feel cheap. Well constructed.
#2- usb ports on the keyboard
CONCLUSION
This would have been the perfect keyboard if they had a better layout with normal keys in "gaming" mode, AND if there software didn't take so much space. I'm sure they could reduce the memory usage if they took off so much useless graphics etc. I hope they make some revisions to the keyboard af for now I only recommend if you don't type at all when your playing, and you don't mind the relatively hight memory usage of there software.