Ideazon ZBoard Customizable Gaming Keyboard Review

An anonymous user submitted a review of the ZBoard Gaming Keyboard. You really ought to check this one out just to see how nuts it is. It has custom plates with keys that are movable and... well just look at it. I can't decide if its pure genius or just ridiculous.

Comments

Is this not a two or three year old product now?

[Lukano]

Is this review not two or three years late? I remember selling those ZBoards when I worked computer retail - and that was 2 1/2 - 3 yrs ago.

Neat idea, but not worth it.

[Andy Dodd]

They have keysets for only about ten games, if they even have ten.

If you don't play one of those games, it's just a really expensive (and in some ways inferior) QWERTY.

Logitech has the right idea with the G15 - A high-quality QWERTY keyboard with nifty extra features (namely a bunch of keys that can be assigned to macros, and an LCD display.) Same with Saitek's gaming keyboard - basically a standard keyboard + lots of macro functionality.

Don't knock it till you've tried it.

[Da Stylin' Rastan]

I know this thing looks stupid, and I would agree with you, but I've owned one for a little over 6 months now (I bought it with Battlefield 2) and I have to say it is fantastic. Not only is the base layout one of the best I've ever used (snappy keys, great look, function buttons are easy to use and reach), but the additional gaming layout (known as crossfire) is great. I know at first it just looks like a keyboard for dumbasses who don't know where the keys are. The first few days it took a bit of getting used to, but the blown-up arrow keys and convenient surrounding buttons make long gaming sessions *much* more comfortable, whereas with standard keyboards I get a tendency to cramp up. And I'm not a noob either. I've been an online gamer since Quake and offline since long before then. And my BF2 stats speak for themselves I was just as skeptical as about 80% of the "rediculous" posts that will probably be posted on these forums, but after having actually used it, I don't think I could ever go back. -DSR

Please explain the Slashvertisement concept.

[XorNand]

Taco,

You recently and candidly discussed the supposed "conspiracy" surrounding article submissions. One thing that I felt was left conspicuously unmentioned was what has been coined "Slashvertisements" e.g. enthusiastic submissions that promote underwhelming and uninteresting products. I remember seeing this keyboard in CompUSA (of all mundane places), at least six months ago. The only logical conclusions are: a) the editors don't get out much and have lost touch with what's considered new and exciting tech or b) OSDN is being compensated to provide stealth marketing services. Please provide some insight.

Thank you,
The Slashdot Community.

ZBoard Review.

[Calmiche]

Err.. What? This thing has been out for a LONG time. I've actually got one. It's okay, but not fantastic. I've got the World of Warcraft keyset, which is okay, but I eventually went back to the default keyset. It's a cute gimic, but the execution dosen't make up for the convenience of having a normal keyboard. The Pad Lock is pretty cool. It changes your numpad to useful windows shortcut keys.

Where it actually shines is in applications. I have a keyset for Photoshop http://webstore.ideazon.com/product.asp?pf_id=IW0U SE1-X2PHS01 that is increadible! It has cut down my searching for shortcut keys by quite a few minutes.

However, the keys are pretty mushy, it is way to quiet for gaming with surround sound, and the different keysets tend to take a LONG time to get seated correctly so that the keyboard sees them. It's not to bad for speed typing though. (The review says otherwise, but I don't have any problems.) The programable top set of keys is really nice though.

There are also 2 USB ports along the top. I've got my mouse attatched through there, meaning that I've got a longer reach and less cord clutter. I also plug my media card reader in there when I need it.

Not Totally Ridiculous

[Azarael]

• The Keyboard inserts work well, they are quick to take in and out and they are easy to store.
• The alternative button layout is good and bad. You don't loose your home key as easily when you are rushed, but on the other hand, the key size and spacing could be tweaked and the arrangment of the regular keys makes it pretty difficult to type chat messages.
• No one really needs or wants the weapon laybels on the number keys, overall though, the keyboard looks cool and makes an interesting computer accessory if you're interested in that sort of thing
• Zboards have very good game recognition and make it easy to set up and store your custom key mappings in one place. The utilities work well and aren't a major system hog.
• Zboards have better driver support for large key sequences. Some keyboards don't work properly when holding down 3 or 4 keys at once.
• I haven't had any reliability problems with mine in the year I've owned it. My girlfriend even melted a bunch of the keys by accident and that still didn't damage anything other than those keys

Eh, if you need something nifty

[phrackwulf]

Buy a Belkin Nostromo N52 or N50.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process ?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=2071&pcount=&Product_Id=1 57024

You can program any key layout you want for as many programs as you want and never have to bother with buying additional keyboard sets for the z-board. I picked mine up for $29.99. That's cheaper than any z-board I've seen anywhere plus the added costs of the "custom" inserts for each game you play. Who needs that.