| Razer Pro Solutions ProType Multimedia Keyboard
I just received this keyboard the other day directly from the manufacturer and when I opened the box I was a little disappointed. I opened it, and to my surprise it was not a mac style keyboard, it is windows based. The only thing that I can see on here that resembles the mac keyboard is the eject button (which shares the pause/break key) and the clear button (which shares the num lock key). They didn't even take the time to put the apple or option key on there (the alt and start key respectively). I happen to like the design of the mac keyboard, and would have preferred it to come in that style, especially since when I purchased the tarantula and found out that it was not compatible with the mac, but the protype would be. I was also surprised to find that they did not include replacement keys for us gamers, nor the tool to remove keys if you would like to, I think this would have been a great idea on their part to include the "mac" keys to replace the windows equivalents on the keyboard. I would imagine it can't be too difficult considering the keyboard looks almost identical to the Tarantula. Everything else about the keyboard is nice, I enjoy the responsiveness of the keys, and they are a good mesh of quietness and solid feel. I would have just preferred that the "mac" keyboard from razer be a of true mac design.
I feel like I should point out some of the good things about the keyboard now... First off, it's visually stunning, a good mix of style and function overall. The keys that light up don't seem to be too bothersome, although this could be annoying for some people, especially since you can't turn it off. I don't personally have an iPod so I don't really have an opinion about the iPod dock, although I'm sure some people will love this feature, although if you like to keep your keyboard in a tray that goes under the desktop it will make it unusable since it sits in the back of the keyboard and requires you put the iPod sticking up out of it. Also, this keyboard is about twice the size of the standard mac keyboard, which is a plus and a minus, it might be a bit too big for some, but I enjoy having the built in wrist rest.
| | Very nice keyboard...Even on the Mac |
| I will admit that the start key is a disappointing, they could have put a Start/Apple logo on the key but overall this keyboard rocks on my Macbook Pro. The key feel is wonderful, the ipod integration and function keys on the left and the right work right out of the box and the cobalt blue backlighting on some of the keys is really cool. I have had a steady stream of folks coming in my office and asking where I got it. Go and buy yourself one, you won't regret it.
| | pretty, but not enough usability |
| I'm using this keyboard with a Windows machine. It's shiny and pretty which nice to look at, but unfortunately the drivers for it aren't so great. There aren't enough customization options for the keyboard. You can run custom macros off of 5 keys on either side of the keyboard, but you can't really change much else. The zoom button doesn't even work for anything other than windows picture viewer or adobe photoshop/illustrator. My friend has a wireless logitech keyboard Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3000 Laser 967553-0403 and it allows him to do a lot more with his settings. He can zoom in on web pages, not just photos in picture viewer, and scroll down pages using knobs on the side of the keyboard. He can also choose to have changes like Mute, Volume Level, Caps On and Off displayed on the screen. You could write macros for the 10 customizable to keys to do most of these things, but for what you're paying, they really ought to have thought their drivers out enough that this shouldn't be an issue. Also, I can't get the line out jack to work.
Pros:
nice to type on
looks nice on a desk
interfaces with ipod
glows in blue, too sexy
cons:
takes 2 dedicated usb ports (though there are 2 on the keyboard itself; I have a laptop so for me this is annoying)
drivers only really let you pick a media player, and customize your 10 glowing custom keys on the right and left side of the keyboard
| | Good over all quality.
But the driver sucks in Leopard and therefore the 10 side keys don't work. Waited for a year, but no driver update come out yet.
But after all, I like its key feeling, better than most other keyboards.
| | It was nice while it worked |
| I liked the piano-like finish of this item and enjoyed the feel of the keys. Unfortunately, it only took 5 months for the keyboard to start breaking down. Several of the keys are now broken -- you have to beat them to get them to type -- and the hole keyboard will probably be in the garbage in a few weeks time. I've never seen anything like this from any of my much cheaper keyboards. This was my last purchase from Razer.
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