Deanjl Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 The Keys Before you rush out to buy this beauty make no mistake that these are extremely shallow keys, akin to laptop keyboards. Chances are that if you hate using laptops for this reason you'll be wasting your money here. On the other hand, though, once you get used to the tactile feel of the keys, going back to use a normal keyboard will feel much like using a typewriter. My biggest vexation is with the placement of the actual keys. The cursor six keys (home, page up, page down, end, and insert) are placed vertically next to the enter and backspace keys. This awkward placement has annoyed me more times than I care to remember. But like most things, the initial annoyances can be overcome once you learn the new locations. The height of the keys does make a bit of a learning curve, but it's all about adapting. Flat and shallow like these will make your computing life much easier. Keys take much less effort to press and you can often reach faster speeds with this keyboard as opposed to any other. The bonus of this is that since you aren't arching your wrists in awkward positions or pounding the tips of your fingers RSI will rarely be a problem. If Flexiglow and A4-Tech merged this and the A-Shape keyboard they'd have a market monster. The Light When I first told people about the neon light under the keys they laughed and told me to turn on a real light. The joke is on them, though. While they battle with reflections and glare I am perfectly happy in my pitch black room. Accompanied by the Flexiglow Fx GamePad there's no need to have any other light source. A huge light source like a 40w bulb will kill any immersive game. While diffused light from a halogen lamp will suffice for most people, your workstation is still lit and your attention divided. A soft blue hue will not light your workstation but only your keys, all controlled from a small button. Price A$59.92 My Rating Even its apparent flaws will not stop the ease-of-use or "coolness" factor shining through. This keyboard is a must for any serious amount of typing or gaming. The tiny footprint of this keyboard is another bonus, along with the now-standard media buttons. 8 / 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hankyone Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 nice keyboard and nice review take a pic with all the lights off :ninja: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dt Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 nice mousepad too lol do the keys feeel flimsy at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Farrar Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 nice nice keyboard, (but not wireless, wired mousepad...defeats wireless mouse, just get a hot slim black lcd and logitech speakers and it would be sweet NEEDS WIRELESS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 wow awsome (Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porsche Design Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Sick - FxGamePad: Automatic Cycle through 8 colours I'm going to get that for everything I do except when typing a lot of text. It's going to match my optical mouse with a constant colour-changing scroll wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhaskew Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 they look nice, but they would probably be hard on the eyes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC17 Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 they look nice, but they would probably be hard on the eyes... 585143653[/snapback] I recently bought a similar keyboard to this, only another brand. Mine is the Zippy EL-620 sold at newegg.com. It doesn't have the numpad but the keys light up very similar. I thought maybe it might glare and distract me, but mine doesn't. I actually really like it as I no longer have to turn on a light if I'm having trouble finding a key I don't normally use. My only complaint on the Zippy keyboard so far is that sometimes it will print like ten of the same letter in a row for no reason... usually its been happening once per day. Not sure if its because its new or defective. It is very hard getting used to different key layouts. I'm still debating if I will keep mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanjl Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 I own both the keyboard and the mouspad (although those aren't my photos) and I would never go back to my old keyboard. Just so you know, I went from an A$110 Microsoft keyboard to an A$60 Flexiglow keyboard. Ever since I bought this about 6 months ago I've never had any errors. It might be that your keyboard is just defective, TC17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxicfume Veteran Posted December 22, 2004 Veteran Share Posted December 22, 2004 Nice keyboar,d I really love those lights, but it'll be hard for me to get off the tradition keyboard keys :p Speaking about A4Tech, I think they were the first company ever,y I boguht some stupid dual scrool optical mice from them that barely worked. I was wondering how is the A shaped keybarod good? They just seem like normal keys slanted, maybe that maeks you reach the keys easier? PS. Out of curiousty I just decided to check out A4Tech's site, and they have come up with a Battery-Less wireless mouse :o I always wondered why no one else came up with those, and I think they are the first! But I am still inclined to think they are off lower quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsnotabigtruck Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Nice keyboar,d I really love those lights, but it'll be hard for me to get off the tradition keyboard keys :pSpeaking about A4Tech, I think they were the first company ever,y I boguht some stupid dual scrool optical mice from them that barely worked. I was wondering how is the A shaped keybarod good? They just seem like normal keys slanted, maybe that maeks you reach the keys easier? PS. Out of curiousty I just decided to check out A4Tech's site, and they have come up with a Battery-Less wireless mouse :o I always wondered why no one else came up with those, and I think they are the first! But I am still inclined to think they are off lower quality. 585143959[/snapback] Bettur fixx tat spelingg. :rofl: I saw one of those battery-less mice in some mail-order catalog. It has a infinitesimally small mouse pad that uses induction to power a crappy mouse. :( I'd be more interested if they had a Steelpad wired up to power an MX1000. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent2k Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 Nice review, Deanjl. :) It looks cool. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Lyle Global Moderator Posted December 28, 2004 Global Moderator Share Posted December 28, 2004 The Keys Before you rush out to buy this beauty make no mistake that these are extremely shallow keys, akin to laptop keyboards. Chances are that if you hate using laptops for this reason you'll be wasting your money here. 585143359[/snapback] i just had to read that! i hate laptop keyboards! i was actually gonna buy one, thanks you saved me alot of smashing and money :D :D (Y)(Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanjl Posted December 28, 2004 Author Share Posted December 28, 2004 Flexiglow does make non-laptop type keyboards with lights. The xRaider is a normal, full keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[ timko ] Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 How good are those FxGamePads? I'm thinking of getting one :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.KICK Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I've got the exact same keyboard unbranded for ?17 , its a great keyboard:)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBG Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 When these lit keyboards go wireless I'll be the first one to buy one of these. Nice keyboard anyway, I really need a keyboard with laptop-like feel (Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanekiwi Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 saw those for sale at my local pc shop. totally overpriced imo. my lcd gives me enough light to type in the dark :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanjl Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 How good are those FxGamePads? I'm thinking of getting one :) 585209798[/snapback] Well I got mine from Electronics Boutique a while back, can't remember the price. I would be pretty lost without it because it lights up my coffee mug so I don't tip it over in the darkness. Being wired makes no difference either, just get a good setup that works well and don't change it. The clear plastic around the edges is filled with thousands of tiny bubbles that reflect the light. As for the surface, I'd have to say that apart from the company's name etched near the top it's the best mouse surface I've ever used. Even if you don't like the light just peel the surface from the plasic and mount it on something else. The only problem I've had with this mousepad is that the feet are too close to the center. As a result, resting your hand on the edge sometimes tips the pad. To combat this I placed one of the spare feet under where I would rest my hand, but whenever I moved the pad the foot would move about too. You'd probably have to use a more permanent glue to keep it in place. Your name also contains the square brackets which broke my quotation tags. Perhaps you should ask an administrator to remove them? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[ timko ] Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Thanks for your insight on the mouse pad. I'm gonna give it a shot and look for a source for them here in the UK :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecaveman Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I want the actual keys BLACK and the letters backlighted, it's way to annoying like these flexiglow keyboards are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groberts Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 looks pretty cool. but I couldn't hack the shallow keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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