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Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard (Black) | List Price: $69.95
Discount Price: $39.89
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Brand: Microsoft
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 3 years warranty
Features: - Features ambient backlighting and two built-in gold-plated USB ports
- 12 custom-programmable buttons, including two 360 degree jog-dials and two bumper buttons
- Comes with detachable wrist rest
- Smart cabling system allows you to stow away USB cable when not in use
- Hyperesponse gaming key action for maximum response with minimal latency
Keyboard is a pain to use [Posted on 2008-01-12]
Wow, what a disappointment. I was hotly anticipating this Christmas present but after giving it a chance for two weeks I finally gave up on one of the most unusable keyboards I have ever seen.
To start with, the special purpose buttons are rather limited--five on the left, five on the right, and two dials. Bizarrely for a gaming keyboard, they come preset mostly to media functions (eject, play/pause) and document functions (copy, paste, etc.). This is a gaming keyboard in name only.
The backlighting is not nearly as impressive as the pictures indicate. 90% of the backlighting bleeds between the keys, in fact the bleed is brighter than the illuminated key lettering! The function keys barely light up at all.
Basic keyboard functions such as sleep and console lock are absent and in fact can't be added to the supposedly programmable multipurpose keys. The programmable keys won't run shortcuts with arguments properly, so while you can create a sleep shortcut icon in Windows these keys refuse to run it. Still worse, if you program the keys to launch an app, that app sometimes isn't given the focus. WTF?! Pathetic.
In fact Microsoft's rather plain media keyboard has way more special keys on it, from media keys to document keys to sleep and lock, as well as having five programmable keys that work they way they are supposed to.
But that's not the Reclusa's worst failing. No, by far the one show-stopper that made me send it back to Amazon is the fact that six of the programmable keys are sitting right next to some of the most used keys on the keyboard and as a touch typist I was constantly hitting them by mistake. If you use the numeric keypad at all you are guaranteed to hit the eject button by accident instead of Enter, and similarly the keys on the other side are far too close to Shift, Caps Lock, and Tab. They aren't sunken keys either, they are fully sized reguarly keyboard keys, hence the ease of pressing them by mistake. How Razer and Microsoft could let this ergonomic howler through is beyond me. Someone was totally asleep at the wheel on this one.
Also annoying are that the key faces are flatter and while the key response is a bit better I found the key action much less comfortable.
I have gone back to my cheapie Microsoft media keyboard, which cost less than half this one and works ten times better. Apart from the USB ports and the welcome absence of the F Lock key, this keyboard has absolutely NOTHING to recommend to gamers or anyone else.
YAY! [Posted on 2008-01-23]
I bought this keyboard, not as a gaming keyboard as it is touted, but as just an everyday regular keyboard for the system that I just built. The keyboard my fiance had given me for the system was really getting on my nerves because it had the laptop type keys, and I kept mistyping. I was looking for a nice keyboard that had regular keys, but I wanted to have backlighting (my system has all kinds of blue light up stuff). I looked at most of what was available, and decided on this one.
The keys are easy to hit, and have a really nice tactile feel to them. I like clicky keys, and while these aren't super clicky, they are just enough so that they feel really good. I haven't really played with any of the macro keys, but like I said, I didn't really buy this keyboard for gaming (even though I do game).
I agree with the previous poster that the shiny plastic part on the top is going to be really scratch prone, and I am also a little disappointed that it doesn't have the Razer logo on it. All in all, I might not have spent so much on a keyboard had I not had a gift card, but I am glad that I was able to get this one. It does what I need it to do without making me crazy. If I were a true gamer, I could see that this may not be the best choice out there, but for my purposes, it is the perfect addition to my system.
{EDIT} Also happily works with my mac. I was concerned that I would not have volume control and eject available on this keyboard through the Mac. I am very excited that it works great, and I can get rid of my Mac keyboard and mouse in order to use this keyboard and the Razer Diamondback G3. I have both the PC and Mac set up on the same desk and having two of each was making me nuts! Now I just need to get a switch so there isn't unplugging each time I decide to go from one to the other!
Awesome Keyboard [Posted on 2008-02-13]
I purchased the Microsoft Reclusa a little over a month ago, and I must say that this is an awesome keyboard. The board has a great feel when typing and is very responsive to the slightest touch. It is also a comfortable board to type on and comes with an optional wrist pad (I prefer not to use those).
As a gaming keyboard it has been great! The board software is easy to use, and makes setting up macros hassle free... I have read reviews where people are disappointed that the Reclusa does not have more macros, but for my purposes it has been perfect. The board also has two knobs that can be set up to control volume or can also be used to store macros.
The blue led looks awesome. The light coming from under the keys creates a perfect illumniation for typing/ gaming late at night. Though the led cannot be adjusted, I feel that it gives off the perfect amount of light.
I use my computer for gaming and word processing/ web applications. I have concluded that this board offers the perfect combination for gaming and comfortable typing, and I would highly recommend it.
My lighted Reclusa keyboard [Posted on 2008-02-26]
I love this product. It has all the features I hoped for. It is easy to use & looks great. I'm sorry I did'nt get sooner.
Fantastic Keyboard [Posted on 2008-03-29]
This keyboard is great. I love the feel of this keyboard. I bought it for the backlit keys, though, so I really like that feature. The programmable buttons are great. I enjoy having a volume wheel on the keyboard, too, instead of up and down buttons.
Click here for more details and discount information...
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