So, this is how the conversation went on this one..
“Hello, Coolsmartphone HQ?”
“Yes, this is Allreli. We make gadgets and things. Can we send you a gaming keyboard?”
“Err.. well, we don’t really cover PC gaming ?”
“It’s really good though, it has a really cool design which is designed to look a bit like a sword!”
“Yeah, that’s…”
“And it’s LED backlit! So it’ll flash when you type, or you can have the backlight on all the time.”
“OK, you sold us.”
Here it is then, and although they state that it’s only compatible with Windows, I’ve just whacked it into my Chromebook and it works fine there too. Plus the “G keys” (which aren’t backlit) on the side will select certain tabs on my browser, which is quite cool. These keys are far more powerful than just tab selection thought, as they’ll let you assign macros, shortcuts, commands, adjust volume and a whole lothe ot more. You can also use the macro function to setup shortcuts for up to 5 different games.
The keyboard itself certainly is striking, although I did think that the keys were slightly too spongy for my preference. It’s by no means terrible, I’m just used to the keys coming back at me quicker. Allreli tell me that this is intentional as the keys are “comfortable” for gamers and will reduce finger strain. There’s a slight texture to them.
Hit the “FN” key and you can access further shortcuts, such as setting the backlight brightness and whether it remains on or in the default “breathing” (pulse) mode. This, in the red hue, looks pretty cool and will fit in nicely with any games you may be playing.
Powered from the USB port, there’s no batteries needed so you won’t have to replace or worry about them.
Overall, I can see why this appeals to gamers. To have regularly-used keyboard shortcuts so readily available, and to have a cool back-light that will look really good in the dark was also very nice to look at. I can see it appealing to the late-night users who enjoy sitting in dimly-lit rooms to either play the latest games or hack into an online bank, it certainly looks the part.
The Allreli K9500 is available on Amazon US for $27.99 and for £19.99 from Amazon.co.uk