SunbeamTech Pro-Series Lite Up Keyboard

Performance:

For testing, we connected the SunbeamTech Pro-Series Lite Up Keyboard to one of our test systems which had FedoraCore4 installed with the Linux 2.6.11-1.1369 kernel installed along with GCC 4.0 and Xorg 6.8.2. After connecting the PS/2 keyboard and booting up the computer. Kudzu detected the keyboard and it was quickly in working order. However, only some of the multimedia/application keys such as the scroll wheel and toggle were in working order under Linux.

For the testing of the actual keyboard, we used it for a week on one of our commonly used systems. During this time, we did our share of gaming, programming, word processing, browsing, and various other activities. As for the gaming, we did some Unreal Tournament 2004 and RTCW: Enemy Territory. For the programming aspect, we were simply working on coding PHP. As for the actual performance of the keyboard during these various events, we found it to hold up rather well compared to smaller EL keyboard alternatives. It was a bit disappointing seeing a full-sized keyboard that had a miniature backspace button. As for the noise when typing on the keyboard, it wasn't the quietest we've heard but it still was quite reasonable. On the side of lighting, the keyboard was rather bright but there is no way the brightness could compete with the Logisys Phone Smart, which has an LED implanted under every single key.

Conclusion:

Although this keyboard may look nice when the EL is turned on, it still has its share of flaws. Some of the flaws include no possible adjustments for the keyboard height, small backspace key, and EL on/off are toggled to scroll lock. Although this keyboard has 133 keys, we only felt it was satisfactory in suiting our needs due to its poor design. Hopefully, SunbeamTech will be able to come back with future revisions/models to fix some of these high-profile problems.

Pros:

· Rather quiet operation
· 133 keys
· Illuminated keyboard
· Scroll wheel

Cons:

· No use for battery compartment
· Poor key placement
· Lack of Linux compatibility
· Small backspace key
· No height adjustments