Hey there Sasquatch! Need a keyboard?
Written: Sep 22 '00 (Updated Jul 03 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Movable numpad, spacious, built-in wrist rests
Cons: not for small hands, rests are hard plastic
The Bottom Line: An excellent ergonomic keyboard for those of us whose hands are particularly well-endowed. Well-designed for game playing.
|
|
|
| Gamesmith's Full Review: Acer Ergonomic Ergo61 (91.52R07.161) Keyboard, Key... |
If you play shooters or have big hands, this should be your next keyboard.
For those of us whose fingers need a little more real estate, the Acer Future is a godsend. The keys are a bit more widely spaced than on most keyboards -- even other ergonomic ones. This is rough on folks with small hands, but for those of us with clumsy and/or big paws, the change is immediately noticeable and pleasant.
For gamers, this keyboard has a great feature: the numpad is removable and movable! Why is this so cool? Well, in Quake or Unreal or any other game where you need the arrow keys and the mouse at the same time, most keyboards have to be scooched off to the left for even-handed ergonomic play: the numpad is always on the right, exactly where the mouse is. Doh!
With the Future's movable keypad, you can keep it on the right for regular usage, then move it to the left for gaming. Over time, I actually found that leaving it on the left was preferable. Why?
Look at your keyboard right this second. Is the typing area centered to the monitor? Nope. There's a numeric keypad on the right, forcing your normal typing area off center slightly. Bad ergonomics - your arms and hands are centered in comparison to your eyes (well mostly anyhow), so your viewing and typing areas should likewise be centered.
Other keyboard systems exist with movable/removable numpads, but this is the only one with an attached wrist rest on the numpad. So no matter where you go, there it is.
The action is free and satisfying. It felt a bit fragile at first, but I pound the tar out of my keys when I type, and it's held up fine for two years now.
If you can, put your hands on it before buying. But I think you should know by now if this is for you.
One footnote: the built-in wrist rests are hard plastic (not easy to tell from the product photos), but are well situated.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Gamesmith
|
|
Location: Oakland, CA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.