Let’s get real right now. A Razer keyboard with a touch screen display and customizable “dynamic adaptive tactile” keys? Count me in!
At first you might be a bit taken back by the slew of terrible Star Wars branded products on the market. Personally, I am not one for licensed peripherals. Usually they are cheap products with overlaid graphics and low quality hardware.
Razer’s line of Star Wars the Old Republic peripherals is top notch. The build quality on the keyboard and mouse is slightly higher quality than what you have come to expect from Razer. You don’t get this sweet package for cheap. With a $249.99 price tag you would expect to get a roundtrip ticket to Coruscant. Let’s hope this keyboard is worth its weight in credits.
Dynamic Adaptive Tactile Keys
These keys are very similar to the keys found on the Razer BladeThe only difference would be that the keys actually work well. From the time I had to play with the keyboard this is what I gathered.
You can remap the adaptive keys through Razer’s software. Layouts will change based on what programs, applications, and games you happen to be using. The keyboard can switch its layout automatically or you can jump between layouts you have customized. Of course you can always get back to basic layout with a few keystrokes. Through the software you are able to create hot keys and short cuts that you can use in game. You can even go as far as giving each key its own little photo/icon!
That’s next level if you ask me.
Multi-Touch LCD Track-Panel
I am a MacBook Pro guy, so I am extremely picky when it comes to trackpads. However, this trackpad was not half bad. Loaded with the standard touch gestures and sensitivity of your standard trackpad, I found myself not missing much.
You also get a bonus LCD panel under your fingers. Want to watch a YouTube video on your keyboard? I don’t know why anyone would want to, but you can if your heart desires!
That’s the beauty of this thing, so much function and so little use.
I do find practicality in the scenario of Pro applications. I would love to have some visual shortcuts to Photoshop actions and keybindings. In a gaming sense you would likely never be watching or staring at your keyboard while gaming.
Unless of course you’re a noob…
Gameplay/Features
Those keys are so clean! Golden back-lit keys with an elegant typeface. The thin keys allow “for faster actuation and shorter travel distance”, apparently this is great for gaming.
The LED lighting surrounding the keyboard can be customized “up to 16 million customizable colors, which also respond to actions in game”.
So let’s say you happen to be getting attacked, the LED strips would light up red to visualize your demise. This might make the game a bit more immersive when gaming in low light situations.
Extreme Anti-Ghosting allows you to input up to 10 keys at a time, that’s all of your fingers at once. If my button mashing has told me anything, I can currently only input 5 keys at a time.
During gameplay the keyboard performed well, the keys were smooth and responsive. A huge setback I noticed was that I had to force myself to look down at the keyboard in order to take advantage of the customizable hot keys.
Reality
The dynamic adaptive tactile keys and LCD track-panel are placed in a really strange place for gaming. The placement makes a bit of sense on the Razer Blade but not much on this keyboard.
Generally, someone that buys a keyboard is using it with a desktop. That same person usually has a mouse. So why exactly would I need an advanced trackpad and customizable keys for “gaming” when, I will never look down at my keyboard while in game, and my “mouse hand” will always be on my mouse not a random track-pad.
Why exactly should I buy this? Because I can!
If you have the spare coins to pick this baby up, it’s the ultimate luxury fanboy keyboard. Razer’s SWTOR keyboard is an example of form and function at its finest. This is a solid product with great features and a fancy exterior.
The real question is how many men (bounties) will I have to kill in order to get that $250.
