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Magpie0001 · 08-08-2005, 11:38 AM

Gamespy.com says zboards are a no-no. I was impressed at first too. It sounds like a great idea.

Heres the link: Click

& Heres what they had to say:

Zboard (by Ideazon)
MSRP: $50 for basic system
$20 for additional keysets

Targeted directly at gamers, the Zboard system was designed to be the Better Gaming Keyboard by offering swappable keysets with specially designed keys for different games. FPS keysets would provide (in theory) properly-aligned direction buttons instead of the offset W/A/S/D configuration, and then place the rest of the buttons in a more optimal manner for each game. In addition to a generic FPS board, keysets have been released for several games, including DOOM 3, EverQuest 2, World of Warcraft, and, most recently, Battlefield 2.

Sluggo's Take: I've tried several of the Zboards in the past few years, and while they're getting better, the system doesn't seem quite there yet. The early boards had little round buttons for the A-Z keys, which were a pain to use. I tried again with the DOOM 3 board last year, but gave up after about an hour -- the direction keys didn't quite feel right, and forget about any of the FPS boards if you plan on chatting with teammates; the A-Z keys are laid out so awkwardly (see the BF2 board above?) that you'll have to hunt and peck for every message.

Ironically, the Zboards I've liked the most are the ones for EverQuest II and World of Warcraft, which ditch the special keys and simply build in a ton of shortcuts to key commands. On top of that, I actually like the basic board -- it has two USB ports and a nice selection of extra hotkeys. If it weren't for the odd split in the space bar, I might consider it for normal use. Maybe the Zboard guys should think about making a "regular" keyboard?

08-08-2005, 11:38 AM	#12 (permalink)
Magpie0001 Nobody Loves Me Location: Irish In Madrid	Gamespy.com says zboards are a no-no. I was impressed at first too. It sounds like a great idea. Heres the link: Click & Heres what they had to say: Zboard (by Ideazon) MSRP: $50 for basic system $20 for additional keysets Targeted directly at gamers, the Zboard system was designed to be the Better Gaming Keyboard by offering swappable keysets with specially designed keys for different games. FPS keysets would provide (in theory) properly-aligned direction buttons instead of the offset W/A/S/D configuration, and then place the rest of the buttons in a more optimal manner for each game. In addition to a generic FPS board, keysets have been released for several games, including DOOM 3, EverQuest 2, World of Warcraft, and, most recently, Battlefield 2. Sluggo's Take: I've tried several of the Zboards in the past few years, and while they're getting better, the system doesn't seem quite there yet. The early boards had little round buttons for the A-Z keys, which were a pain to use. I tried again with the DOOM 3 board last year, but gave up after about an hour -- the direction keys didn't quite feel right, and forget about any of the FPS boards if you plan on chatting with teammates; the A-Z keys are laid out so awkwardly (see the BF2 board above?) that you'll have to hunt and peck for every message. Ironically, the Zboards I've liked the most are the ones for EverQuest II and World of Warcraft, which ditch the special keys and simply build in a ton of shortcuts to key commands. On top of that, I actually like the basic board -- it has two USB ports and a nice selection of extra hotkeys. If it weren't for the odd split in the space bar, I might consider it for normal use. Maybe the Zboard guys should think about making a "regular" keyboard? __________________ Music is my first love & It will be my last.