OCZ Announces a Budget Illuminated Keyboard
OCZ Technology's products gets covered a lot at HotHardware.com and on other enthusiast sites, as OCZ regularly churns out high-end system components, such as high-speed system memory, flash memory-based devices, power supply units, and CPU cooling solutions on a regular basis. With all these components devoted to speeding up the innards of enthusiast rigs, it might come as surprise to some that OCZ also dabbles in exterior peripherals as well, such as keyboards and mice. As it's been more than a month since OCZ's last product announcement, the company probably figured it must be time to announce its latest addition--this time a backlit multimedia keyboard, the Alchemy Series Illuminati Keyboard.
The Illuminati marks the third keyboard in OCZ's Alchemy Series of keyboards. The Illuminati is mostly black, the built-in backlight has adjustable brightness settings, and the backlight can be set to have the keys glow either red or blue. A dark keyboard with illuminated keys can be an ideal input device for gamers who like to play in darkened rooms. With 14 hotkeys for dedicated multimedia and Internet functions, however, the Illuminati will appeal to more than just gamers.
As with many USB keyboards, the Illuminati does not require any additional drivers, and it is compatible with all versions of Windows, from Windows 95 to Vista. The keys are rubber-coated and OCZ claims that they should last "over 5 million cycles." Photos of the keyboard show what appears to be a volumes dial on the right side of the wrist rest (see above).
Back-lit or illuminated keyboards have been around for some time; companies such as Saitek, Sunbeam, and Logitech sell popular illuminated keyboards that sell for below $100. In fact, peripheral manufacturer, Logisys, offers a keyboard, the "Two Color (Blue / Red) Character-Illuminated Keyboard," which is identical to the Illuminati--it would appear that OCZ does not exclusive rights on the Illuminati's design. The Logisys keyboard sells for around $30 to $35 online. Of course, none of these designs can compare to the $1,500 OLED, fully-programmable, Optimus Maximus keyboard. There is no word on availability or pricing yet for the Illuminati keyboard, but it will likely sell in the same $30 to $35 range as its Logisys twin.
The Illuminati marks the third keyboard in OCZ's Alchemy Series of keyboards. The Illuminati is mostly black, the built-in backlight has adjustable brightness settings, and the backlight can be set to have the keys glow either red or blue. A dark keyboard with illuminated keys can be an ideal input device for gamers who like to play in darkened rooms. With 14 hotkeys for dedicated multimedia and Internet functions, however, the Illuminati will appeal to more than just gamers.As with many USB keyboards, the Illuminati does not require any additional drivers, and it is compatible with all versions of Windows, from Windows 95 to Vista. The keys are rubber-coated and OCZ claims that they should last "over 5 million cycles." Photos of the keyboard show what appears to be a volumes dial on the right side of the wrist rest (see above).
Back-lit or illuminated keyboards have been around for some time; companies such as Saitek, Sunbeam, and Logitech sell popular illuminated keyboards that sell for below $100. In fact, peripheral manufacturer, Logisys, offers a keyboard, the "Two Color (Blue / Red) Character-Illuminated Keyboard," which is identical to the Illuminati--it would appear that OCZ does not exclusive rights on the Illuminati's design. The Logisys keyboard sells for around $30 to $35 online. Of course, none of these designs can compare to the $1,500 OLED, fully-programmable, Optimus Maximus keyboard. There is no word on availability or pricing yet for the Illuminati keyboard, but it will likely sell in the same $30 to $35 range as its Logisys twin.
