RanceJustice
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2003
- Messages
- 6,628
Maybe its a minority opinion but let me reiterate a few things here that I think Corsair could do to really stand out. What I see suggested would just get them to be "Equal to" when they could be above and beyond. We already have plenty of options for mechanical with single color backlighting . We have a handful of options for mechanical with macro keys and single color backlighting, USB2.0 passthrough or hub, audio etc... We have a lot with crappy ergonomics. So thus I offer
Mechanical switches for EVERY key - if you're going to put them in and make it a feature, use Cherry switches for every key, even the macros and F keys etc...
Deck/design ANODIZED Aluminum if you want a brushed finish or whatnot go the extra mile and make the deck cool anodized aluminum to protect the user and provide a premium look.
Keycaps etc.. NOT painted. There are multiple ways to ensure they don't wear off. I highly suggest offering multicolored keycaps for purchase and some by default with the high end kit, such as WASD etc....
Backlighting - Logitech G510 and G19 offer multi/any color backlighting using the RGB 0-255 system pretty much (in software). Do the same thing and put the highest quality LED backlighting around but this time with HARDWARE control too. For instance, 3 little wheels on the left side of the keyboard that basically control RGB channels from 0-255. Also, allow user-definable zone control using both built-in key commands and software. Putting 5 little buttons on the side near the lighting control will make 5 zone lighting, user defined and a "clear" or "all" button. For instance, if I hit the ALL button and then set the wheels to 255-255-255 then all backlighting will be white. Then, I can click Zone 1, press WASD and then use the wheels to make them red. Press Zone 2 and press CTRL ALT and Enter and they'll be blue etc... allowing the user unlimited option for customizing not just the color of the whole board, but of each key!
Layout - I think your K90, Logitech G19 and G510 are probably the right design in terms of setup for a full sized keyboard. Tenkeyless designs are also viable, but for the time being I'll be suggesting full sized. The aforementioned have the right sort of Media keys (barrel volume) and Macro key banks, with plenty of room for other options. Having hardware M1, M2, M3, MR etc... keys are useful, same as the hardware backlight dim/off/on key etc...
USB3.0 Ports/Hub - Where others are using USB2 ports still, the keyboard I propose here (especially with the display) will require power anyway, so put in USB3.0 powered ports instead. 2-4 should be helpful, if arranged in such a way they're a "pass through" hub.
Audio - Since you're already including a USB3 hub, people can easily plug in USB headsets if they have them. If you want to use a 3.5mm jack audio system, basically include a high quality USB sound card like some of the Logi-G Series do. Plugging in the 3.5mm phones/mic port means a new USB audio device. Its simple and works well for Logi G110 and 510 setups if I recall.
Display - Probably the most controversial I ask is the inclusion of a Logitech G-series like display. This is probably one of the features that adds the most to my keyboard out of any and the reason that I've stuck with Logitech boards instead of going mechanical. A mechanical board with a color, widescreen miniLCD that is GamePanel/Logitech compliant for games and apps that support it, and with an open source SDK or manner of interacting with it, with all the aforementioned features would truly be something that nobody else has - Logitech, Razer, Deck, or others.
Comfort and Ergonomic design - Would it be possible to include an ergonomically designed, gel/bead/foam filled wrist wrest? So few gaming or general use keyboards think about this stuff and special ergonomic setups are typically expensive and lack gaming-style features. Also if it may be possible, consider either a more ergonomic key layout or perhaps allowing the board to "break apart" in the middle to be mounted to the sides of chairs. There are many boards that have a "break" zone for the numpad and there are special ergonomic boards that break in the center, so its available tech at least.
Finally, Razer's Star Wars: The Old Republic keyboard and their new laptop are both equipped by what appears to be a multitouch trackpad that's also an LCD display, and "Optimus" style LCDs on keycaps. Yet to launch, I don't know how feasible this is going to be but the inclusion of any of these things would certainly make a Corsair board leaps and bounds ahead of others, assuming the aforementioned features are also included. However, I grant that these may not be possible or price-feasible at the moment but perhaps could be set aside for a future project.
If you want to make something to take the market by storm, "one up" the competition where ever possible instead of just replicating something with a similar set of tradeoffs to ever other "gaming" peripheral company.
Mechanical switches for EVERY key - if you're going to put them in and make it a feature, use Cherry switches for every key, even the macros and F keys etc...
Deck/design ANODIZED Aluminum if you want a brushed finish or whatnot go the extra mile and make the deck cool anodized aluminum to protect the user and provide a premium look.
Keycaps etc.. NOT painted. There are multiple ways to ensure they don't wear off. I highly suggest offering multicolored keycaps for purchase and some by default with the high end kit, such as WASD etc....
Backlighting - Logitech G510 and G19 offer multi/any color backlighting using the RGB 0-255 system pretty much (in software). Do the same thing and put the highest quality LED backlighting around but this time with HARDWARE control too. For instance, 3 little wheels on the left side of the keyboard that basically control RGB channels from 0-255. Also, allow user-definable zone control using both built-in key commands and software. Putting 5 little buttons on the side near the lighting control will make 5 zone lighting, user defined and a "clear" or "all" button. For instance, if I hit the ALL button and then set the wheels to 255-255-255 then all backlighting will be white. Then, I can click Zone 1, press WASD and then use the wheels to make them red. Press Zone 2 and press CTRL ALT and Enter and they'll be blue etc... allowing the user unlimited option for customizing not just the color of the whole board, but of each key!
Layout - I think your K90, Logitech G19 and G510 are probably the right design in terms of setup for a full sized keyboard. Tenkeyless designs are also viable, but for the time being I'll be suggesting full sized. The aforementioned have the right sort of Media keys (barrel volume) and Macro key banks, with plenty of room for other options. Having hardware M1, M2, M3, MR etc... keys are useful, same as the hardware backlight dim/off/on key etc...
USB3.0 Ports/Hub - Where others are using USB2 ports still, the keyboard I propose here (especially with the display) will require power anyway, so put in USB3.0 powered ports instead. 2-4 should be helpful, if arranged in such a way they're a "pass through" hub.
Audio - Since you're already including a USB3 hub, people can easily plug in USB headsets if they have them. If you want to use a 3.5mm jack audio system, basically include a high quality USB sound card like some of the Logi-G Series do. Plugging in the 3.5mm phones/mic port means a new USB audio device. Its simple and works well for Logi G110 and 510 setups if I recall.
Display - Probably the most controversial I ask is the inclusion of a Logitech G-series like display. This is probably one of the features that adds the most to my keyboard out of any and the reason that I've stuck with Logitech boards instead of going mechanical. A mechanical board with a color, widescreen miniLCD that is GamePanel/Logitech compliant for games and apps that support it, and with an open source SDK or manner of interacting with it, with all the aforementioned features would truly be something that nobody else has - Logitech, Razer, Deck, or others.
Comfort and Ergonomic design - Would it be possible to include an ergonomically designed, gel/bead/foam filled wrist wrest? So few gaming or general use keyboards think about this stuff and special ergonomic setups are typically expensive and lack gaming-style features. Also if it may be possible, consider either a more ergonomic key layout or perhaps allowing the board to "break apart" in the middle to be mounted to the sides of chairs. There are many boards that have a "break" zone for the numpad and there are special ergonomic boards that break in the center, so its available tech at least.
Finally, Razer's Star Wars: The Old Republic keyboard and their new laptop are both equipped by what appears to be a multitouch trackpad that's also an LCD display, and "Optimus" style LCDs on keycaps. Yet to launch, I don't know how feasible this is going to be but the inclusion of any of these things would certainly make a Corsair board leaps and bounds ahead of others, assuming the aforementioned features are also included. However, I grant that these may not be possible or price-feasible at the moment but perhaps could be set aside for a future project.
If you want to make something to take the market by storm, "one up" the competition where ever possible instead of just replicating something with a similar set of tradeoffs to ever other "gaming" peripheral company.
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