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I wanted to bring out a review for those who perhaps have looked at, or even tried a mechanical keyboard yet decided it wasnt for you.
This is my new keyboard, the Rapoo E9050
This is a really great keyboard, and before I go into any details I would like everyone to know that I picked this up for ~$30 including shipping and taxes.
Right away, as you can see on the back, that is a big, one-piece, brushed, stainless steel plate for the casing. It is a very attractive look while also bringing a solid and great feel. It is a simple, minimalistic design whose quality matches the looks. Just look how slim the body is compared to a USB plug:
Even the keys have an excellent feel; personally I would say better than what you would find on the small profile Mac keyboards. It has a more snappy feedback, laptop scissor switch-like feel, yet with flat keys you would have one many of the chiclet keyboards in more recent laptops or even desktop keyboards.
One of the most important things is how it operates during games, one of the biggest sellers for mechanical keyboards besides the distinct feel is N-key rollover. While this keyboard doesnt have N-Key rollover, I have not been able to find any combination of keys (using WASD, or ESDF) that could lock up the keyboard. I cannot say the same for the numerous other keyboards I have used, with the only exception being the SIIG JK-WR0512-S1.
Other keyboards I have used and come up with locking up errors include:
Razer Blackwidow, Logitech K340, Kensington Slimtype, Creative Fatal1ty, and the Creative Spectre.
As for the The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog test:
HE QUIC BROWN OX UMP OVER HE Z OG
You can see it does struggle in that test, yet again Ive found no lock ups or missed keypresses at all during any gaming session, while the 5 other keyboards I mentioned above all had at least one combination that failed and would seize the keyboard.
If I had to take away any points from this keyboard, there are three things that come to mind where this isnt the perfect keyboard.
The CTRL key needs to be pressed down extra hard, I feel this may be my own fault however perhaps with some dirt finding its way within the key. It still works, very well even in gaming. Although this happens to be my push-to-talk key, and other friends have complained about my microphone cutting in and out because Im not holding down the key properly.
There are some excellent rubber feet on the under-side of the keyboard which grip very well. Yet like a number of other keyboards, they do not include the same on the top side and instead have only plastic nubs you may be able to make out from some of the photos. The problem with this being that the keyboard tends to slip around a bit across my desk, especially since it is such a small and light peripheral. I would have liked to have seen the same rubber feet build into the plastic bar housing the batteries for extra grip on any surface.
Last, I really thought I could do without the number pad, but since using this keyboard I have found myself missing it a lot wishing I had grabbed the model that included the number pad despite the larger footprint. Although thats just my own problem and personal presence, something I learned the hard way and hope other users will take that into consideration. Rapoo does of course offer a different model with the keypad included, or even a touchpad.
So all in all this is a great product, I blame mostly myself for anything of the small details I can complain about and the one thing Im really missing is the extra grip from the underside which I will be able to easily fix. I highly recommend this product to others who want that laptop-like feel of a keyboard, yet also has great gaming and typing ability where it is difficult to get it to malfunction under any normal or even heavier use. Only through specific testing I was able to get the keyboard to malfunction (quick brown fox test). This is a wireless keyboard as well, but there is no lag, and no stutters or issues of any kind with it, works just as well as any wired does for me. Rapoo claims to have a 24 month battery life, that I will have to get back to you in two years time, which leaves this keyboard free of flaws surrounding wireless.
So if mechanical isnt your thing or you just do not have the money to put down for a mechanical. The Rapoo E9050 is well worth a look, it is fantastically appealing and also an excellent performer. I would easily pay $50+ for this keyboard, grabbing it for almost half that price was certain a bonus!
I have to give the Rapoo E9050 a solid 9/10!
Hope youve all enjoyed my first so-called review
If you have any questions or think I missed anything within the review feel free to let me know, and of course if you wanted me to try putting it through some other testing, Ill see what I can manage!
This is my new keyboard, the Rapoo E9050
This is a really great keyboard, and before I go into any details I would like everyone to know that I picked this up for ~$30 including shipping and taxes.
Right away, as you can see on the back, that is a big, one-piece, brushed, stainless steel plate for the casing. It is a very attractive look while also bringing a solid and great feel. It is a simple, minimalistic design whose quality matches the looks. Just look how slim the body is compared to a USB plug:
Even the keys have an excellent feel; personally I would say better than what you would find on the small profile Mac keyboards. It has a more snappy feedback, laptop scissor switch-like feel, yet with flat keys you would have one many of the chiclet keyboards in more recent laptops or even desktop keyboards.
One of the most important things is how it operates during games, one of the biggest sellers for mechanical keyboards besides the distinct feel is N-key rollover. While this keyboard doesnt have N-Key rollover, I have not been able to find any combination of keys (using WASD, or ESDF) that could lock up the keyboard. I cannot say the same for the numerous other keyboards I have used, with the only exception being the SIIG JK-WR0512-S1.
Other keyboards I have used and come up with locking up errors include:
Razer Blackwidow, Logitech K340, Kensington Slimtype, Creative Fatal1ty, and the Creative Spectre.
As for the The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog test:
HE QUIC BROWN OX UMP OVER HE Z OG
You can see it does struggle in that test, yet again Ive found no lock ups or missed keypresses at all during any gaming session, while the 5 other keyboards I mentioned above all had at least one combination that failed and would seize the keyboard.
If I had to take away any points from this keyboard, there are three things that come to mind where this isnt the perfect keyboard.
The CTRL key needs to be pressed down extra hard, I feel this may be my own fault however perhaps with some dirt finding its way within the key. It still works, very well even in gaming. Although this happens to be my push-to-talk key, and other friends have complained about my microphone cutting in and out because Im not holding down the key properly.
There are some excellent rubber feet on the under-side of the keyboard which grip very well. Yet like a number of other keyboards, they do not include the same on the top side and instead have only plastic nubs you may be able to make out from some of the photos. The problem with this being that the keyboard tends to slip around a bit across my desk, especially since it is such a small and light peripheral. I would have liked to have seen the same rubber feet build into the plastic bar housing the batteries for extra grip on any surface.
Last, I really thought I could do without the number pad, but since using this keyboard I have found myself missing it a lot wishing I had grabbed the model that included the number pad despite the larger footprint. Although thats just my own problem and personal presence, something I learned the hard way and hope other users will take that into consideration. Rapoo does of course offer a different model with the keypad included, or even a touchpad.
So all in all this is a great product, I blame mostly myself for anything of the small details I can complain about and the one thing Im really missing is the extra grip from the underside which I will be able to easily fix. I highly recommend this product to others who want that laptop-like feel of a keyboard, yet also has great gaming and typing ability where it is difficult to get it to malfunction under any normal or even heavier use. Only through specific testing I was able to get the keyboard to malfunction (quick brown fox test). This is a wireless keyboard as well, but there is no lag, and no stutters or issues of any kind with it, works just as well as any wired does for me. Rapoo claims to have a 24 month battery life, that I will have to get back to you in two years time, which leaves this keyboard free of flaws surrounding wireless.
So if mechanical isnt your thing or you just do not have the money to put down for a mechanical. The Rapoo E9050 is well worth a look, it is fantastically appealing and also an excellent performer. I would easily pay $50+ for this keyboard, grabbing it for almost half that price was certain a bonus!
I have to give the Rapoo E9050 a solid 9/10!
Hope youve all enjoyed my first so-called review
If you have any questions or think I missed anything within the review feel free to let me know, and of course if you wanted me to try putting it through some other testing, Ill see what I can manage!