Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate a proper mechanical keyboard. Not just because of the nice, satisfying “click” sound when you press a key, and the tactile sensation of pressing them compared to using a membrane keyboard. They’re also easier to clean and less likely to get gummed up by the general debris and detritus of regular usage. When 8bitdo, whose controllers I’ve been using for a while, branched out into keyboards, I had a moment of “Do I really want to swap out my Logitech keyboard for one of these” – until one of them went on sale by enough that I decided that yes, I did want to get one. Now it’s time for my thoughts.
8bitdo’s keyboard has three main ways to hook up to the computer: USB, Bluetooth, or an included 2.4ghz receiver. As I’ve had good experiences with their 2.4ghz receiver on other devices, I decided to try out the receiver. Thus far, I’ve had very good experiences. There’s been no observable with keyboard inputs, so it’s worked well both for general typing. I’ve written several video scripts, pages of notes for my tabletop campaign, and multiple blog posts on the initial battery charge – indeed I have yet to need to charge it. I’ve also spent some time playing several games with the keyboard – particularly games that involve a lot of keyboard inputs (like Final Fantasy XIV), and haven’t had any latency problems there either.
I also appreciate having an easily accessible physical power switch on top of the keyboard to not only switch between 2.4ghz and Bluetooth as wireless connection options, but also to just physically turn the keyboard off (particularly if I’m planning on doing any work cleaning it in the future). The physical volume knob is also very responsive, and having a raised power indicator on the keyboard itself is also nice. The contrast of the keys and the writing on them also works well enough that I no longer particularly miss the LEDs of my old Logitech keyboard. It also has a pretty reliable sleep mode, and it wakes up right away when a key is pressed.
This is not to say there isn’t any weirdness necessarily. While the firmware on the keyboard (naturally) cannot be updated without using a USB cord, you also can’t configure the programmable keys on the keyboard (the large “A” and “B” on the bottom left) without a USB connection either. It also comes with two “Superbuttons” which plug into what are basically a set of headphone jacks on the back of the unit, which are also configurable in this way – mine are controlling mute and play/stop in the media player. They’re nice, but if you’re used to having a full array of media shortcut buttons on the keyboard, that might be frustrating.
Additionally, there is no 10-key on the keyboard. I’ve come to not mind it, but I also have to fight almost 25 years of muscle memory using keyboards with 10-keys. I haven’t had a computer without a 10-key since my Atari 800 back when I was a kid. 8bitdo does make an aftermarket 10-key that can connect over Bluetooth and can serve as a separate device, but it also doesn’t have the markers on it for the usual keyboard shortcuts for the 10-key (page up and down, etc.) That device also oddly doesn’t integrate with the jacks on the back of the main keyboard either – requiring either using Bluetooth, or tying up another USB port on your computer with a wired or 2.4ghz connection.
Other than that – I will admit that while I’d gotten the NES one because that was both on sale and in stock, I wish that I’d gotten the C64 one – that model does feel like they went the extra mile when it comes to the physical design. On the C64 keyboard, the ridges on the top of the keyboard (going from the photographs) are actually physically raised. On the NES keyboard, they’re actually smooth, and colored as if they were raised, like the similar ridged portion on top of the NES. It’s a minor detail, but a slightly frustrating one.
Additionally, I would recommend getting an ergonomic wristrest to go with the keyboard. It doesn’t come with one, and it’s raised just enough that I’d say it comes in handy.
In short – I had some time where I legitimately thought that this keyboard was just going to be a gimmick. That while 8bitdo had a solid track record for game controllers, their keyboard would not live up to the hype. I was wrong and I admit it – this is a solidly built, reliable keyboard, and I’m definitely glad I picked it up.
(I’m still not sure about their mouse design though.)
8bitdo’s keyboards are available from Amazon.com – buying anything through that link helps to support the site.
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