Introduction:

These days, it's not enough to have a flashy case if your various peripherals don't hold up their end of the bargain. Just about every component available has a version available to the modder or enthusiast, and the keyboard is no exception. This review will focus on the Xenix Illuminating Keyboard. A keyboard plays a pretty important role as far as peripherals go. In fact, if it weren't for the keyboard, our machines would just be glorified consoles.  Most users would consider the keyboard their primary interface, so it not only has to look good, it must function well. If you do a lot of gaming or typing, little things will enhance or detract from your experience when it comes to the keyboard. I'll give you the rundown on the features of the keyboard first, then I'll talk about more subjective things like feel, layout, etc.

Overview:

   The Xenix LG-KB602 Illuminated Keyboard is a standard PS/2 101 (actually 105) key keyboard. What makes this keyboard attractive to the enthusiast is the illuminating function and the quick keys. As far as keyboards go, it is on the smallish size, more akin to a laptop keyboard than a standard desktop unit. It is much smaller than my Microsoft knockoff I was using previously. This should be an attractive feature for the LAN gamer, since it takes up much less desk space than a typical keyboard. This means easier carrying, too.

   The keyboard layout follows the laptop tradition of shrunken function keys, and editing function keys (CTRL, INS, DEL, HOME, END, etc) spread all over in nooks and crannies. I'm still having a hard time finding the delete key, but this is mostly a habit thing, rather than a real problem.

   There is no separate island for the arrows, a feature that I have always like to have since I like to quickly smack them without looking. This unit tucks the primary arrow keys into the lower right quadrant of the main layout.

   The keyboard has folding legs in back that elevate the keyboard slightly. After snapping off many of these devices in the past, I checked their construction and it looks to be fairly sturdy.

   Along the top row of the keyboard, there are several "macro" shortcut keys. These keys are fixed-function, but provide decent functionality. Along the left side are browser commands, and along the right side are common multimedia commands. Provided you don't have a lot of third party software installed, the default key configurations should work fine. I tested the keys using Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Media Player without issue.

  The keyboard connector is the PS/2 style, somewhat of a throwback. No USB adaptor was included in the box. This doesn't concern me too much, in fact, I like the idea of my keyboard being on its own dedicated line. Call me old fashioned, but I feel the keyboard is more reliable when it is connected to a dedicated port. I did not test the keyboard function with a USB adaptor, so I cannot verify if all the features will work if used with a USB adaptor. The cable itself is sleeved with a foil/plastic wrap that looks pretty cool, although it is not actively lighted with the rest of the keyboard (didn't really expect it to be, either). It looks to be the same length cable as most other keyboards I've used.

   The illuminating feature is what sets this keyboard off, though. When you turn on the pushbutton toggle on the upper right of the keyboard, the board lights up with a soft, blue glow.  It looks great in a darkened environment, but even in strong room lighting, it is fairly bright. This should be great for LAN parties where there isn't adequate lighting to see near your station.

   It also complements the rest of the case lighting scheme if yours blue. I still look at my fingers quite a bit when I'm typing, and even after an hour or two of use, I haven't noticed any eye strain. However, the NUM-LOCK, CAPS- LOCK and SCROLL-LOCK LED's are the blue super-bright variety. Let me tell you, these babies will burn a hole in your retina if you leave them on for any length of time. In a darkened room with all three on, you can use them as a flashlight. No joke. I turn them off when I am not doing number pad work, otherwise they are just too bright.