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 Saitek’s Eclipse II keyboard continues on from the success of the original, but has made some rather nice improvements to make it function and look much better than its predecessor.
Looking at the keyboard, it has a very similar appearance to the original, with a standard 104-key layout and black keys surrounded by silver colour scheme, so it doesn’t have a garish appearance by any means. The Eclipse II now includes multimedia function keys, which the original was sadly lacking, no drivers are required for their operation either, making the Eclipse II completely plug and play via USB, as you’d expect from any current model keyboard. Saitek Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard  Multimedia and dimmer controls  The main drawcard of the Eclipse II (as with the original Eclipse) is the fluoro backlit keys, giving a very cool and subtle lighting effect. The keys are a translucent plastic, with only the letter of the key not painted black to allow the light through. The intensity of the light can be controlled by a dimmer switch in the top left of the keyboard, it is an analogue dial so you can set any light level you desire, or turn it off altogether. One of the best new features of the Eclipse II is that instead of having to choose what colour light you want before you buy it, it actually comes with 3 different lighting colour schemes as standard (blue, red, purple), which can be instantly toggled between via a button next to the dimmer switch. 3 Different Colours  Sure it may look pretty, but is it a decent keyboard? Well yes it is... the keys have a light and quiet touch, and I couldn’t produce any ghosting while playing games (ghosting is when too many keys are pressed at once, causing some to not respond) so it appears to all work very well. The multimedia functions are only basic but they do their job, and the included wrist rest is a good inclusion, as the keyboard is not a very low profile when compared to others in the market, so having the wrist rest helps avoid any cramping from long durations of use. Conclusion: The Eclipse II retails for just over AU$100, slightly more than the highly featured G11 Gaming Keyboard from Logitech, and there’s no doubt about it, that’s a lot of money for a keyboard. I do like the Eclipse, but I don’t think it’s worth $100. However if looks are the most important consideration for your next keyboard, then make sure you consider this one, it looks great and works well, but it’s just not that special to demand such a high price. This product can be purchased online at www.techbuy.com.au (Direct Link) |
