Azio Levetron Mech4 Gaming Keyboard (KB588U)

Pros:Great mechanical keysMovable/removable number pad (with calculator key)Good volume controlEasy to clean if you spill stuff in itCons:Not backlitSliding 6-hotkey attachment is gimmicky and of limited useThis is an excellent keyboard; my only problem with it is the lack of backlighting. It's solidly built, has a pretty neat style, and has a bunch of cool features. The mechanical keys feel great, and I've had no problem with multiple key presses (shift, space, w, a, and r, for those forward left jumps while crouching and reloading that come up often, for example). The movable/removable number pad is great for when you want it out of the way, or on the other side of the keyboard for additional hotkeys or an alternative to the staple WASD setup. It has a small button below the keypad that opens up Calculator, which I thought was silly at first, but I've used it quite a bit, and it's a great idea. The volume control is smooth and works great. (On my previous keyboard, it would occasionally get "stuck" turning the volume up or down, or suffer from lag approaching 4-5 seconds, or just stop working.)The six-hotkey sliding thingy, I'm not quite sold on. I haven't really used it much, but it does flip up and out of the way, and it's removable, so it's not a big deal. It does cover up the F1-F4 keys where I have it now, but oh well.The keyboard is completely programmable, with five macro keys to the left of the standard keys. I like to rearrange all the keys and leave my computer, so people who try to use it are unable to type anything. (It's pretty funny.) The backspace key is tiny and the enter key is huge, but I got used to it after a couple of days, and now I don't even notice it.I wish it was backlit. I thought I wouldn't mind, but I do kind of miss that. Not a huge deal, just keep it in mind.Overall, I'm pleased with the purchase.

Loved the keyboard while it worked. Only was able to use it for about 2 months before I started getting shorts in the connection to the point that I couldn't get it to work. Very disappointed in a product that I was very excited to use. Before I received this product I was excited to learn about a "new" brand that doesn't seem to be very popular. I now know why they're not....

Pros:+good touch feel+positive feedback+solid construction+volume dialCons:-looks ridiculous, like a hazard sign-macro pad uses up 1 of 2 usb ports-no key back lighting-volume dial is very slow. 5.5 complete turns for min to max. Using the dial as you would any normal dial, it takes 25 twists to go from min volume to max volume.-macro keys and led on the left will turn off when computer hibernates and won't turn back onThis is the best keyboard I've used so far that combines: mechanical keys, volume dial and no/optional numpad.But, it is far from perfect.

First thing I want to say is that I am returning this keyboard, but not because it's a bad keyboard but because I received a defective unit. That will not affect my rating because while it did work the keyboard was almost excellent. I just want to put full disclosure out there, reason for my return was the software eventually just froze my computer up and I would have to hard reset. But again, I am only reviewing the product as if nothing happened because I've been reading through forums and have talked to customer support and it's very likely that my computer is at fault and not necessarily the keyboard or it's software.On to the review: typing with this keyboard is amazing, I love the clickity-clack feel that you get. Another reviewer likened it to an old IBM 'board from back in the day and I would have to agree. The detachable num-pad is great as well, allowing for a multitude of uses through various games/programs. The keyboard itself is very sturdy and in no way did I think that it might break or fall apart.The one thing that I just don't like is the fact that this keyboard has a somewhat awkward layout. It uses the style of an incredibly big enter key whilst using a ridiculously small backspace key. To be fair, I already knew that this was the case as I read reviews about this 'board before buying, but to be honest it's not that easy to get used to. For the full two weeks that I used the keyboard I would almost always hit the key right next to the backspace key.Some might say that the small backspace key won't bother them and if that is the case I see no reason why you should not buy this keyboard, however if you think you would be frustrated by the small backspace key then I suggest you look for a different keyboard. Another issue you might have is that the keys are NOT backlit, but I play games with the lights on anyway so that definitely did not bother me.It's not perfect, far from it, but for the price it's definitely above average.