Last Updated 25/Oct/2009
Review: Trust Illuminated Keyboard
With Halloween upon us, Iain Laskey examines a keyboard for the children of the night
| Product | Illuminated Keyboard KB-1500 |
|---|---|
| Company | Trust |
| Web | www.trust.com |
| Price | £16.99 |
| We like | illumination, price, dedicated keys |
| We don't like | no insert, backspace too small |
| Rating | 6/10 |
| Requirements | Windows 2000, XP, Vista |
| More reviews | www.testfreaks.co.uk |
Strange as it sounds, sometimes an illuminated keyboard is something I really hanker after. When working into the night, it's not always convenient to have so many lights on, especially if they're in danger of disturbing others. When you find yourself picking at the keys to the dim light of the monitor, you know you need a keyboard that glows in the dark. There's a few around but most are quite pricey. Luckily, Trust have one that's a bit more reasonably priced.
The excitingly named Trust Illuminated Keyboard KB-1500 is a compact low profile unit that is about the same size as a typical keyboard on a 17inch laptop. It's a USB device and requires no drivers, just plug it in and it's ready to use. The usual pair of flip down rear legs allow adjustment for typing angle.
As well as the standard keys, the Trust Illuminated Keyboard has a number of additional keys for such functions as volume up/down/mute, play/pause and for web browsing, refresh, email, favourites and home. Above the numeric keypad are keys for opening My Computer, standby/wakeup and calculator. The latter was particularly welcome as I still miss an old Microsoft keyboard I had which had a dedicated key to make the Windows Calculator pop up.
Illumination can be switched on/off via another special key. The illumination function itself switches on a very even blue glow under the slightly translucent keys. This does indeed work well in low or even no light. I do feel the key's labeling could have been a little more bold though as some keys were a little difficult to read quickly.
On the downside, whilst I would expect some compromises from the compact layout, some of design choices are just plain bizarre. The backspace key is the same size as a normal key, there's no insert key on the main keyboard (you'll have to resort to the numeric keypad, switching off numlock first) yet they have managed to fit in two Windows keys. I found the small backspace key very hard to get used to and frequently missed - touch typers beware.
The actual feel of the keys is adequate. Not the worst by any means with a decent amount of travel and a fairly distinct click as you type. The additional function keys all worked fine without any need for additional drivers.
Conclusion
On balance, we can't give the Trust Illuminated Keyboard an enthusiastic thumbs up. The illumination function works well, the price is good and the calculator key is a boon but the small backspace key and lack of a dedicated insert key make it harder work than it should be.
If this is to be your main keyboard, you'll get used to the layout and will appreciate the pluses but if it's not, you may want to look elsewhere even if that means paying a sizeable premium over the Trust's low price.
