Others say...

"Totally Awesome!"
This is one of the coolest keyboards I've ever seen and used. I have no complaints at all. The backlighting is great, it has a very stylish shape. I'm building a computer for myself and I didn't want the same old keyboard that comes with every computer you see on the market. For me, this was the one that did it. The keys are quiet and I love the volume control located at the top right. Right now, I wouldn't have any other keyboard on the market.

"OK keyboard"
I am a long time computer user, I started programming on main frames and mini-computers back in the 1960s, FORTRAN 2. I am also a computer gamer. This is a well lit, works fine, easy to use keyboard. I do not use the hand rests, I do not need them. I do not use the remote keypad, cute but not useful. I am a Mac user most of the time and the keyboard only came with PC drivers. Since the programmers who wrote the software do not seem to have the skill set to let them compile for both PC and Mac it is a crippled device. It is trivial to do both and I do it all the time, there is no excuse for a half way job. If it does not work with everything then it can not be given higher than average ratings. However it does follow the standards in that it does work with both PCs and Macs as a standard keyboard, it is the advanced features that the Mac user can not use.

"Good Investment "
Let me just preface this review by mentioning that I read many customer reviews(here and elsewhere) on this product before purchasing it. I focused on the negative reviews as to develop a good idea of any potential design flaws. After using this keyboard for almost 6 months I believe that Saitek delivers an attractive design with solid quality.

Command Pad: Many reviews bash this feature. It is quite a basic pad as compared to some, but it gets the job done. My only main gripe with the pad was how it failed to deliver some windows macros such as ctrl-alt-delete. During games such as WoW and CoD2 I had no problems whatsoever. The rumor about the horrible software and it being buggy was nonexistent for me. The customers who claimed it to be "impossible" and "buggy" seem to be computer illiterate at best, and judging from the frequency of grammatical errors in their reviews, possible English illiterate as well. If you are familiar with computer hardware then you will be fine with this software and pad.

Keyboard: The quietness, response, and overall feel of the keys rival any Logitech design. I am a huge fan/customer of Logitech equipment, and thus can confidently state that this board is of equal material quality. Saitek took a more simple route with this design(no LCD screen etc...) and the price shows it.

*I almost laughed out loud after recently reading some of the passionate and disgruntled reviews concerning the lack of key-symbol illumination. It is obvious that these reviewers did not know much about the product they purchased. Unfortunately failing to be informed about a product one buys totally demerits any kind of negative opinion resulting from that lack of knowledge. I would guess that 90% of the negative reviews about this board capitalize on this point resulting in a much lower overall rating than deserved.

Last and probably least comes the aesthetics, of course the most subjective part of any review. I found this setup to be very sharp looking. In the dark, the vivid key definition from the backlights allows any experienced typist to quickly find whatever he/she is looking for. This eliminates the need for symbol illumination. Although symbol illumination might be a nice touch, especially for the keyboard deficient, I feel that Saitek sacrificed this option to provide very durable lettering. I have lost some lettering on Logitech keyboards sooner than the 6 months I've been using this one(Although frequency of gaming has fluctuated). Saitek Engineers probably figured that most gamers would know the keyboard well enough to not need both key definition and symbol illumination, apparently an oversight on their part.

I will recap this lengthy review by recommending this keyboard to any capable computer enthusiast who desires a good value.


"Pretty good keyboard!"
I was really excited by this keyboard when it came out. This keyboard is EXACTLY how I wanted it, not the keys glowing itself, but the outside of the keys in the inside glowing. The keyboard and the command pad have great shapes. The command pad is a nice addition too. The click and clack of the keys aren't too loud, so it somewhat discreet. I would highly recommend this keyboard to any gamer looking for a good keyboard for gaming.

"Worst keyboard ever, forget about "gaming.""
Good:
*Looks neat in the picture
*Has a cool shape to it, and has a nice weight to it
*The extra programmable keypad is a cool idea

Bad:
*The backlighting only lights up behind the keys so there is no indication which key is which (The other Saitek that is backlit has laser-etched keys so each number/letter is visible)
*The keys don't return quickly, they have a mushy feel to them when pushing down on them

Overall, this keyboard is terrible. I thought my laptop keyboard was bad... I'd rather type on that (or play games on it) any day over this abomination. I sent mine back after owning it for less than 4 hours - it was that bad.