Rosewill Neon K51 and Neon M57 Review
Overview
Hardware: PeripheralsWHAT WE LIKED:
Both the K51 and the M57 perform well, have a sturdy feel, excellent aesthetics and competitive pricing. The software for the M57 is solid.WHAT WE DISLIKED:
NoneDiscuss in the Forum
K51 First Impressions
Firstly, the Neon K51 has some heft to it. Not in a back breaking way, just more than your average membrane and slightly less than a fully metal mechanical. The cord was nicely wrapped with velcro and, to my surprise, a wrist rest lay underneath the keyboard. I’d say even on the upper end of the keyboard scale it is still 50/50 on whether or not it comes with a wrist rest. The rest isn’t soft, but it does make a nice transition to the keyboard.
An old ergonomic article I read said that ideally the keyboard should be flat and using the feet to prop it up is a terrible idea. Keyboard manufacturers nowadays seem to split the difference and add a default angle to the keyboard AND feet. I suppose if you keep your keyboard at arms length away from you then feet couldn’t hurt.
The font is legible, which is more than I can say for a lot of custom font keyboards. If you’ve ever spray painted or had to trace letters in plastic cut-out shapes when you were in elementary school, the font will be familiar. Anything with a completely enclosed space has a break in it (i.e. BDOPQR6890). Those particular letters and numbers are not a problem, these are: @#&. The @ and # just look funny but you’ll know what the symbol is if you’ve ever used one. The ampersand on the other hand almost looks like the number 8 right beside it. This will likely only bother the typists that are two-finger typists. If you are purchasing this keyboard for a person that looks around the keyboard for each letter, may I suggest adding a copy of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, or possibly Typing of the Dead.
Something only slightly font related is any key that assumes you’ve seen and remember the keys on a keyboard. Above the arrow keys are the keys which everyone forgets about unless they accidentally hit one, ruining their day. On the Neon K51, those keys are abbreviated into two or three letters. Without looking at your keyboard, do you know what these stand for? PS, SL, PB, INS, HM, PU, PD. Whether you do or don’t, this likely won’t effect you. Either you have no idea because you’ve never used them or you use them therefore you know the placement.
