Z Your Board

A ZBoard has been in use at the beach house for several months. This is a keyboard that accents gaming. My love of Guild Wars inspired me to buy this product. Since I have never played any other game online this is a somewhat biased review.

Zboard makes a full Zboard that has modules (called keysets) for different games. They also make one that can be programmed from software downloaded off the internet called the MERC. There's a "pad"version of this called the FANG. I purchased the MERC. It's the unit being used now. Several gaming sites and software companies endorse them.

Being lefthanded, it is nice to have many of the game function keys on the left side of the keyboard. I was not able to pull it out of the box, download the software and start using it. It took several weeks of practice to make my left hand use the appropriate keys. I am still learning. The buttons are strategically located, clearly marked, and a good size for most fingers. The keyboard proper is pretty much standard and does include Windows keys.

At first the feel was weird. Hey, a pre-windows user here so I learned on the old "clicker" keyboards. This keyboard has a softer touch, but after some use the speed is up to normal. It is a decent feel and I like the layout. Wish they had key overlays available, but you get used to 'what key does what' after a few days. The left keypad is offset in an ergonomic fashion and even though I dislike those keyboards this slanting is quite comfortable.

I recommend this product, especially to gamers. As a matter of fact the purchase of the full version for Guild Wars is on my list of things to buy. Hope this helps.

"They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom."
-Confucius