Side by Side Comparison of: AmazonBasics vs Azio

I'd been having keystroke delay issues with Windows 10/64 bit and nothing seemed to help as the problem persisted, so I decided to go back to a wired keyboard. I thought that I'd end up with some sub-standard and mildly annoying piece of technology.... Wrong! The keys are responsive and the touch is even. I especially like the spacing that separates every key on the entire board. I am no longer "thumb-fingering" text errors by inadvertently hitting extra keys. In fact, I've bought two more of these for my other production PCs and I wasn't even having any trouble with them! This keyboard is awesome... so don't let the low price fool you. I no longer need to worry about what I am typing in for passwords because what I type is what I get.

Great keyboard, one feature I was not expected to be using 24/7 was the file system 2 spots to the right of f12 , one of my games I play daily I have to launch from there, I also make montages on youtube so that button is helping for getting me to my recordings a lot faster. The keys feel good and I have used it for ranked matches on Rainbow Six Siege, has not failed me, only gripe I have with it are the keys are not as quiet as I had hoped but that is about it, at the time i bought it the price was around 13 USD I believe and it was well worthPSAmazon if you are reading this if you can make a wireless version of this that would be amazing for a home theater setup.

It's a keyboard! No frills! A hundred and one of your favourite keys! It's what you'd expect of a lightweight plastic keyboard. Seems durable and well-made, but if you want the feel of a mechanical IBM, this is not for you. This is for folks who are fine with the feel of a laptop keyboard with a *slight* bit more click. (They aren't as "mashy" as most of the laptops I've worked on. There's a little bit more of that good resistance to keep you from grazing the key and inadvertently making another stroke.) In the end, it's a keyboard.

Nice Keyboard. All the reviews have pretty much said it all about this keyboard.The thing I like about this keyboard is the simple key layout. It is straight forward. Hot keys I do not use, so not having a lot of hotkeys does not bother me. When I plugged this keyboard in, everything worked. Key touch was nice. I type pretty much type with a light tough and all keys responded to my touch. Good price with basic features that gets the job done. Can't ask for anything better then that.I would recommend

I want to preface this by saying the 5 star rating is in comparison to other similar keyboards. This isn't a mechanical keyboard and it doesn't claim to be, so I'm not comparing as such.I write for a living--some weeks I might pull 25,000 words depending on what's going on. After going through a number of cheap Logitech keyboards over the course of a couple years, I picked up a mechanical. Then, my mechanical was having some issues and I needed to replace it but it wasn't in the budget. I needed something cheap that would put up with regular use and figured I could toss in a bag if I was going somewhere and didn't want to use my laptop keyboard.I'm glad I picked this one. It sees far more use than I ever intended and it's held up like a champ. After a few months of regular use, the keys still have their lettering, they're all still responsive and more importantly, I've had zero problems with hand cramps or wrist pain.Unlike many basic budget keyboards, the key layout on this one is fairly untouched, while still making room for media controls. There's not a ton of hotkeys, but the ones there are actually useful.I enjoy the feel of the keys. They're not mushy like a membrane keyboard but aren't nearly as tactile as my favorite Cherry Blues. For the price, the typing experience is stellar.This isn't a quiet keyboard by any stretch, but it's also a far cry from the clackety-clack of a mechanical. I can still pick up keystrokes when recording with my headset mic, but it's a background noise and no intrusive on the audio side.One issue I could see if if you're not happy with the angle of the keyboard. It's not adjustable in any way, but fortunately for me, it's a great fit for my normal typing angle. The grippy sections have no trouble keeping the keyboard firmly planted on my glasstop desk either..Very happy with my purchase and will likely pick up a spare to have around just in case.

I used my old one so much the "location bumps" on the F and J keys wore off to smooth. I didn't want to replace it because It still worked perfectly, I just need those bumps to locate my hand when I am doing AutoCAD. Thankfully, I like this updated version even better.The keys, while not whisper quiet, are less clacky than my previous "basics" keyboard. They are smooth and don't bind at all.THIS ONE HAS VOLUME BUTTONS! These basic keyboards are so cheap in price that I never blamed them for not having volume buttons... but that always bothered me because it is such a useful tool when listening to music while I work.I also love the "Computer" button for quick access to the "My Computer" folder. It also has a Media Player button and a Calculator button. I would have bought this even if it didn't have these buttons, but I love the convenience they add.My ONLY complaint would be the lack of "pitch adjustment." My old one had tabs I could deploy (or not) to change the angle of the keyboard. This one does not, and that is surprising. I have decided to not take a star off for this, though, since the pitch seems to be at the idea angle anyway, so I'm fine with it. Also, that's one less moving part to keep the cost down. But if I were to change one thing, I'd add pitch adjustment tabs.I like the shiny finish and sleek look, which is also an improvement over the older version. This one looks less clunky and 80s-ish.For the price, I would never buy anything else unless you needed a plethora of extra "programmable" buttons for gaming or something. But if you need a stupidly affordable keyboard that has everything you need and nothing you don't... this is the keyboard you want.

I was looking for a keyboard with illuminated keys; I tried two others that used "clickie" type keys, which I was OK with, as this is the type keyboard I first used typing with electric typewriters and telecommunications keyboards. However, the first keyboard did not have a separate numbers keypad, and it became apparent that I missed that, plus the clicky keys were very noisy, so back it went. The second one was another low cost gamer keyboard with, again, clicky keys (that were not as noisy as the other keyboard), but one of the cursor keys began working intermittently, so back it went. I then found this one with a very reasonable price, illuminated keys, but with membrane type key mechanisms instead of mechanical. Turns out these keys were of a better design than your typical membrane keys,and work very well for me. The markings on the keys are overly large, and with the led lighting, make this keyboard exactly what I was looking for. The price is quite reasonable, the keyboard works great and seems durable. It has three colors, one of which is a sort of magenta (or light purple) that I thought might be strange when I read the keyboard's description, but turns out it is my preferred color of the three. The intensity of the lighting is just right, which is good since it is not adjustable. And it has a numbers pad!

Trying to get use to the keyboard. I purchased 2 of these keyboards and I am very happy for the price and colors available. Once I received the keyboard I had an issue re-habit forming the key locations on the enter key. My old keyboard trained me to hit a certain position, while this new keyboard I kept hitting the shift key for a while.Strange how the body works while forming habits. I think also that the words CAPS LOCK, TAB, SHIFT and CNTL are done too large. This was part of the factor I hit the SHIFT key instead of the ENTER key. If they reduced the size of the font on those particular keys it would be the perfect keyboard. Leaving the ENTER key font size the same. Anyway, the keyboard is solid and worth the price. I am glad I purchased 2 because I go through keyboards the quickest. The colors are nice and rich and the brightness really gets bright. About time I can set the brightness and have to actually turn it down some because of the power it outputs in brightness.

This is actually my second one as I accidentally fed my old one one too many cups of coffee. :'(It works well, easy to see, easy to use, plug & play...I'm a PC gamer with vision issues & nerve damage in my hands so I have very little indication that I am actually touching keys or which ones, & I have constant micro-twitches in my fingers. I have never mastered touch typing, although I do some keyboard game controls, most of it is mouse driven. However I do quite a lot of typing... send emails, comment in blogs & forums, ask questions no one else has gotten answers to & accidentally hit keys that delete the entirety of things I already spent 45min spell checking for the finger twitch mistakes :DAt least with this keyboard I'm not hunkered down, squinting, trying to see what letter is under which finger.As night-blind as I am I can use the Azio Vision without bright lights on, comfortably, even late at night...Awesome considering most keyboards I have to use at chest height, with bright light & squinting to see the faint difference between the black keys & thin mostly invisible (to me) white symbols.My particular pet peeve with it is the weird, bumpy, rubbery texture on the front palm rest section. lol I find myself completely off-task picking at the bumps & feeling like I have chalk on my teeth :D... Not removable. sigh!

I'm very pleased with this keyboard! The keys are all in the right place, the letters and numbers are easy to see, and the touch of the keys is really easy on the fingers (I love to type FAST!). It's easy to change the color or change the brightness of the keys. It is slightly wider and deeper than the one I had before (HP model that came with my computer), but still fits on my keyboard shelf, leaving enough room for my mouse. The symbol keys look a little different, but I think I'll get used to those in no time! I usually leave the overhead light off in my computer room at night, since I'm in and out of there all evening. I no longer have to keep a flashlight handy! The packaging is very nice, the box describes all the features. They've also included a user guide that has 2 pages of info about the keyboard, and then a page about support and warranty info. And there's a little card included that asks if you're happy or troubled with your keyboard, and then lets you know what you can do in each instance. I definitely recommend this keyboard if you're looking to replace your standard keyboard with a backlit keyboard.

It's funny. You think to yourself that a keyboard is a keyboard and there's nothing wrong with a normal unlit one. Meanwhile, you write thesis papers and romance novels and witty jokes and get into heated internet discussions until the wee hours of the night. You mistype a letter, lose your concentration, and have to rely on muscle memory and/or the glare of your monitor screen to see where Delete or Backspace or Caps Lock is, pecking away in the darkness, trying to find what you're looking for and losing your train of thought in the process.This solves that problem. You can switch between a blue light (the brightest setting) a red light (a medium setting) and a purple light (arguably the dimmest setting) on your keyboard. Between the light and the enlarged keys, you won't have to wreck your eyes and pound your fists in frustration. Entirely worth the money. Works perfectly well with Windows 7, 8 and 10. Buy it now.

Excellent keyboard - Seems incredibly sturdy and the backlight works well with the large print. Nice to have a choice of red, blue, or purple. This is the ONLY keyboard I have seen (in this price range) that has a FULL SIZE backspace key. If you've ever tried using the one with the half size it can be annoying, especially when they place another key beside it which is typical.**IMPORTANT NOTE - "Off" ButtonThe instructions are scant - not a big deal - but I've had this for several weeks and FINALLY just now figured out how to turn this thing off. It's the SAME BUTTON you use to switch LED colors - only you hold it down for about 3 seconds. I looked for this in the instructions and could not find it - although LEDs are long-life bulbs - I use my computer only a couple of hours a day, so I worried having it on for 22 extra hours per day would severely decrease the functional life of the keyboard. Problem solved - hold the color change button down until it turns off - same button turns it back on.Finally - there are four rubber feet towards the front of the keyboard that do an awesome job of keeping it in place. The back has two small feet that you can flip up to raise the back of the keyboard. The palm rest that sits in front of the keyboard is not intended for removal - with some effort it might be removed (can't tell if it just snaps on or not) but it is a molded piece of plastic that runs around the entire top edge of the keyboard - if you removed it you would also be removing the part of the cover that encloses the media/shortcut keys at the very top of the keyboard - the row with the function keys (F1, F2 etc) would not be affected.Overall a fantastic keyboard for the price - highly recommended!

It's a good keyboard for the price, but all the F keys are in a single uninterrupted row, which makes it hard to find the right one to press. I press F5 all the time because I'm a web programmer, I press F11 all the time because that's the best way to toggle full screen mode in Netflix and Amazon Prime, I press F6 and F7 all the time in PhpStorm, and it's frustrating trying to press the right key when you have to actually read what is written on the key to know if you're pressing the right one. Lack of this spacing also interferes with easily finding the right number keys to press, since you can't use the spacing on the row above as a visual clue. Instead of giving us some useful spacing that I loved in my past keyboards, they added two buttons that should obviously have been done in combination with the function key like the other 4 controls that appear on F9 through F12. Bad design decision ruins an otherwise great keyboard; now it's merely good.

I was looking for a few cheap USB keyboards for our office and came across this one. When they arrived I was actually pleasantly surprised at the design - doesn't look as cheap as some others we have. I am also really fond of the keys. Have you ever tried to use someone else's work station and the keyboard just isn't yours which makes things difficult? This setup has nice keys which made it easy to transition. There's a decent amount of space between each and the keys themselves are rounded.The only downside and reason I can't give it five stars is that although it looks like it's raised because of the design, it has no kick stand in the back to tilt it better. It's slightly flat angled for my taste, but will work! Still a great buy for the price.

For the price it's great. It works well, the buttons are responsive, and it's got media keys (some available by combinations with the function key). My only issue is the button placement is uncommon so you'll have to relearn some of your muscle memory. Specifically, the F keys feel a bit off to me and I keep hitting the wrong ones. It's not a big deal, but just something to keep in mind if you've built up a lot of muscle memory over the years and really don't want to relearn it. But the for price, you won't find a better deal.

Actually it is a great back up key board. I am on a Mac, and it works, but it is better designed for Windows. The Windows (aka Apple-command) key & the Alt/Option key are reversed on the left side of the keyboard for a Mac user and there is no Command or Option key on the right side. Works great otherwise & looks good. Since I use the missing right side keys, I had to return it.

It's quiet, looks professional, and all the keys still work a few weeks after purchase. It needed just a small amount of balancing via a folded up post-it note under the top left part. My major complaint about this keyboard is that it does not have the little "feet" that you can fold out to change the angle at which you type on the keys. It sits very flat on the desk and is incapable of changing the angle of the keys on its own. Other than that, its a good inexpensive keyboard to keep around as a spare.

If you like a low profile keyboard then this is well worth the money. The first time I used one it felt strange, but I much prefer this style over normal keyboards. I know the mechanical keyboards are all the rage but for everyday use and typing I feel these are much easier on your hands, once you get used to it.I have had this keyboard for more than a year and have had zero issues with it. It has the word basic in it's name but do not let that fool you. It is not basic in quality. The only thing it is lacking is programmable keys. That is the reason I gave it a 4 star.

I am holding back the fifth star, I have been using this keyboard for 3 weeks now and see from some old reviews that it doesn't age well. As of now I find it perfect. Perhaps the old complaints (from several years ago) have been taken care of.Let me address them:Firstly, someone who was a touch typist complained about the key spacing. As one who learned to touch type on a mechanical typewriter around 1950 let me point out that any change in keyboard requires a bit of adjustment of "finger memory" on spacing. My thumbs couldn't find the space bar at first on this keyboard, they are now quite comfortable with it. I'm still making a few mistakes, but the muscle memory is improving. I'm used to this - I went from mechanical (real mechanical, one had to push the striker all the way for it to hit the paper) to electric (still mechanical) to selectric, to computers - and to all the variations of computer keyboards. No problem learning this keyboard.Second issue. Complaints about the pressure needed on the keys. I find no problem with my Azio. The keystroke is longer than some, but I like that as it prevents me from inadvertent keying. It might be a problem for "hunt and peckers" used to an iPhone, but I don't have one of those. Perhaps over time the keys will get sticky, but I feel no indication of that so far.Third issue. This one I'm really not sure of. Some have had a problem with the key surface wearing out. From the photos of the problem it seems as if the "black paint" is wearing away blurring the letters. The reason I got the backlit is the reverse, my other keyboards had the "ink" in the letter wear away on the most used keys. The wearing away of the surface might have to do with "sticky keys" on the Azio, or it might be a general problem. If I start to see wear of the key surface I'll look into using a clear protective coat on the keys.In summary, I'm happy with my purchase and would give it a five star rating if I weren't concerned about those latter two things happening in the future. FYI, I probably have given the keyboard a couple of months wear compared to most - I write long letters (as you can tell). I also write articles for my web site. So far, so good with the Azio.

I needed to replace the Logitech keyboard and mouse (wireless) as they were paired and did not work very well. I took my son's advice and bought a wired keyboard, and a wired mouse. The keyboard has backlit keys so the letters are bright, and WAY larger than I even expected. The keyboard is extremely light. That is both good and bad. It is good as it is easy to move, but it slides too easy. There is nothing wrong, except one cannot rest ones hands on the leading edge of the keyboard -- and we all might want to. The weight of my hands as I am typing can cause the keyboard to slide away. So, I just have to drag it back into place occasionally. The keys are easy to hit, the placement of the features on the board are all easy to work. I have not issues with the construct of the keyboard. If one is looking for a decent keyboard at a well affordable price -- this is it.

Really like this keyboard. Big, bright letters make it so much easier to see Not exactly hunt and peck but I still need to look at keyboard often when I type. I love the full-size layout. too many keyboards have weird layout trying to integrate too many buttons in one space. Everything is where you expect it to be. The best part is the low profile keys. I hate the tall keys that are just a pain to deal with. This is short throw, low profile. Love it. Does make a clatter when typing so docked it one star, but that is pretty nit-picky. I might update it to 5 stars after I use this for awhile.

My keys do not stick at all. Maybe the problem is corrected. But you would not call this a quiet keyboard. My reason for purchase was for editing fiction, so I didn't want to strain to find keys like the hyphen. The big back-lit letters and numbers do the job. You can turn the back-light all the way down with a wheel. The backspace and enter keys are wide, so I don't miss them when moving fast. You want a keyboard you forget about because it functions well--which is my experience with this one.

I love the colors and the ability to dim or brighten. It feels very solid and built of quality material. The letters are large, and the lighting doesn't bleed through the sides unless you look at the keyboard at a lowered angle. What I don't like is the non-detachable wrist rest, which I am slowly becoming accustomed to. What I don't understand at all though is all the symbols to use with the shift key (Shift + Symbol) are positioned on the bottom of their respective keys. This is totally counter-intuitive for me since I'm not a good typist and need to look at what I'm hitting. There's the same amount of room at the top of the keys as the bottom, so I don't see why these guys had to be different than everybody else in where they placed the symbols. Other than those 2 things I really like this keyboard.

Everything I wanted in a keyboard. I LOVE the lit keys and large letters. I work outside, usually at night, and don't want to attract bugs with a desk lamp. Every backlit keyboard I've tried has been a joke - you can see the color behind/between the keys, but you can't see the keys themselves. I don't understand the purpose. But THIS keyboard you can SEE the KEYS! Bye-bye eye strain!I would definitely give it 5 stars if it didn't have some sort of wiring problem that makes it go wonky on a frequent basis. I'm torn between exchanging it for an identical one (maybe I got a lemon?) or going for a similar model. But as I write thisk, I'm realizing that I want to give it another try. Really love this keyboard.

It's ok. Not as good as the keyboard that came with my Acer cheap-o PC. But for that price, I had to try it. It will serve as a back up keyboard I guess. Way too clicky for me. I guess some folks like it to click, but it's not for me. It's not even the clicking sound - it's the feel. You have to really make sure you slam your finger into every key. I can type faster on the Acer keyboard that's not as clicky and seems more responsive.

I bought this keyboard after seeing it mentioned on a few websites about the quietest keyboards. I hate having a loud clickety-clacking when I'm working (or silence when I'm not working), so I thought this would be an economical solution.However after receiving it, it is no quieter than the stock Dell keyboard that came with the computer. I thought the keys would be more of a soft material with a little bit of give. The keys are hard plastic however, and still make plenty of noise.It's a perfectly fine keyboard besides that. No frills, cheap, and pretty basic.

I got this keyboard a few months back and after using it for a while it is a fine keyboard but I couldn't imagine using it for extended periods of typing. Using it for browsing websites and limited typing is fine. I think I may have been spoiled by the Logitech Wave. Now that is a keyboard I could type for hours on. This keyboard feels small. Even though the length of the keyboard is the same as other keyboards the keys feel smaller. The good thing is the keys are spaced further apart so you don't feel cramped when typing.

Soo... I was looking for a quiet keyboard. It didn't have to be silent. Just quiet.This keyboard is not silent or quiet...Will be returning.To be fair the keyboard looks good but I'm looking for a quiet keyboard.

I'm coming from an Apple keyboard and am looking for that feel in a PC keyboard: low-profile, chiclet. The body of the keyboard is pretty solid, not flimsy. The keys have the right shape and almost a hair too tall for chiclet. However, my biggest gripe is the action feels "mushy", no real click. This is fine for my backup - hook up to the RaspberryPi. But I wouldn't want to work on this regularly.The price is right. $10-$12 for a keyboard of any sort is pretty descent.Note: I purchased a Logitech k360 and it has the same mush key action. The k750, however, has the action I was looking for.

For the price paid, this keyboard is OK. If I paid more, it would earn 0 stars. Firstly, be prepared to possibly receive a messed up keyboard because the quality control is poor. Out of the box, the keyboard's D key was not 100% functional, all the other keys were fine. I could get it to respond to the D key if I pressed extremely hard. Since it was so cheap, and I did not want to concern myself with a return/refund. I simply popped the D key off, added a small piece of rubber to the inner chamber, and put the D key back on. Now it works.The keyboard doesn't "feel" great, compared to say the $70 Apple keyboard. So you get what you pay for and hence the 3 stars for poor quality control but a great deal otherwise if you need a second keyboard for something.

I bought this keyboard for the back lighting, dimming feature, and the reasonable price. Unfortunately I must report that although it dims fine, it doesn't actually dim any but the primary colors. Meaning if you have selected a compound color and start to dim it, it reverts to one of the primary colors used to make that compound color when it reaches anything less than ~75% brightness. So no dimming pink, purple, yellow, or cyan (my personal choice if I could dim it). You can dim red, blue and green. That's it.On top of that, the wrist rest is a strange texture that seems like it would offer traction, but your wrists will slide down it anyway. So it's uncomfortable and doesn't perform it's intended purpose.And lastly the layout chosen for certain keys is awkward. The < > and ? are under the comma, period and / and a much smaller font giving the impression that they are the primary characters of said keys, and the other characters are obtained by using the Shift key. This only confuses me when I am looking at the keyboard, which isn't often, but it's still annoying when it happens.Over all for $30, it's barely passable as a decent keyboard unless you need the larger, more easily seen characters. Then I suppose it would be a decent keyboard, if it weren't for the characters being difficult to see in normal light and the lighting off even with perfect eyesight. So it's not even 5 stars in that event.

I wanted to like this keyboard but...I had a lot of double strikes, have never had this problem with a keyboard before. I don't know if that's even the right term; what happens is, if I want to type an "o" I get something like "o9i". Also, the "shift" characters (e.g. !@#$<>:") are so tiny compared to the regular characters that it's hard to know what's what. This isn't a problem for those who know how to type and never have to look at the keyboard for these characters. It is a problem for me.It's a very comfortable keyboard, low/flat keys and the handrest is soft with a little bit of texture which I really liked. And I would have gotten used to the character display eventually. But couldn't get past the double strikes.

This keyboard is much better than my previous one because it uses standard font. But, this keyboard is NOT perfect. It has three glaring problems. First, for some reason the designers put the Shift characters in the lower right-hand corner of the Keys instead of above, Normally, Shift characters are above the non-shift characters. This is unlike any other keyboard and seriously hurts it's functionality. Why did the designers do this? Only their use of a standard font allows this keyboard to be at least functional. Next, the keyboard lights don't go off. The only thing to do once your PC has powered down is to turn down the brightness. Last and pretty small potatoes, is that white is not one of the five colors available on the keyboard.

Sometimes the caps lock indicator doesn't work, probably just a flaw in the keyboard I received.The keys are translucent and painted black everywhere but the image of the character for that key. That's how the characters are lit. But the black paint wears off. So far that's just happened where I tap the space bar because that gets used more than other keys but eventually it will happen to other keys in the order of how often they are used.

For visibility and backlighting this keyboard is a 5 star, As an actual keyboard you need to use instead of a book you are reading it's about a 2. The keys are almost flush like a laptop but think of what a laptop would be like without springs. Pretty close. Very easy to strike the wrong key or more than one key because although the keys are good sized there is no space between them. I was constanly turning off the caps lock which I would accidentally press. Frankly when typing there isn't much more frustrating than typing a paragraph and looking up to see it is all in caps. Some typist may like the superlight key press but it was not for me. Overall it just felt low quality. However, for visibility at it's price point it is pretty hard to beat. Definitely not a great gaming keyboard either. BTW my clerk at work tried it and shares the same opinion.

This keyboard, I thought was perfect and was ready to give it 5 stars until I realized that they had reversed the special characters keys (comma, forward slash, colon, semicolon, quotation marks, etc.). What would normally be on top, indicating the need to use the shift key was on the bottom and what was usually on to bottom is on the top. My typing skills are limited, basically, I am a 2 finger pecker, who needs to see the keys to use them. They do the same thing with the numbers keys, but the significant difference between a number and the <shift> symbols is fairly easy to process as I peck away The symbols in the lower right are a different story, they are so similar, one is not sure which is <shift> and which is not <shift>.Other than that (which I feel is fairly significant), this keyboard is perfect as a basic multimedia keyboard. The price is right, the keys are well illuminated even in the darkest of rooms, and the ability to switch colors and their brightness is all top rate. If you can put up with the reversal of symbols it will serve you well. I have seen no problem with sticky keys in the short time I have been using the keyboard.Why the hell do they have to screw up a perfectly good keyboard by reversing symbol keys is beyond me, I took 2 stars away because of the switching, otherwise it would have been 5 stars

I bought this because I thought it might be quiet. It is not.

This keyboard makes very annoying clicky clak sounds when you type. The cord is pretty short and it feels as cheap as it looks. Keys seem responsive enough, but its the loudest keyboard I've ever owned.

Great keyboard. I love that it is narrow so it doesn't take up a lot of desk space between monitor and edge of desk. Good shortcut keys - I especially love the shortcut to the calculator. Unfortunately, mine died after 11 months. I have keyboards in the closet that lasted 5 plus years. Bummer. Actually ordering again because the narrowness is really important to my setup but this is NOT a well built product.

I bought this keyboard to hold me over until I find a decent keyboard that will last a long time. It is a bit worse than I expected because it doesn't sit level on the desk. It wobbles and I have to put a quarter under one of the rubber pads to keep it from moving. I knew it wouldn't permit more than a few simultaneous key-presses, but I at least expected it to sit flat on the desk.The good thing is all the keys work and they are low profile, which I find great for quick typing.

It's really not what it's cracked up to be. I get the idea of a cheap, "basic" keyboard you can use in a pinch or for a build for someone who just doesn't care - The cheap Logitech keyboards from Walmart for $15-$20 come to mind.This one, on the other hand, just has issues. Most important is the spacing on the keys - they're far too wide compared to a standard keyboard, and make typing a chore. If you're a gamer looking for a backup, give up the idea of using WASD correctly.Each key also seems off center - as in each individual one is not situated in the center, but skewed to one side or another. The feel is very soft with very little feedback, worst than most membrane keyboards.If you type less than 30 wpm and only use a computer casually, then it will be fine for you. If you are confident around a keyboard and type between 30-70 wpm, consider a higher end membrane (aka cheaper) keyboard. Between 70-120 you will really want something mechanical that doesn't have the play-dough feel, but even this poor excuse for a keyboard is worse than the Walmart bargain bin.

As soon as I receive a replacement, this thing is going back into the box and into the closet as a spare. Unfortunately, I'm very rough on keyboards, so doubtless I will need it again.For the price, I don't suppose one can ask very much. I've had keyboards that have been very expensive (Das Keyboard, and Matias), moderate (Apple and Logitech) and inexpensive (Macally and Kensington). This is the first I would describe as being cheap. It's made of a very light plastic that leaves the entire keyboard subject to flexing and warpage. This makes for a very noisy keyboard as it moves around on the table surface. While the keys themselves are a smudge resistant matte plastic, the surrounding mask is shiny and shows every mark and bit of dust. All in all, this is a very unpleasant experience.+

I bought the 5-color model (KB506). It feels nice, with easy-to-read letters. But there's just one problem with mine: the color won't change. I've tried pressing the "LED Color" button many times. I've tried a long press of the button. I've tried short, rapid presses. I've tried mashing it down as hard as I can. I've tried it in combination with Ctrl and with Alt and Shift. Nothing seems to work. It's stuck at blue, which is probably the default color. On the plus side, the brightness wheel works. But that's about the only customization I can do with this keyboard. So instead of the five-color version, I've got a one-color version. I can live with it this way, but it's a little disappointing.

I go through keyboards quickly wearing off letters and making them difficult to operate within a year of purchase. I type that much. When I took the keyboard of out the box it worked perfectly and I enjoyed the large letters and the fun of light behind the keys with my failing eyesight. I warn all who look at this brand and purchase that the manufacturer and designer made a great boo-boo and that is to place the space bar too close to the actual letter keys. All keyboards I have had to this one (perhaps ten in the last fifteen years), force the typist to use the space bar at the center of the board and leave the thumbs to work it. This design forces you to use your finger tips to space sometimes and worse, clears the latter "A" so often I type "A" instead of space between words. I put up with it for a day, but had so many corrections in my text line, I would have to relearn how to touch type to get good at this particular board. I had an old DAS keyboard sitting around and reinstalled and oh what a relief! Gamers: The board works for you in particular, so long as you have nothing to write your honey or the boss. I wish the manufacturer well as my board arrived in perfect condition, but is a lousy produce to write novels on. Thank you.

Here's a heads up for you who might be trying to decide between the 3 and 5 color Azio USB keyboards. I first ordered the 3 color and, because of some peculiar lighting and seating arrangement in my office workspace, was not happy with the limited range of colors and visibility of the keys. I did, however, find the quality of the product to be pretty good compared to others I had looked at. Azio claims in their advertising that the chartreuse on the 5-color model is more highly visible than the other colors, so I ordered that model with the intent of returning the 3 color board if the 5 color better suited my needs. What I found was that the 5 color, though similar, is clearly made by another manufacturer and is inferior to the 3 color keyboard in almost every respect. Particularly the "resolution" (if that term applies) of the key letters/numbers, which are much more distinct on the 3 color. So now I am returning the 5 color and keeping the 3 color. My preference would have been a backlit keyboard with SIMPLE/TRADITIONAL WHITE LETTERING, but the Ivation board I initially ordered from Amazon turned out to be junk and I could not find another listing for one I liked.

Like the LED backlighting which can be dimmed and changed to any of 5 different colors. A problem with this keyboard is that the key identifiers for the character with the shift key depressed are reversed. So instead of the & showing at the top of the 7 key it is at the bottom. Where this can get quite confusing is with the characters for comma, quote, apostrophe, etc. where the normal orientation is that the character at the bottom of the key is the one that will be typed normally and the one at the top is generated with the use of the shift key.There is a also a firmware bug that causes the Paragraph notation to be switched on with Microsoft Word when using the shift key inside the program. More than a little annoying to have to keep turning this back off.It is the noisiest keyboard I have ever encountered in my 33 years of typing on a wide range of OEM and third party keyboards.With the reversed characters on the keys and the high level of noise I will be replacing the keyboard with another one next week.

I did like the large, clear letters on the keys and the light-up feature is great (3 light color choices) BUT this is a light duty keyboard. I find it fine to type on the letters on keys WEAR AWAY. After 6 months the print started wearing (weird because yes, the light shines thru the actual letters and number... but SOMETHING is wearing away. NOW AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF many keys are unreadable. SEE PHOTO. I'm looking to order a new keyboard right now -- noticed this one, and had to add my review. I will choose a different brand this time!

Build quality is very good, particularly for this price. The large font and backlighting is excellent. I really want to like this keyboard, but I had to get rid of it.The issue is with how the keys depress. If you a pressing straight down from on top of the key, it seems fine. But as you type, you reach with fingers and often press keys at a bit of an angle. The keys on this keyboard don't respond well to this which means a key will not depress. So then you start typing with slightly more force than you're used to to make sure key presses all register. And the problem with that is this keyboard IS VERY LOUD if you type with a bit more force. So much so it wakes up my wife in the next room. It's like you start to press the key, it seems stuck, and then it suddenly "gives" and presses down with greater force - which contributes to the racket it makes..Backlit keys are great for hunt and peck typers like me and the large font just makes it that much better. If only the keys didn't "stick" the way they do. As nice as it looks, it's held back by its own primary function in my opinion. For gaming - I suppose it's fine because you aren't typing a lot. The wasd keys work just fine for that!

They keyboard functions fine. The keys are fairly quiet, but I'm a relatively fast touch typist and the space bar is SO loud. Drives me crazy. Had it one day, had to replace it. So, for occasional use it's fine, but if you do a lot of typing, be warned that the noise might get to you.

Junk. The backspace key works SOMETIMES. At other times, hitting the backspace key ONCE erases the entire line of previous characters.

Returned it. The keyboard was flimsy and didn't sit level on any surfaces. Cheap stuff.

Guess they make the cable ridiculously short so your forced to buy the AmazonBasics USB extension cable.

First off I am particular about my input devices. Finding a full size layout chic-let style in a streamline form factor is hard. The keystrokes are too long for a chic-let. It weights nothing and is too flexible. I could deal with the cheap feel if the keystroke was less. I really like the layout as it is the size i was looking for.I have had good luck with the Amazon basic line. Bags, cases and batteries.

This keyboard is loud, uncomfortable, and not particularly low-profile.It produces the kind of clackityclackityclackity sound you'd expect to hear on the soundtrack of an '80s movie like "Wargames". The board's angle, and the keys' stiff action make it uncomfortable and awkward. If you're switching from a laptop-style keyboard, and need to do a lot of typing, (and/or, if you type reasonably fast), be prepared for discomfort in your forearms and elbows.

The letter N cracked within 6 weeks. I should have read the 1-Star and 2-Star reviews before I bought this and I would have avoided it. My mistake. I bought an IVATION as a replacement. Best advice - Avoid this product. Amazon was great in handling this. Love Amazon!

Update2 - 10/8/2014 ** 1 star is even too much for THIS.. keyboard. Various keys on both of these keyboards are hard to press down or you really have to press on the key straight down for the key to work! If you need or want a REAL "GREAT" 5***** star keyboard purchase try the LED Illuminated Ergonomic USB Multimedia Backlight Backlit Gaming Keyboard (3 Colors) It's FANTASTIC RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX! I'll be ordering more for my family and various computer work stations! AWESOME Keyboard!Update... 8-7-2014 ** Well, I still like the keyboard for the lighted keys.... BUT the actual individual keys are really (As another reviewer stated) HARD to push down. You REALLY have to focus on hitting the keys on this keyboard. If you are a light fingered speed typist; I'd pass on this product. My 5 star rating on this product is now a 3. *** :-(((Where has this SUPER keyboard been in my life! Nice blue, red or purple for the cheaper priced one; which suites me just fine! I can now compute in the DARK! ;-DDD

The keys are about as thick as a plastic butter tub and feel like the same material, accuracy is terrible because the keys are low profile and inconsistent for actuation pressure. You may have to smash one to get it to move but the one right next to it has no troubles moving so both end up getting pressed. I would say the company needs to focus on inspections and quality control.Follow up: I have no faith in Amazon 5 start reviews anymore. To me it seems like people who are ok with made in China junk are driving these reviews. This keyboard for instance is a complete waste of money and falls in line with all the other 1 star reviews about the keyboard: made of low density polyethelene that warps and mashes other keys in normal use. This is NOT even of sufficient quality to call it a "home office" keyboard, in fact it would be drive the cost of doing business up because you have to correct the errors the keyboard causes.QUALITY IS PART OF VALUE! When the quality is so bad you throw it away at less than 10% of the life of a comparable keyboard for the same price, it is no value.

This keyboard was HORRIBLE. The look was fantastic! We really WANTED to like it! I got it as a gift for my brother, he loved it on sight. However, he found it impossible to use! The keys were really hard to press down, hurt his fingers after a short while. So he gave it to my mom, she couldn't stand it either, so they gave it to me. And there was no way I was going to be able to use it! They keys were ridiculously hard to press!! It was light weight lifting for fingers! Maybe if all you do is check email this kb would be fine, but if you actually type stuff, no way! We returned it. So, looks pretty, but is actually pretty useless!

I really like the easy read letters and the back-lighting of this keyboard. However, due to the design, more and more keys of the keyboard were sticking if the keys were not pressed exactly in the center of each key. This faulty design continued to get worse with more use. After three months, I was ready to trash it and look for a new keyboard.In a last-ditch effort, I pulled all the primary keys off and used a Q-tip and petroleum jelly to lubricate the slots where all the keys are installed. Once I snapped all the keys back in place....WOW....THIS WAS THE PERFECT KEYBOARD. It now works very smoothly and I still enjoy the benefit of the back-lighting and easy read letters. I wish I had done this easy fix when I first received it.I put the 1-star on this review so people can learn how to easily fix this keyboard themselves in only a few minutes. After the fix, I would give it 5-stars.

While the large text and lighting are excellent, this keyboard fails miserably at its main function - typing. I am not some purist or heavy typist, I just need it for average usage and it is terrible. The main problem is that the keys stick/bind. When you press them down sometimes they go/move, sometimes they dont. But in every case each letter/key requires quite a bit of force to overcome the binding. And that force is inconsistent. In other words it feels like there is a plastic on plastic binding. If you press perfectly vertical it is present but less noticeable, but press down at the slightest off angle - say 1 degree, the key binds and requires lots of force to push down. In normal typing this happens in every single word. I have to constantly correct missing letters. And even when I concentrate on forcefully pushing every key, they still bind and my overall typing speed is reduced significantly. I really have to return this. It is so bad it is in the realm of unusable.