Specifications, Availability and Pricing

The Skiller uses a three section layout of 107 keys all backed with rubber dome switches. Around the top edge and the sides of the Skiller you will find 20 additional buttons for multimedia purposes. Along with eight light blue interchangeable key caps for the W, A, S, D and arrow keys the keyboard boasts N-Key Rollover support for up to 18 keys at once. Around this 127 key layout there is a mix of shiny piano black plastic and various angles and shapes used to distinguish this board against the competition. The Skiller is also very light at only 603 grams and gets powered via USB connected to 1.6 meters of smooth rubber coated cable.

This isn't just the typical keyboard once you get past the looks and key layout; there is also the software to take into consideration here. There is customization of any key on the board to do anything that makes your heart pump purple peanut butter. There are presets for Word, Windows commands, mouse keys functions, Marcos and you can work with various profiles as well. And by various profiles, I mean there is the possibility of ten profiles that can contain three layers of complexity. Without a joke about Inception, I will just say that this is a fully features keyboard being offered, the only thing it lacks is backlit keys and it would offer the "�complete package"�.

The main consideration with any product is the pricing. While mechanical keyboards are my favorite to use, I don't have to dig in my pocket to try them all out before I find the perfect fit. That being said, when I did buy my keyboards, they were all rubber dome switch boards. The main reason for this was price; I really didn't want to spend over $100 to get a keyboard, as most of you won't either. Sharkoon bounds into the market with the Skiller to give those budget minded users a really good solution to make better use of time with some intuitive software to allow the Skiller to do any command you need.

I may have joked about the lack of lights, but with a release price of just 14.99 Euros or less than $25 on this side of the pond, it's amazing. For this kind of money I am surprised this keyboard is much more than the yellow keyed monstrosities you see on late night TV infomercials.

I say we get right into the thick of it and see just what $25 gets you in a Sharkoon Skiller gaming keyboard.