Ideazon MERC Gaming Keyboard

by Ideazon

Product Details

• Item Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000EPYLJ2
• Item model number: KW1NAE1-X1ZXP01
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,783 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #58 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Hardware > Controllers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 15, 2005

Product Description

From the manufacturer

You want to PWN? Good! Get the MERC. It's evolved thanks to killer feedback from some of the world’s top PC gaming teams, and some Asia’s largest guilds.

The MERC gaming keyboard features 34 gaming keys placed in a high-density surrounding. It includes central butterfly keys, three thumb keys and 11 weapon keys to help you unleash fury on your opponents! And the main game commands, including run, crouch and reload, are labeled for quick access. The sleek ergonomic game pad tilts 11 degrees to match your natural wrist position and helps you avoid that embarrassing ‘gamer’s claw’.

Powered by the Z Engine software you have access to over 100 pre-defined layouts for today’s top PC gaming titles via a single graphical user interface (GUI).

Features

• MERC's dedicated gaming terrain combines 34 gaming keys, a deadly central "butterfly" layout, three thumb keys, and 11 weapon keys.
• Game pad tilts 11 degrees to match natural wrist position while providing hours of comfortable gaming
• Core game commands are labeled for quick access, including run, walk, jump, crouch, and reload
• Merc features multimedia keys and programmable hot keys
• Phantom-keys elimination capabilities deliver up to 7 simultaneous keystrokes
• Full QWERTY keyboard with highly visible Windows shortcut keys
• Windows XP 64-bit
• Z Engine software supplies user with pre-defined key mappings for today's top PC gaming titles and this highly responsive proprietary software reduces in game latency associated with input peripherals

Product Description

MODEL- MERC VENDOR- IDEAZON FEATURES- MERC Gaming Keyboard- Retail package 34 gaming keys placed in high density surrounding central butterfly keys with 3 thumb keys and 11 weapon keys. Full QWERTY keyboard with highly visible Windows shortcut keys including cut copy and paste. Z Engine software supplies user with pre-defined key layouts for todays top PC gaming titles. Main game commands are labeled for quick access including run crouch and reload. Sleek ergonomic game pad tilts 11 degrees to match natural wrist position while providing hours of comfortable gaming. Windows XP 64-bit compatible. Reduces Phantom Keystrokes and allows up to an industry leading 7 simultaneous game commands. Z Engine software provides intuitive access via a single graphical user interface (GUI).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but not perfect, January 11, 2007

By 

Gerald Lim - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ideazon MERC Gaming Keyboard (Personal Computers)

This is a great gaming keyboard for FPS games. With all the keys you really need on the left hand side and the butterfly direction keys, this keyboard makes the WASD keys obsolete. It'll take sometime to get used to but once you're used to it, there's no turning back. With every game key on the left hand side labelled, you won't forget which key is which in the heat of battle anymore. Also, every key is conveniently placed so you won't need to lift your main fingers from the butterfly direction keys, you can use your the other pinkies to do the work.

Now for the downside. Most gaming keyboards nowadays have the cool backlighting, this one doesn't. I don't know why it wasn't added. It doesn't have the macro memory keys but real gamers don't need macros!

The right side number pad is all screwed up. The length of the keyboard is already so long because of the left hand side gaming keys, they had to save space on the right side. So forget about using the number pad because it's all in difference places. And to use the page up and down keys, you need to disable the numlock as they're on the 9 and 6 keys. You CANNOT get used to this trust me. I've tried and I find the number pad impossible to use. You're going to need a backup keyboard for normal work.

On the whole, if MERC 2.0 has a backlight and a 'normal' number pad, it'll get a perfect score for sure. However, that aside, once you're into favorite game (BF 2142 for me), you won't care the keypad sucks.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Product, April 30, 2006

By 

K. Plummer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ideazon MERC Gaming Keyboard (Personal Computers)

I am not really sure why the first reviewer decided to rant about this great keyboard but I have to disagree. The Merc keyboard has an awesome layout and has definately improved my key access to more complicated FPS style games. While it does install Microsoft's .NET, the only time the Merc software attempts to use an internet connection is when you initially launch the keyboard manager so that it can check for updates to the program. Without an internet connection the application launches fine while greying out the "Check for Updates" button. If thats spyware..... Also, while there are limited presets for games, how many people leave a games controls at the default? Any game player can select the default layout preset and then customize the game to use the key presses as desired. Configure the game to work how you want to play it, not how someone else thinks you should. All in all one of the best gaming purchases I have made in quite some time. The only reason I gave it 4 of 5 stars is because I would have liked to have see a few more buttons below the movement keys as well as the thumb/pinky keys having been half sized and doubled for more options.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Merc Gaming Keyboard great for MMO's and FPS, July 21, 2006

By 

Ian James "IJames" (IJames) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ideazon MERC Gaming Keyboard (Personal Computers)

I picked up the MERC and it is the best bang for the buck on any keyboard I have ever owned (Including other Gaming keyboards- I had a Logitech) (Under $40_ for the MERC)

HARDWARE POSITIVES
It has about 40 game specific keys on the left and then a full QWERTY on the right - great touch and feel. Multimedia keys also. The gaming center on the left has keys labelled for RUn, Reload, and othe rmain commands layed out ideally. (Play with it for an hour and you are up to speed). If you play MMO's it is perfect, because you move around with the directional keys on the game center and then you chat with the full keyboard. Keeps them seperated - Nice

HARDWARE NEGATIVES:
Not illuminated

SOftware: The software gives you pre-defined layouts for 100 games to their best fit, and sometimes that was not my best fit. But they have a new Z-Engine, in BETA format and I just downloaded that. You can re-map the whole keyboard with Drag and Drop pictures. for any game. Absolutely unbelieveable.

Main reason I am righting this review, the new software pretty much puts it over the top.