I have been testing this keyboard for three weeks now, and I am ready to rate it now. I am typing this review with it.
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For you impatient types, here is your executive review:
Gaming functions: 5/5
Key profiler and game scan: 4/5
Built in audio jack: 5/5
Built in mic jack: 5/5
Built in USB port: 2/5
Built in multimedia controls: 3/5
Back-lighting: 5/5
Keyboard as a keyboard: 3/5
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I think, as a gaming keyboard, the features and functions the G110 offers are excellent. The macro and quick key functions are easy to use, either with the macro recorder that is built into the keyboard itself, or the "key profiler" program which is installed with the keyboard. The macros work well, and changing between the three modes of macros is a snap with the M1-M3 keys. You will need (and love) all 3 modes of keys if you are using the keyboard for a complicated RTS or an MMORPG (World of Warcraft, Star Trek Online, Star Wars The Old Republic, etc.). Additionally, you can record macros for ANY program. Just open up the key profiler program, and select the program's EXE file, and give it a name. I assigned some macros for Adobe Premiere and Adobe Photoshop for mundane tasks (that take many menus to do, and don't have convenient hot-keys already) like saving in different formats, and applying the same set of filters, etc. to a file. Once you learn to record the TIME DELAYS with the macros, then it works beautifully (if you don't the macro goes too fast for most standard programs to respond to, as they are loading up pop-up windows for you to interact with, and there is a time delay on that).
I tested the gaming aspect of the keyboard inside THQ's
Company of Heroes: Gold Edition and Bioware's
Dragon Age: Origins. Interestingly enough, neither of those games was pre-recognized by the automatic "game scan" that the key profiler comes with. The profiler automatically recognized, and created a profile for: Knights of the Old Republic (1 & 2), LOTR Online, LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth (1 & 2), Rise of Nations (and expansion), Starcraft, Titan Quest & Warcraft 3. But not Company of Heroes or Dragon Age. I don't know what algorithm it uses to detect games, but it clearly isn't all that up to date. It also missed: Diablo (all), Baldur's Gate (all), The Longest Journey, Star Wars: Empire At War, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Age of Mythology, Neverwinter Nights, Asheron's Call & Dune 2000. Not a huge annoyance, all you have to do is open the key profiler and create a new profile, and navigate to the game EXE, but it is interesting what it picked up, and what it missed.
The built in audio jack does a good job. It mutes the sound output to the hooked-up 5.1 sound system, and plays the sound only through the headphones you plug into the jack. The audio comes through quite clear, and the controls for muting it work as advertised. There is also a grouping of multi-media buttons in the upper right which CAN control your multi-media, if your multi-media understands the signals they send. They DON'T work with WinAmp or Corel's WinDVD (2010, don't know about earlier versions). They DO work with Windows Media Player (11, I cannot vouch for earlier versions) though. There is also a mute all button in that grouping, and a volume scroll wheel which only controls your plugged into headphone volume level, not Windows' volume level.
The built in microphone jack also works quite well. The button built to mute it works as advertised, and sound output from it is as good as when the mic is plugged into the main computer.
The built in USB port is terrible. The guide and the product documentation say the port should support up to 100 mA (that's milliamps) of power needs. In reality, it will beep at you with a horrible noise, and pop-up a message saying, "USB Hub Power Exceeded: The hub does not have enough power available to operate the USB Composite Device. For assistance in solving this problem, click this message." See customer image I am posting for this product for a screen shot. It will give you this message for darn near anything. It refused to power my Logitech MX 510 mouse on 2 out of 3 tries (although, strangely, it powered my G5 easily, go figure). It flat out refused to power my cell phone's USB charging cable. It refused to power my Kingston 4GB DataTraveler (DTI/4GB) USB stick. The USB port is fairly underpowered, and as a result, it is basically useless to me. This annoyance is the first major reason why I docked 2 stars from this product.
The keyboard itself is 2 inches wider than the LITE-ON SK-1688U standard USB keyboard I use (20 inches vs. the Lite-On's 18 inches). You would think that with that additional space (which means it is hanging off my keyboard tray), that the keys would all be full sized and laid out in the standard size and arrangements ... and you would be wrong. The keys are all about the size of laptop keys. That is, about 1/3 or even 1/2 smaller than normal. This takes some SEVERE getting used to, if you are used to normal key layout and size. I am CONSTANTLY hitting the "`" key, when I mean to hit the "1" instead, and I often hit CTRL when I meant SHIFT, and the Windows key when I wanted ALT, and I frequently hit the wrong letter keys as well. You get used to it, but I don't see why the additional FUNCTION buttons couldn't have been smaller, and the normal keyboard keys left the same size and standard layout. The keys themselves are nice and soft (just like the Lite-On model I normally use), and not clicky at all (which I like). They are very responsive, and are clearly made with quality in mind. However, the size and placing issue annoyance cannot be overlooked, and is the other major reason why I docked 2 stars from this product.
The back-lighting is a gimmick, and I don't normally even have it on. You can change the colors to different shades of red and blue (and everything red and blue can be combined to make, I.E. there is a red and blue LED inside it, and you can combine the colors accordingly), and the colors will change depending on what mode you are in (M1-M3) and what color you assigned to that mode. It works as advertised, though. So, if you like to play in the dark, it will most certainly help you.
Overall, if you ONLY plan to plug this thing in to play games -- especially MMORPGs or complicated RTS games, and you are willing to spend the time teaching it the various macros you will need, and learning how to use them in-game, you will probably LOVE this thing. If you are someone who WORKS on your computer as well as plays, and you are used to typing a LOT during the day, and you are used to standard sized keys and buttons being in a certain spatial relationship with each other, then expect a learning curve for this keyboard. It works quite well (except for the USB port), and is obviously a quality product. I am not sure if it is worth the current asking price, but if it comes down about 1/3 or 1/2 of where it is now, any serious PC gamer could do much worse than this keyboard.