Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard

Other products by Razer

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16 x 6 x 0.6 inches ; 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000I20IHA
• Item model number: RZ03-00070100-R2M1
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,961 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #9 in	Video Games > PC Games > Hardware > Gaming Keyboards
  #12 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Game Hardware > Gaming Keyboards
  #32 in	Video Games > PC Games > Hardware > Controllers

• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 13, 2007

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
The Razer Tarantula is the first definitive keyboard created for gamers by gamers in Razer's suite of advanced gaming peripherals. The sleek design and fully customizable functions are specially engineered to empower competitive gamers with seamless control and unparalleled flexibility.

Anti-ghosting Capability
With the Razer Tarantula's anti-ghosting capability,

An integrated USB hub, as well as headphone and microphone jacks, add to the convenience.

Customize the 10 keys flanking the keytop.

Hyperesponse gaming keys.

BattleDock: A modular docking station for gaming keyboards.

Optional BattleLight.

Optional BattleEye.

you can press up to a whopping 10 simultaneous buttons without the "ghosting" effect. The Tarantula's anti-ghosting support is more than any other keyboard out on the market.

Macro Keys
Customize the 10 keys flanking the keytop to optimize your gameplay. Now you can execute up to a series of 8 keystrokes with the touch of a single macro key! You can also add delays ( up to 200ms ) for a superb degree of customization.

Profile Switching with Ease
Using the software drivers provided, you can now effortlessly store up to an unprecedented 100 profiles to handle any game that come your way. The On-The-Fly profile switching automatically detects and activates your preset game profiles once that particular game is loaded.

Fully Interchangeable Keys
Customize your keytops with the Razer Tarantula's unique feature to remove and add on keys! The Razer Tarantula Tool included in the package enables you to swap any of the standard keys amongst themselves or replace them with the extra 10 gaming hotkeys included! Now you can have each of the keys on your keytop customized to your preference.

Ten Gaming Hotkeys
We've included 10 custom FPS keys with popular icons such as Armor, Knife, Zoom In/Out, Pistol and Rifle with your Razer Tarantula. Watch out for more customizable keysets to be released for other popular FPS, RTS and MMO games.

32KB Onboard Memory
Embedded memory powered by Razer Synapse enables you to store up to 5 onboard profiles for different games onto your Razer Tarantula gaming keyboard.

Keymaps
Relish in the ease and speed of switching to different sets of keys by configuring up to 2 keymaps per profile! Now you can change between your regular QWERTY keyboard layout and your customized keymap with just the press of a button.

Optimized Hyperesponse Gaming Keys
Unique membrane keys reduce key latency and maximize response for critical actions during competitive gameplay.

Razer BattleDock
The Razer Tarantula features the world's first modular docking station for gaming keyboards! Now you can add on accessories to your Razer Tarantula for extra features and added functionality! Included with your keyboard is the Razer Tarantula Tool to remove your BattleDock cover each time your want to add on a new Battledock accessory.

Razer BattleLight
Let there be light! Illuminate your keyboard with an iridescent glow to enhance your gaming experience. Equip your Razer Tarantula with the BattleLight and gain that unfair advantage over your rivals in low light conditions.

Razer BattleEye
Eyeball your enemy! Perfect your gameplay with the BattleEye, a webcam that docks with your Razer Tarantula to provide real time visual feedback with your opponents. Let them witness your triumphs and feast on their anguish as they get fragged.

What's in the Box
Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard, BattleDock cover, quickstart guide, 10 hot keys with icons, Razer Tarantula tool, user's guide, and CD-ROM.

Product Description
The Razer Tarantula is the first definitive keyboard created For Gamers By Gamers in Razer's suite of advanced gaming peripherals. The sleek design and fully customizable functions are specially engineered to empower competitive gamers with seamless control and unparalleled flexibility.PRODUCT FEATURES:32kb Onboard Memory Powered by Razer Synapse;Anti-Ghosting Capability;Profile switching with ease;Keymaps;Fully interchangeable keys;Macro Keys;10 Gaming Hotkeys.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Keyboard - With Caveats, January 7, 2008

By	Glen Tan (Singapore) - See all my reviews

I've used this keyboard for about 6 months now, and this review is based on my experience over this span of time. I am an avid gamer, and play mostly FPS (First-Person Shooter), RPG (Role-Playing Games) and RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games.

Build Quality: 9/10
The keyboard is very well constructed, with a solid feel, and plenty of space. This is not a keyboard for people with limited desktop real estate. The lighting on the keyboard is very pleasing, and the Razor logo on the palm rest fades in and out. The keys are all removable via the tool provided inside. Feet are properly rubberized, with the usual height stands to prop it up. The cables coming out of the keyboard are thick and well-constructed, and the connectors are gold-plated. Impressive! Overall, excellent. Makes you feel like you paid for proper quality.

Feel (9/10) & Function (5/10)
The keys are very responsive, and are on the firm side. There was no learning curve involved when I switched from my $10 cheap Logitech keyboard.

Ergonomics are acceptable, but aren't revolutionary in any way. This leads to my main comment about function. The customizable gaming keys run down both ends of the normal keyboard, and look great in theory. In practice however, I found using them a pain. Stretching my little fingers (probably the least dexterous of all fingers!) to hit one of the several gaming keys is a real hassle, especially when you're in the middle of an intense FPS battle. For example, trying to hit one of the left hotkeys is completely impractical if you're using the typical WSAD (forward, back, strafe left and right) and in the middle of combat, as it requires you to stretch your litle finger, which messes with the rest of your hand placement (unless you're a piano player, or especially dexterous, or possess large hands). Also, your right hand will be on the mouse, rendering the right keys nigh impossible to use as well.

On to the USB Ports. I haven't had problems with the ports, except that they're low power ports, and unable to support devices such as hard disks. Also, they're not USB 2.0, making them inefficient for large transfers of data to/from a media player. Otherwise, they've worked fine for me when I use them, which is almost never.

The ports for audio are unusable for me, because improper grounding of the LED lights on my keyboard means that there is a rising and fading buzz that corresponds with the Razor logo illumination. This is the biggest "Con" for me with regards to the keyboard. I tried to use them, but the buzz drove me crazy, and I haven't used the audio ports since. I'm not sure if it's a problem with my particular keyboard, but if not, it's an unacceptable flaw as it renders the audio ports unusable. Nobody wants to listen to electronic buzzing, especially not after paying this much for a keyboard.

Conclusions:
This keyboard is good value overall, and if appearance, build quality, and BASIC functions are your top priorities, then it's an excellent choice. If you're looking for a keyboard that will expand your gaming horizons, and change your gaming habits, this isn't it.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative; beats the Eclipse, February 1, 2007

By	Ryan Jacobsen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was real excited when Saitek came out with the black Eclipse. It matches my blue copperhead pretty well, but the Tarantula is perfect. and it is built for gaming. it is like they looked at the standard keyboard and said, let's make it look cool - so they made it black, gave it a nice design, and added the backlight. OK, that is where Saitek ended. Razer goes on to make removable keys, 10 extra gaming keys to swap out (fps), macro functionality built in, hypersensitive buttons to give faster response time, and far better multimedia button set than Saitek. Additionally, having completely backlit keys like Saitek contributed to the glowable keys stripping their paint. The Razer is longer lasting in that regard. Tarantula Cons, the price. buy it if it's a must have to fit your beautiful computer. it's tough, innovative, and well designed. gj razer.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as it looks, March 31, 2008

By	Roland J. Provost "VerusEx" (Dover, NH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Big keyboard, with wide key spacings. Nice for gaming but not so good for typing, repeated letters are a real problem and it takes some time to adjust to spacing.

Big downsides are software and customer support. I have had repeted incompatability problems between Razer software and iTunes and Microsoft Outlook. I have only had the keyboard for a week but have had to reload software sevral times (seems to be the same problem I had with short lived Razer Death Adder Mouse).

Razer also has awful customer support, they don't seem to acecpt returns of failed products. So if you buy from Amazon, hope that yours fails before Amazon's 30 days are up.