Ione actually makes these keyboards, and there are several manufacturers who put them together. One of the manufacturers is Xarmor which is located in South China. Overall these keyboards became very popular in conjunction with Razor's Black Widow which also has blue switches. Each are very similar, and are both developed by ione. The black widow includes macro keys, but doesn't have N key rollover. Pushing as many as 6 key's at once, or more is something you will rarely do in very many games. So that feature which is included in the U9BL is a bit overrated. With that said, the U9BL is a better looking keyboard IMO than the black widow. The glossy surface of the black widow is horrible, and Razor is known for having bad quality control. So overall if you want a blue switch key board with blue led lighting, your best option is the U9BL.
Blue switches are indeed loud. I personally took my U9BL back for several reasons, but one of the reasons was the "click". Everyone who has used a blue switch mechanical keyboard knows exactly what I am saying. I really "love" and also "dislike" the click. I found that the click was great for typing papers (as I am in college). It probably was the best typing keyboard (for speed, and for feel). I really enjoyed using it for typing. As for games, at first it was alright. But, what I found out was that the "click" was getting to be quite annoying during late night hours. I play MMO's, and I am usually up quite late while playing. During the day I spend much of my time typing. So by the time it got to be late in the day, the "click" started to take it's toll. In addition to that, my wife could hear the click from her bedroom which was several rooms away. What happens with the U9BL, and other keyboards is that the "click" is magnified by a plastic base. The U9BL is made of ABS plastic, and weighs about 2.8 pounds which is really solid. However, many keyboards which are mechanical have a steel base. This can eliminate some of the noise from the keys bottoming out. When you play games especially you will find yourself pressing the key 'harder' and bottoming out. This creates even more noise. The U9BL is still a solid product, and really if I were to use it just for typing I could handle the "click" and extra noise. It's just for gaming plus typing it became clear to me that this keyboard might not be the best choice over the next 10 years or more. Might become a little too much.
But, in terms of quality I really do like the design of the U9BL. The soft rubber around the keyboard, in-between the keys, and on the wrist rest is nice to the touch. Better overall than plastic. However, over time you can expect the wrist rest to wear down. That's not that big of a deal considering that it's just a wrist rest, but the keyboard itself is made of the same soft rubber (on the outside). So I could see dust building up there, and possible durability concerns in the future. If you are like me, and touch the keyboard (around the arrow keys for an example) then you can expect that to wear down, and look crappy later. With that said, I still like the design. Just some durability concerns there, and for a 130 dollars you want durability. The key caps are your biggest concern when it comes to durability, and not made better than Deck's keyboard key caps which will never wear out. These will eventually wear down, but still would probably take quite awhile so it's not the biggest thing to be concerned about. They still should last very long.
The U9BL is producing a second generation line at the moment. This new line has some adjustments over the first generation. If you order it now you should get the second generation (at the time of this review). Which is good, and or bad depending on your opinion. First the lighting has 4 adjustments, and not 8 like the first model. I found that to be a slight negative. Also, the wrist pad doesn't latch onto the keyboard. Instead it now sits in some groves (where a metal shaft used to be that locked it in). The wrist rest is a faulty design because it actually lifts up the front of the keyboard not allowing the sticky feet to grip the surface. Some complaints about the wrist rest before made Xarmor, and probably other manufacturers of this keyboard to change the wrist rest. This for me wasn't a big issue, and really didn't factor in much with my decision to take it back. However, for a lot of gamers out there, and typist this will be an issue. The wrist rest itself is "alright". I wouldn't completely say that it's crap, or non-functional. But, you could probably do better by purchasing a new one. This would allow the keyboard to sit better in the front (and grip the surface with its sticky feet). Also, there are no sticky feet on the front legs (which is probably normal for most keyboards). Although, this is why you need the front feet to stick, and why the wrist rest doesn't work so well.
When you spend this much money you are probably a lot like me, you want a product that is going to last for a long time. You want exactly what you want. You want quality. In terms of blue led, and blue switches I still think this is the best keyboard you can get. If you are open to getting other switches, even linear black switches then you could get keyboards which are probably of better quality with LED. Deck makes a very nice keyboard which is primarily for gamers. They are a little more expensive. The keys though will last forever, and are of the highest quality. They are made in the USA, and so you might want to check them out. But, as I said they make black switches, and clear switches only for now (at the time of this review).
Any typist that can stand the "click" should love this keyboard. Gamers that are open to other switches look to other keyboards for better quality. The blue switch is not bad for MMO's, and so gamers should keep that in mind. It's really not an issue unless you play games which require fast repeated key strokes of the same key. In that case, blue switches are horrible. I still would recommend this keyboard to anyone who plays MMO's mostly, and or wants a good typist switch. This is a nice keyboard which will deliver nice blue LED light. It's just that if you are open to other switches then you might want to look elsewhere, but if you want the blue LED, and blue switches this is your best option.
Pros - Nice design, good normal sized keyboard, LED's are very bright which dim to a low light in 4 settings, Keys feel nice while typing (rubber grip different from keyboard surface), pretty solid compared to most keyboards, blue switches aren't available everywhere with blue LED's - only the Black Widow can match that (both produced by ione, but this keyboard is arguably a better design, and better quality)
Cons - Wrist pad can be "OK" (will wear down on surface of rubber), but lifts up keyboard in front making it not able to grip the surface, Rubber around keyboard, and in-between keys is nice, but some durability issues could arise depending on if you touch the keyboard a lot with your fingers (cleaning would require special solution), Keys are not top of the line (but only Deck is known to produce better LED cap type of printed keys which are regarded as being better)
Overall a good keyboard, which should satisfy a lot of customers out there - especially the blue switch fans - and blue LED fans
side note: Xarmor sells U9BL-S here on Amazon which is available with brown switches, and would I recommend those switches for people who like quiet switches compared to the blues, and still want the tactile feedback (which lets you know when the key is registering) without the "click", and those switches are among the hardest to find as well - especially with blue LED (Xarmor - U9BL-S maybe the only option for brown switches, and blue LED back lighting)
Higher rated item to consider
Amazon's Choice
