January 7, 2008 10:52 AM PST

Customize your colors with Saitek's new Cyborg keyboard

by Will Greenwald
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Saitek Cyborg keyboard (Credit: Saitek)

Lighted keyboards are nothing new, but they tend to light every key the same way, or can be limited to just one color. Saitek is changing that with the Cyborg keyboard, a gaming keyboard with a unique, multicolored lighting system.

Watch the Saitek Cyborg Keyboard video on CNET TV.

The Cyborg keyboard divides its keys into a variety of zones, like the WASD keys, the other letter keys, the number pad, and the arrow keys. When gaming, users can customize the lighting of each zone through the keyboard's touch sensor panel, changing the zones' color and brightness. The WASD keys can blaze bright red, the number pad and letters can glow a soft green, and the hot keys on the keyboards' sides can light up orange.

Besides customizable lighting, the Cyborg keyboard includes a variety of other gaming features. The WASD keys, arrow keys, and space bar are metal-plated, giving them a different look from the other keys, and according to Saitek, makes them wear better. Users can program the side hot keys with custom commands and macros for certain games. Finally, two USB jacks, a microphone jack, and an audio/headphone jack sit on the keyboard, letting users hook up additional devices like headsets and game controllers through the keyboard itself.

Saitek plans to ship the Cyborg keyboard in March, with a suggested retail price of $80.

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (5 Comments)
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by gmtheace January 7, 2008 11:44 AM PST
This is really cool. Me wants!
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by Delta_1011 January 8, 2008 7:10 PM PST
In the article it says "the number pad and letters can glow a soft blue", but the Video says it can not light up blue, as I am using the original Saitek Eclipse Blue keyboard i love it and I love the company, they make only high quality products, but if there is in fact no support for blue lighting then I will not be purchasing this keyboard hopefully more information will arrive and allow the truth to be revealed.
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by tiffany11112 January 10, 2008 12:16 PM PST
The Cyborg Keyboard is backlit in red, green and amber. Blue backlighting is not available on this model.
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by fedtho January 12, 2008 1:56 AM PST
How about using it for music and graphics software?<br /><br />This is primarily designed for gaming - but I wonder if it could be put to use for pro applications, like, in my case, for a music sequencer like Logic Pro? (or Cubase, Ableton Live etc.) ? If the side keys are programmable, this could help improve the work flow...<br /><br />Thanks for any info on that!!!!
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by cbielite February 13, 2008 7:03 PM PST
No blue? No thank you. Have been tracking this since December 2007 and was hoping the good people at Saitek would have finally developed a "be all, end all" solution to customizability, coolness, and gamer-oriented commands. Well, they almost had it! A large majority of gamers and PC modders out there do have blue as their color scheme, and it's rather embarrassing to see Saitek skip the beat on that one. The Gamer Keyboard needed changes, they listened, and released the Eclipse 1. Then, they released the Eclipse 2. Now, things have shifted...why this shift to completely removing blue, I don't know...maybe too dark/poor key illumination, who knows.
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