The nice guys at Ideazon sent over one of their Z-boards several weeks ago. Does it really deserve the title "the ultimate gaming keyboard"?

The hybrid keyboard device certainly got my interest straight away, and I've been using it almost every day for the past month or two. So basically yes, it impressed me.

What is it?

Unplug your existing keyboard (give it to your sister because you won't have any need for it again), and plug in your Z-board (ps/2 connection).

The Zboard comes in two parts, first of all you have a base (click for image). The base has along the top, ten programmable hot keys and media controls including volume (one of my favorite features). The base has a wrist rest (detachable) and little legs to make usage more comfortable for you when you're having a hard core game session :)

As you can see from the picture, there is something missing. So you might have guessed the second part of the Zboard package - THE KEYS! This is where the Z-board becomes the king of keyboards.

The regular Windows key set looks like this (click for image). Ideazon have managed to add a lot more functionality to the basic Windows key set. 19 shortcuts are highlighted, more than likely including many you didn't even know existed and you don't have to remember the key combinations because they are there printed on the keys!

There are also 28 additional Zboard fast access keys for Windows utilities and Internet Explorer commands, which will enable you to surf you favorite Delta Force site ;) faster, and more easily than ever before. There are a full list of features here : http://www.ideazon.com/newWebSite/products/apps/windows/windows.html

In it's basic state, the Zboard has more features then my previous keyboard and the Zboard still has it's Ace card to play. The keyboard system enables you to easily remove the Windows keys and replace them with a new key set specifically for gaming.

"What! remove all the keys!?"

Before you have nightmares about remembering where all the keys have to go ;) , this is how it works:

That takes all of about 5 seconds to do, and then you can play your favorite game in a whole new way. I managed to get a Black Hawk Down keyboard. I'm not sure how they have managed to do it but Ideazon have placed all the most useful and needed keys/functions all within the reach of one hand, and also included a full QWERTY key set for those all important team messages.

All the buttons are labeled and it is a lot easier to use because of this. Not only are they labeled but they are color co-ordinate and grouped improving usability and of course making you become a better gamer.

I really like the design of the movement keys, Ideazon call them "butterfly" keys (the shape of them (they do not have wings and fly b.t.w.)). They are nice and fat and you can slide between them, so you can move your fingers into different positions rather then having you hand in a claw shape. And you will use the lean buttons to look around corners making you a better gamer instantly :)

You will enjoy playing single player BHD a lot more with this board also, and you will not need the game manual on your desk to find out what the 'throw flash bang' key is. You will be commanding your troops more efficiently and hopefully preventing them from standing in front of you when the streets are full of enemy soldiers.

If you do play a lot of BHD the game key sets will take you a few hours to get used to. After all you will have played on a normal keyboard and got used to that configuration, but the gamer who plays not so often will pick up the controls a little faster, and someone totally new to the game will master it in a very short time (and start playing more often ;))

Getting people to play games in a computer instead of a console is sometimes a little tricky. "Too many controls" or "I can't remember what zoom is" are common problems. Basically the Zboard is the solution. Similarly a younger person would benefit from the board also.

It is quite hard to fault this product, the biggest problem was when NovaLogic patched the BHD game and it messed up the key bindings for the Zboard. However there is a fix which works 100% and the information about it is here > http://www.novalogic.com/supportarticle.asp?ID=1 .

The only other thing I'm going to mention is that they are only available in U.S.A. and Canada right now. So unfortunately the Euros cannot get them at this time. I'm in the U.K. so I was lucky to get one of these but I have a U.K. key layout which gets a little confusing and I can not type a backslash, pound sign, or a hash, which drives me nuts so I can not recommend this to Europeans until a new version of the keyboard is released (unless you have U.S. key setting in Windows). However if one is released then I will let you know.

Overall it is easy to install and has clear instructions, the keyboard itself is solid and seems durable. Keys are easy to change and well labeled. It is efficient to use (shortcuts) and it works well!

I cannot even argue with the price - currently $29.99 for the base and Windows key sets, which is less money than my previous keyboard which is not as good as the Zboard.

Check out the Ideazon Web Store

You can order the Black Hawk Down Key set here :

So is that it?
Well... no not really.

Do you play other games? There is a Zboard for you!
Zboard (custom keyboard) starter system
Civilization III keyboard
Madden NFL keyboard
Age of Mythology custom keyboard
Neverwinter Nights keyboard
Medal Of Honor keyboard

Ideazon didn't stop there either, the Zboard caters for other software, not only games.
Custom keyboard for Macromedia Dreamweaver
Custom keyboard for Macromedia Flash
Custom keyboard for 3ds max
Custom keyboard for Adobe Photoshop
Custom keyboard for Microsoft Excel
Custom keyboard for Microsoft Word
Custom keyboard for Microsoft Office