Ever since I first laid hands on the G3 Series WallStreet PowerBooks back in
1998, the feather-light touch and silky, short travel of that
machine's keyboard has been the gold standard of what computer
keyboards should be like. Unfortunately, I've never found anything
since that completely lived up to the standard of those WallStreet
'boards, even on the later PowerBooks and iBooks, - and especially
not in freestanding computer keyboards.
However, one keyboard that has come a long way in the right
direction is the Macally
iceKey slim USB keyboard, which, unlike most freestanding
units, utilizes scissor-action key switches similar to the ones
used in Apple's laptop keyboards since the 2400c. Other virtues of the iceKey are that
it is relatively inexpensive and stunningly attractive, having been
designed especially to match the style and white theme of Apple's
dual USB iBook and flat panel iMac.
I've been using an iceKey off and on for several months now, and
it's a pretty decent keyboard. I love white stuff, and the iceKey's
glossy white finish matches the white case of my "Opaque White" 700
MHz iBook exactly. It will also harmonize nicely with the G4 Power
Macs, iMacs and the eMac, and white goes well with the aluminum and
titanium PowerBooks and the new G5 Power Macs, too.
The iceKey is slim and sleek in form factor (making it easy to
store inside a keyboard drawer), with an ideal near-flat
orientation (there are fold-down legs to elevate the back of the
keyboard if you must), and its profile is low enough to possibly
make a palm rest superfluous.
The iceKey is a full 108-key Mac keyboard. There are USB ports
at either end of the keyboard and a generously long main USB cable
for plugging the iceKey in. Bright green LEDs in the upper right
hand corner denote Power, Caps Lock, and Num Lock. Interestingly,
the system requirements specify a minimum Mac OS 9.2 or OS X
10.1.5, although I found that the iceKey works just fine with my
Pismo PowerBook booted into OS 9.1.
My main complaint with the iceKey is that while the scissor
switches are positive and have a delightfully sharp travel, they
are too stiff for my taste, unlike the WallStreet keys, which offer
as close to zero touch resistance as is probably practical in a
computer keyboard. The iceKey is still better than most regular
computer keyboards in this regard, but I would prefer that the
touch stiffness were reduced by 25-50%. Another niggle is that
there is no keyboard power key.
In general, though, if you like short-travel and (relatively)
light touch keyboard action, you will probably be pleased with the
feel of this 'board - and the fact that it's eye-candy is icing on
the cake, so to speak.
Specifications:
- Dimensions: (W) 18.19", (H) 1", (D) 6.5
- Maximum Cable Length: 5'
- Net Weight: 2 lbs
- 3 year manufacturer warranty
MSRP for the iceKey is $59.
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