ACK-720
EL:
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The
Box
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The
ACK-720 EL is a mid-sized keyboard with no fancy multifunction
or multimedia keys and a simple, uncluttered design. The
upper shell is of brushed aluminium with a fairly pronounced
"grain" to it.
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The
Keyboard
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In
keeping with current trends, blue LEDs are used to signal
the use of the Number Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll lock.
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Status
LEDs
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The
KeySonic logo features at the top/centre of the keyboard
in a raised aluminium design, no less classy looking for
the fact that it clearly seems to be covering an aperture
presumably used for status LEDs on a different model. Try to avoid the temptation to wipe a finger over it though as the sharp edges tend to shave off a fine layer of dead skin and scum and deposit around the edges of the letters, an effect that looks quite grotty until you eventually succumb and reach for a tooth pick or something similar to scrape away the uninvited dark outline.
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Logo
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The
Aluminium construction isn't carried though to the bottom
of the keyboard where it reverts back to plastic.
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Rear
of Keyboard
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Two
flip-open legs raise the keyboard slightly. With these legs
retracted the keyboard sits completely flat and parallel
to the working surface.
The
feet have no rubber pads but two pads on the front edge
help keep it from slipping and sliding.
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Keyboard
Legs
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The
keys are low travel and similar to those typically used
in notebook. The image below shows the space key actually
depressed which is around 2mm of travel in all.
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Key
Travel
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The
top right of the main key array features a button labeled
"EL On/Off" which, as the name suggests, is used
to switch the EL backlight on and off. The backlight is
fairly subdued making it comfortable enough to use in very
dark environments, yet bright enough to illuminate the keys
from the rear and make the letters, numbers and symbols
perfectly legible. The illumination intensity can't be varied.
The
EL (Electro-Luminescent) function is powered directly by
the USB port so may not work with some loaded, unpowered
hubs. An entire underlay sheet beneath the keys illuminates
very evenly, there are on real hot-spots or point light
sources. Bare in mind also that the light from any EL device
will decrease over time, though we're probably looking at
a life span of around 10,000 hours plus.
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Illuminated
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 The
keys on both keyboards are of the more expensive mechanical
"scissor" type, accompanied by membrane switches,
which makes them feel very precise, reduces travel and is
generally quieter than an all-mechanical key and switch
design. Less travel means faster typing speeds, though not
for me for the reasons already discussed. Having said that,
my typing accuracy did improve slightly simply because the
keys are flattened out giving a bigger surface area to aim
at.
The
bulk of the keyboard is around 15mm in thickness.
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Width
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