It has N-key rollover and on-board memory

Sep 22, 2014 11:54 GMT  ·  By

Cooler Master could have probably turned its newest keyboard into a colorful piece of work, like Adesso did to the Tru-Form Keyboard, but it chose, instead, to look inward while keeping the exterior more or less normal.

It doesn't even need to come across as half-hearted, design-wise. There are plenty of people who prefer simple exteriors, especially when this renders the products lighter, easier to carry around.

Although, admittedly, the NovaTouch TKL isn't intended for mobile use, or even for use from too far away, since it is not wireless.

Then again, that cable does have a micro-USB port on one end, so you might even be able to use it with a tablet or smartphone. Powerful smartphone, that is.

The main features of the NovaTouch TKL keyboard

First off, the keyboard has a polling rate of 1,000 Hz / 1 ms, which is about as good as you can expect from a USB keyboard of any sort.

Especially one that doesn't choke when you press more than three keys at once. It boasts N-key rollover, you see, and anti-ghosting technology.

You can even adjust the repeat rate on the fly, enabling you to set how many key repeats are recognized and how often.

There are 128 kb of on-board memory as well, which not only stores the repeat rate changes and key rollover, but handles the use of the functional media control keys as well.

The keyboard doesn't have dedicated media keys, but the functions (play, pause, stop, volume, etc.) are included in the Function keys (F1-F12). You just need to hit the Function key switch to change from one to the other.

Furthermore, the keys all have 45 gram actuation force and an actuation point of 1 mm, thanks to Japanese-made hybrid capacitive switches.

Finally, thanks to a debounce time three times faster than normal, the number of Actions per Minute is higher than on keyboards featuring other kinds of mechanical switches. It still depends on your finger dexterity though. And if you want Cherry MX keycaps, and buy them separately, you can use those instead, since the switches have stems specially customized for it.

All in all, the keyboard is good for anything from media watching to gaming, but it is said to be especially easy to carry between meetings and other events, as well as computer stations in an office building.

Availability

The Cooler Master NovaTouch TKL keyboard should be found in stores shortly, complete with 1.8-meter braided cable (6 feet, detachable, USB to micro-USB). The price is, sadly, unknown, and Europe will only get it in November.

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Cooler Master NovaTouch TKL (3 Images)

NovaTouch TKL keyboard
NovaTouch TKL keyboard side viewNovaTouch TKL keyboard plus cable
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