The i-Rocks Pilot K70E Capacitive Gaming Keyboard Review: Our First Capacitive Keyboard
by E. Fylladitakis on September 21, 2018 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Keyboard
- capacitive
- i-Rocks
Software
Users that want access to more advanced controls will have to download the software for the Pilot K70E from the company's website. The software itself is very simple, with a clean UI, offering very limited customization options.
At the top of the main UI there are three tabs, Performance, Backlight, and Assignment. The first tab, Performance, hosts only three adjustable settings, which are the n-key rollover (toggle between 6 and 30 keys), the repeat delay, and the repeat speed. There is also a small space for testing the repeat delay and speed.
The second tab, Backlight, is the most extensive. From here the user can reprogram any of the four pre-programmed lighting profiles. There are several backlight effects available and brightness/speed settings are also present, yet per-key effect or profile programming is not possible.
Finally, the third tab, Assignment, should be the most important part of this software. In the case of the Pilot K70E however, it is not particularly useful. Remapping the keyboard is not possible at all. From here the only thing that the user can do is to reprogram the functions of the Fn+F1-F4 keystroke combinations. There is a basic macro editor that can record the keyboard's keystrokes, with the ability to adjust or remove the delays between keystrokes and adjust the macro's repeat number/rate, yet these macros can only be assigned to the Fn+F1-F4 keys as well. The rest of the available settings are simple and straightforward, ranging from single-key assignments to the launching of external applications. Although some are interesting and useful, the obligation to program only four such commands that will be accessible only via a keystroke combination that essentially requires two hands is not really convenient.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
27 Comments
View All Comments
vanilla_gorilla - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
What do you mean a keyboard is "salty" ?wonderbread2 - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
I am salty about his misappropriation of my (gamur) cultural slang.wonderbread2 - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
(Nice review, always interested in topre like switches)Ryan Smith - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
Unpleasant in large quantities.wrkingclass_hero - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
During the course of testing it as his personal keyboard it was imbibed with a salty substance.DanNeely - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
Actuation distance varying with humidity seems like a major issue outside of a climate controlled environment, especially combined with a non-tactile actuation you can never be sure where the actuation point is on any given day. While $150 is already a premium product, it really sounds like they need to add another dollar or two to the BOM to add a humidity sensor and use it to calibrate the sensor and stabilize the actuation point.bug77 - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
That's true, but 70%+ humidity (like tested) is well into uncomfortable territory anyway.DanNeely - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
Agreed, but E. Fylladitakis is far from the only person whose chooses to suffer in a steam bath instead of buying an AC. And presumably they'd have the opposite problem in the winter when many furnaces end up dedicating inside air to the point that static shocks become an issue.FunBunny2 - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link
"dedicating"or
desiccating
KAlmquist - Saturday, September 22, 2018 - link
Yes. I have air conditioning but don't keep the temperature and humidity the same all year round.