At a Glance
The Good: Strong tactile feedback, sturdy, loud
The Bad: Heavy, loud
Clickity Click Click Click
Many keyboards nowadays boast about their quiet keys or their low profiles. Adesso goes in the opposite direction with the MKB-135B. It has mechanical switches in the keys that provide strong tactile feedback -- it's like typing on a typewriter, both in how it feels and how it sounds. This tactile feedback is meant to increase accuracy, and I could certainly tell immediately when I had made a typo. The keys also add a spring to your fingers when typing, and dang if you don't feel like you're typing a million words a minute. It's downright enjoyable.
The downside: It's loud. Like typing on a typewriter loud -- and it's supposed to be. When I was typing in my home office and no one was home, this wasn't an issue. When I was typing in my home office when my 3-year-old was sleeping right across the hall, this became a bit of a problem. If you're a cube dweller, don't expect your neighbors to be happy with your choice.
Adesso asserts that the keyboard can withstand up to 20 million keystrokes. Needless to say, I stopped counting after 532,570, but I certainly buy into their claim. The MKB-135B is sturdy and solid. It weighs about 3 pounds, which doesn't sound like much, but this isn't a peripheral you want to drop on your foot. They keys are matte black, and the keyboard has a glossy, almost sparkly, finish around the edge, with pleasant blue lights for the Caps Lock and Number Lock indicators.
Hubs and Jacks and Ports, Oh My
The Adesso MKB-135B can connect via USB or PS2, and its cable has microphone and headphone plugs. The keyboard has two built-in USB 2.0 ports, along with headphone and mic jacks, making this keyboard even more attractive to gamers. (And, let's face it -- we can all use some extra USB ports.)
Gamers Take Note
Not only will gamers go ga-ga over the extra ports, but they'll also appreciate the n-key rollover function that lets them press up to six keys at the same time.
Bottom Line
The MKB-135B is a great choice for gamers and home users, but I wouldn’t suggest bringing this into your office unless your office has a door … and your office mate has noise-canceling headphones. At around $99.99, though, this could very well be the last keyboard you have to buy for a long, long time.
