Four months with the Unitedkeys OLED Keyboard

So it's now exactly 4 months after I got my Unitedkeys OLED keyboard. It's a regular 103-keys keyboard, that includes also 9 customized yellow OLED keys.

When I first reviewed it, I said that the OLEDs look good, the keyboard itself is great, but the software is a bit clunky. Now I want to update the review, after having used the keyboard for a while.

Better looking icons, sent to me by UnitedKeysUnitedkeys OLED keyboard

My major complains are still about the software - there are some annoying bugs (for example, many times it won't work after a reboot, and you need click on the taskbar icon, and then close the software window for it to work). As far as I know, they haven't issued any updates yet. Also I'd like more options, for example having a key that will change to a different running application.

Unitedkeys major marketing message is that the keyboard is a productivity tool, not just a cool gadget. About the coolness there's no doubt - it's a great looking thing. But I wanted to test the productivity bit. So I enabled the keyboard to work with the two applications I use most:

  • Firefox. That was easy, because they sent me ready text icon...
  • Eclipse (PHP development). I had to make my own icons. I made text ones, which actually only took a few minutes to make.

When not running these two applications, the icons launch different programs (like Explorer, GIMP, Delphi...). This is actually very useful.

Anyway, now when I want to search for a text in my code, or open a file, or find text in firefox, or close a tab, I can do it with a single keystroke. The main problem? I don't always remember that the keys are there, and after all using shift-F is not so difficult to begin with... and I already remember all those key combinations anyway. When I do remember to use the OLED keys, they are fun to use, and can save a bit of time.

So my main conclusion? The keyboard is cool, and can help with productivity, a little bit, but you have to get used to using it - it won't happen immediately. It might be more useful to use it for less common key combinations, those that you do not remember, or maybe for software tools that have more options (like a word processor, photoshop, etc.).

If you want to try it yourself, the keyboard now sales for 260$, through amazon.com.

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Posted: Apr 24,2009 by Ron Mertens