Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard Review (v. Tarantula)

Chalk up the Lycosa as anotherattractive and cutting-edge peripheral made by Razer, but that's not tosay that this rose doesn't have its thorns. It seems as though there'sa flipside to almost every feature with the Lycosa.

Backlit keys aregreat at night, but these keys provided very little contrast during thedaytime for readability. The Lycosa is compact compared with otherkeyboards, but this comes at the cost of having no additional macrokeys. And the flashy appeal of its glossy finish only takes a daybefore fingerprints tarnish its surface.
On the other hand, the Lycosa slips in some features that merit itsprice tag. Razer continues to evolve its software for peripherals, thistime allowing users to program any key on the keyboard. We don't recallany other keyboard that can do that. Also, the laptop-like keyssurprised us with some solid tactile, and clicky, feedback, despitetheir appearance. We're also happy to see that users can store multipleprofiles and disable that annoying Windows key that can prove to be abuzzkill when pressed mid-frag.

Software and Macro Keys
Without the aid of Razer's software, the Lycosa would be nothing other than a fancy keyboard that lights up. Users can program any key they want and toggle between up to ten profiles, thus providing a virtually endless amount of macro capabilities. This does come at the expense of surrendering existing keys you may want for other things. Remapping keys on the number pad doesn't affect the numbered keys in the main typing area, or vice versa. We found the F-keys as great guinea pigs for our macros.

Razer has a reputation of having a sleek, cool-looking software interface, though we'd prefer something a little less edgy and a little more usable. You'll have to scoot towards the screen to view all of the included options. They're so small.

Software and Macro Keys
Without the aid of Razer's software, the Lycosa would be nothing other than a fancy keyboard that lights up. Users can program any key they want and toggle between up to ten profiles, thus providing a virtually endless amount of macro capabilities. This does come at the expense of surrendering existing keys you may want for other things. Remapping keys on the number pad doesn't affect the numbered keys in the main typing area, or vice versa. We found the F-keys as great guinea pigs for our macros.

Razer has a reputation of having a sleek, cool-looking software interface, though we'd prefer something a little less edgy and a little more usable. You'll have to scoot towards the screen to view all of the included options. They're so small.

There's no denying that the Lycosa is one sexy beast. Promotional pictures highlight how well the Lycosa shines at night, but that's not the whole picture. When this thing is plopped on your desk, in daylight, its true colors come out.

Physically the Razer Lycosa is neither the largestkeyboard I have seen nor the smallest. The Lycosa measures in at 469mmx 168mm x 15mm without the removable wrist rest and 669mm x 221mm x15mm with the wrist rest attached. The wrist rest itself is matte blackin color with the same look as the keys, but lacking the non-sliprubber coating.

One of the casualties of having a fully backlit keyboard is that, during the day, key labels aren't as conspicuous—even with backlighting set. Each key label must be clear enough to allow light from underneath to shine through, but we felt that there wasn't enough contrast between the key labels and the keys themselves. Heck, the keys reminded us of the DAS keyboard II—the keyboard with blank, black keys. Logitech's G-series and Saitek's Eclipse II keyboards both provide fully backlit keys, and a key (pun intended) to their success is that labels are bright and easily read. Obviously anybody who buys a backlit keyboard will use it at night, but that's not to say that they'll toss it aside during the day for another keyboard.

Razer Tarantula:

Razer Lycosa:

Now, let's look at that pristine glossy finish surrounding the keys. Anybody that owns a keyboard with a similar surface (like the diNovo Edge or Tarantula) knows that it deserves a little housekeeping once in a while. This area is a magnet for fingerprints and blotches when the light hits it just right. Some keyboards and mice with this type of surface even come with a cleaning cloth, but there wasn't one included with the Lycosa.

While the multimedia TouchPanel has its artistic appeal, it doesn't help with usability. For starters, you have to have backlighting on just to view the controls. Secondly, anything touch-sensitive spawns no tactile feedback, and given that there are numerous options to choose from, all sitting close to each other, pressing the wrong control can be a common occurrence.

These are some of the issues we encountered regarding the Lycosa's look and feel. As for some positives, we were impressed with the keys. Despite their short vertical height, keypresses yield positive tactile feedback, with a slight clicky sound. They don't feel quite as mushy as the Tarantula, and are in no ways as clicky as the old IBM keyboards from yesteryear.

Shorter keys mean less pressing and faster typing, especially given the Lycosa's 1ms response time. We didn't notice any improvement in our typing speed, but this is something hardcore gamers may find appealing.

The Lycosa also has a sturdy exterior, despite its smallish size compared to other gaming keyboards. It planted itself rather firmly on our desk without sliding around—thanks in part to its six rubber feet.

It's cheapest at Ebuyer:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143289

Fully-programmable keys with macro capability
Be one step ahead of the competition with fully-programmable keys with macro capability that enable instantaneous command executions.

    *  Keytop with non-slip rubber finish
    * Backlight illumination with WASD cluster lighting option
    * Fully-programmable keys with macro capability
    * Gaming cluster with anti-ghosting capability
    * Slim keycap structure with Hyperesponse™ technology
    * TouchPanel™ easy access media keys
    * Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key
    * 10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching
    * 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time
    * Earphone-out and microphone-in jacks
    * Detachable wrist rest
    * One integrated USB extension port
    * Razer Lycosa Approximate size:
      469mm (length) x 168mm (width) x 15mm (height) – without wrist rest
      469mm (length) x 221mm (width) x 15mm (height) – with wrist rest
System Requirements for Razer Lycosa
Windows� XP / x64 / Vista / Vista64
PC with built-in USB ports
CD-ROM drive (for drivers)
At least 35MB of hard disk space (for drivers)