Azio Levetron L70 LED Backlit Gaming Keyboard - Black (KB501)

This Azio Levetron is an awesome keyboard. Well made, affordable, and versatile, this keyboard is a good fit for many different tasks/needs.I do want to note on two things:1) I am not a gamer so I cannot say exactly how well this keyboard works if purchased solely for the purpose of gaming. I purchased this keyboard for work and home usage. I did so because I like LED backlit keys as well as the feedback gaming keyboards provide.2) I have only used this keyboard for a short period, and so I cannot speak to long-term reliability. I will update this review down the road to report back on how the keyboard holds up.------------------------MY NEEDS & USAGEI recently purchased a Dell IPS display so that I can run it as a secondary monitor next to my 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina, as this allows me to run Windows 8.1 via a virtual machine on the display, and OS X Yosemite on the MacBook’s display. As I use software that runs better on one OS over the other, this allows me to run whatever software does best in what OS. It also gives me easy access to legacy OS’ if I need to test something like code.I have apple’s wireless keyboard and think it is excellent. However, it favors mobility over performance. I find gaming keyboards tend to do the opposite…they are built for heavier usage, heavily favor accessibility and performance, and use features that make this possible (I own an unusually large amount of gaming gear.)------------------------DESCRIPTION: THIS KEYBOARDThis keyboard is the Azio Levetron L70, a wired, entry-level gaming keyboard that is LED backlit via blue colored LEDs. You can toggle these LEDs on and off, but you cannot change the color or the intensity.The layout of this keyboard is pretty standard, plus it has a massive volume knob and a switch dedicated specifically to turning the LEDs on and off. Each side of the keyboard has an LED light. The keys themselves used oversized letters, and these markings are clear so the LED light can shine through. A removable palm rest is included and the cord length is about 5 feet. The bottom features non-skid, non-marking rubber feet as well as retractable feet to increase the angle.I have used this keyboard with: OS X 10.10 Yosemite, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, OS X 10.7 Lion, Windows XP SP3, and Windows 8.1 (current build as of 2015.) They keyboard works reliably on all of these, but note that this is technically a Windows keyboard and so with OS X you may want to use a keyboard control suite to modify some of the commands.The interface used is USB and it works on both USB 2 and USB 3 computers (can’t speak to USB 1.1 as I do not have computers that old anymore.) It does NOT seem to generate the harmonic distortion that some USB 3 devices can which can result in interference with 2.4 GHz signals.------------------------WHAT I LIKEThe light intensity is perfect…bright enough to see when lights are on, but not so bright that it is an annoyance in darker environments. Another LED backlit keyboard I had was so faint that the LEDs did not really increase visibility.The lettering used is very large, making it easier to see and making it better display with the LEDs. If someone has trouble seeing most keys, this is an outstanding choice.Typing itself is comfortable, and I find the palm rest makes typing even more comfortable. Like many other gaming keyboards, you get more pronounced feedback than the standard free keyboard that comes with desktops. I strongly prefer this feedback when typing as I find I can type faster and with fewer errors. Also like many other gaming keyboards, I find that the physical force required to push a key and have it register is very, very consistent. With keyboard without this consistency, it is easy to subconsciously start pressing certain keys with more force than others, and this can result in more mistakes while typing (least for me anyway.)The cosmetic fit and finish of this keyboard is outstanding for the price. The numbers are neat, the patterns are sharp, there are no sharp spots from molding overspray, and the keyboard wire is quite beefy.So while I cannot speak directly to how well this works for gaming, I can say it is a great keyboard for general usage. It is also great for data visualization, which I suppose in some ways has similarities to gaming needs.------------------------WHAT I DO NOT LIKEAt this price, I have zero dislikes with this keyboard.------------------------CONCLUSIONOverall, this is a whole lot of keyboard for 20-25 bucks. It’s well made, it has fantastic visibility, it gives a very consistent typing experience, and its LEDs are perfectly balanced in intensity so that they contribute to better performance (rather than detracting from.)

Update: 3.5 years later and I'm still using this keyboard every day. It's still going strong. Only issue I have had at all is that the "C" key is fading on it and honestly, I'm looking at my work keyboard now and I must hit the "C" key hard because I'm having the same issue on my Dell work keyboard :P Overwall I cannot recommend this keyboard enough. I bought Azio's mechanical keyboard offering to replace this a year ago and after about a week of the mechanical keyboard I went back to this. Now the mechanical keyboard sits and collects dust behind my desk. I'm thinking about re-buying this keyboard for work actually. You simply cannot beat this keyboard for the price!I am a simple man; I don’t need the fancy bells and whistles of programmable keys, anti-ghosting (even though I mainly use my PC for gaming), and wireless. What I needed was a backlit one! I needed to see those keys in my dark gaming cave of a room!That being said, I didn’t want to drop $60-100 on a Logitech one even though I love Logitech products. I have been looking high and low and then I stumbled upon this Azio. It is great! The blue backlight isn’t overly bright and dare I say it is the perfect brightness! Unfortunately, you can only turn the backlight on and off using a key, there is no dimming. Another great benefit is the volume knob, I really like having it right there. I use Daum PotPlayer and VLC Player. With PotPlayer, the volume knob adjusts the volume by 2% intervals via the player which is perfect. With VLC player, it adjusts your computer’s main volume, that little volume icon to the bottom right corner of your screen…yeah that guy.The keyboard rest is a little large, but fits fine on my desktop and I find it to be very comfortable. The one negative that I would have to say…and as I type on my dell keyboard and I remember my Logitech keyboard, is that the Azio’s keys are a little mushy in terms of the feedback when pressed. Not a deal breaker at all and I love that they use the regular old school style keys and not Chiclet style…I can’t stand Chiclet.Overall I am very satisfied with the product and the build quality and would look at Azio products again.Update:I just purchased this keyboard a second time as a replacement and it's a different keyboard unfortunately so my review really can't stand for this current model in some ways. The new model feels less good when you type on it because of the textured plastic they use, it's also gray matte versus glossy black. The LEDs shine through the keys better though and some adjustments have been made for better light distribution and viability. For looks, it is better, but for typing I will continue to use my old model. The newer version will be my rainy day keyboard.