Saitek Eclipse II Illumintated Keyboard review

It's taken us a while to get our hands on Saitek's Eclipse II backlit keyboard. It was originally announced at E3 this year, and we're only now getting some hands-on time with it. The design hasn't changed that much since the original Eclipse board; the only major improvement is that you now have three different backlighting colors to choose from, compared to the original's one. That makes the $69.95 Eclipse II a useful keyboard for those who like to play games or otherwise type in the dark. As far as being purely a game keyboard, we find that while the Eclipse II is good, others are better.

The Eclipse II has many pros going for it. Its no-driver setup means that you can simply plug it in and go, its full backlighting lets you type with the lights off, and the different color options (red, blue, purple, or "off") let you make the Eclipse II your own. Ergonomically, you're better off typing with your keyboard lying completely flat on your desk, but if you must prop it up, Saitek added two different feet on the underside of the Eclipse II, giving you a couple of options for typing at an angle.

For all of its useful features, our biggest problems with the Eclipse II lie in the parts that should be the most refined: the keys. We have two major concerns here. The first is that the keys feel too bunched up. We fell in love with the Razer Tarantula recently, partly because its wide key tray gives your fingers plenty of space and allow each key room to breathe. The Eclipse II's keys feel cramped in comparison. And considering that the Tarantula is only about half an inch wider than the Eclipse II (counting the Eclipse II's feet), it's not like the Tarantula is a bigger desk hog.