advice on best <£50 keyboard?

anyone have/know a nice illuminated keyboard with a USB hub/port on it for under £50?

 

50.00 EUR = 66.6963 USD
Live rates at 2010.04.27 14:48:28 UTC

Best one I could find within your price range.

Logitech G110
Free shipping
Price: $67.95
You Pay: $67.95
Mail-In Rebate: $20.00
Final Price After Rebate: $47.95


Or this one
Logitech G15 - $82.71

 

hmm, seems the UK get ripped off. in the uk the g15 is closer to £70, about 25-30 dollars more. plus we dont get mail in rebates, so its $50 more. which sucks. lol.

looks like ebay and china could be my friends for this one.

 

There are plenty of excellent keyboards with scissor keys around the price or lower if you can live without illumination. The nearest illuminated scissor will be to shop around for a Logitech Illuminated.

The scissor-key boards I can recommend are:

Keysonic Intuition. £49.95
Scan.co.uk: Keysonic Intuition-XL ACK-5600 ALU+ Body inc leatherette rest & Audio Ports - USB inc 2x Hub

Also the updated version of the ACK-5000
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Keys...d-aluminium-body-keyboard-with-2-x-USB-20-HUB

However, onto the on-topic reco:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Micr...11-20-Wired-Black-plus-Blue-Neon-Lighted-keys

Reclusa - updated version. Excellent 'traditional key' keyboard, illuminated, with USB hub. If it's anything like the original Reclusa, I highly recommend it. The only real issue is the programmable keys beside the Left shift, the lowest of which can be pressed accidentally and is by default, iTunes. Simple solution - assign nothing to the key. I prefer the key action to the G15.

 

thanks man, i like the look of that microsoft one.

ive just bought a microsoft one from HMV that was reduced to £8, but ive not even taken it out its packaging. its not blacklit, its not got the USB hub, but it was £8 and made by microsoft. im tempted to take it back and look for something "better". hmm, not sure. il give it a go, it was only £8.

 

I really like the key feel of the Reclusa for a dome keyboard, and the solid weighted body. The keys slide down cleanly without binding even after extensive wear (unlike the G15). A while back I washed all of my Reclusas which are all getting on a bit (after taking them apart of course), and was impressed by the construction inside - and I see how the monolithic keyboard base allows the keys to continue to work cleanly.

It's definitely not the flashiest out there and the backlight is strictly functional (i.e. if your room is pitch dark, you can see the keys but it's not what you'd call a 'decorative' backlight in the vein of the crappier Saiteks) but IMO it's one of the best-working of the cheaper-SRP keyboards.

 

i had a look at the reclusa and i really like the look of it. i think my budget should have been closer to 30 than 50 though.

other keyboards ive found along the way are the microsoft sidewinder x4, the apple keyboard (which i really like to type on, but im not sure about not having a windows key, i use mine a lot) and the logitech g11. opinions on them?

 

The Apple keyboard is a scissor keyboard. See my recos above for better scissor keyboards.