Three new keyboards for your typing pleasure

We take good ol' qwerty for granted, but consider how much of your day you spend punching away at the keyboard. Here are three new keyboards that are all worth a look... and one that I highly recommend.

Razer Lycosa

This gaming keyboard is slick as it gets. Completely black, with matte buttons that are covered with a rubber sheen that gives the keys much more grip than standard plastic. The Lycosa requires a considerable amount of setup: Two USB ports and two audio connections. Why? Because there's a passthrough USB port and audio ports on the rear of the keyboard, and also to power the backlighting on the device. All the keys on the Lycosa light up, but it's rather dim: Unless you're looking straight down on the Lycosa while you're using it, it can be hard to make out what button you're pushing. (Gamers can also set the WASD keys to be the only ones lit up. Nifty.) It's kind of unwieldy due to the strangely shaped wrist rest, but the cool feel and slipless nature of the Lycosa's keys might be just the thing for gamers who're looking for that tiniest bit of edge. $80

Kensington Ci70

This oddly designed keyboard holds a secret or two beneath a sliding panel on its upper half. Five customizable hotkeys appear to the upper left of the keyboard, but slide the panel to cover them up and you'll reveal not just one standard USB jack but a mini USB connector, too. (There's also one additional standard USB port on the back.) With the mini jack, you can hook up your MP3 player or cell phone without having to fumble around for an adapter cable, and when the charging is done, that panel slides back to cover it up and keep your desktop nice and tidy. The keyboard itself is an ultra-slim job, much like the latest Apple keyboard, and whether you like it will be a matter of personal taste. I prefer standard type keyboards with lots of action to the button presses (see the next review for more on this...), but those of you who prefer the less-intensive design of laptop keyboards will probably love the Ci70. $50

Das Keyboard Professional

A few years back, the folks at Das Keyboard made waves by releasing a keyboard that had no labels on the buttons. None. It was a novelty and coveted among geeks for the street cred factor, but probably didn't sell too well because, well, it had no labels on the keys. Das is back with a new keyboard that has two great improvements: 1) Labels on the buttons (yay!) and 2) It gets rid of the cheap membrane keys (the kind you'll find in virtually every keyboard today) in favor of mechanical switches. When you type on the Das, the keys don't weakly mush down, they click. Typing on the Das sounds just like typing does in the movies: You haven't heard typing like this in real life since Bill Gates hit puberty. You also haven't felt anything like this, either; it's actually fun to type on. Whether you're a fan of nostalgia or just plain comfort, this is the keyboard to check out. (Bonus features include two pass-through USB ports and an extra-long 6 1/2 foot cable.) $129 (not yet released)

BONUS REVIEW: Razer Destructor Mouse Pad

I promise this will be the only mouse pad I will ever write about on this blog. Razer promises this mouse pad, er, "precision gaming surface" (which comes in its own carrying case) offers up to 37 percent better accuracy than other surfaces. I'm not a good enough fragger to notice much of a difference when I'm trying to get in a headshot (nor am I killing 37 percent more people), but if you're really that good and need a tiny edge, then by all means give this thing a try. Just imagine the intimidation you'll strike into the hearts of the n00bs at the LAN party when you unzip a case and whip out... a mouse pad. It's like The Hustler, but with more animated blood. $40