Microsoft Sidewinder X6 keyboard swings both ways

Gamers are gonna love Microsoft's latest game-centric keyboard, the Sidewinder X6. How will they love it? Let me count the ways.

For starters you'll note the numeric keypad, which is detachable and can dock on either the right or the left side of the keyboard without a reboot. If you're using WASD with your left hand and the mouse with your right, reaching over to hit a hotkey on the normally-placed keypad isn't usually convenient with either hand. Swapping the keypad over to the left makes it easy to quickly hit something with your left hand, and I expect some gamers will absolutely love this feature.

The features keep going from there: Additional hotkeys let you create up to 90 macros (which can be recorded on the fly), and an awesome "cruise control" feature lets you continue a button press by virtually "holding down" whatever keys you'd like, up to four at once. If you've ever tried to walk from one end Oblivion to the other, you'll love this feature.

The keyboard is fully backlit (in two colors) and brightness is adjustable through an oversized knob. Similarly, another big knob is used to control your PC's audio volume.

While some have complained of a too-long space bar (a fair assessment), if you don't use right-alt key much, you won't notice the problem. A bigger concern is the lack of even one pass-through USB port, which means you'll have to root around behind your PC to hook up your mouse, a habit I long ago happily dispensed with. Action on the keyboard is good (though it doesn't rival the Das Keyboard), and you should find it completely capable to type on even when you're not knee-deep in Azeroth.

The keyboard's MSRP is $80, but you can find it for a little over $60 with no problem. That's actually cheaper than most other gaming keyboards on the market right now... making the Sidewinder not just a big winner but a good buy to boot.