A good notation input keyboard.
345140
I bought this keyboard as a way to input music into Sibelius First (which is a great application btw) so my expectations of the keyboard were not stratospheric, esp. for the price. It's fine for inputting notation. It lives up to the previous reviewers description of having "very light ("synth")" style keys. Despite M-Audio stating on their site that this keyboard has a "natural piano feel" don't think you're getting piano style action a.k.a. weighted keys. These are not weighted keys. Once you get past that you can begin to enjoy and use the instrument for what it really is. As to keys working. They all do. There will always be the one bad apple but mine was not that. The k-49 was recognized instantly by Sib1st so no setup needed there. The octave bttns are cool and intuitive. The "Advanced" bttn should have been called "Edit mode" because that's what it does. It launches you into the editing zone where you can modify loads of info from MIDI channels to Program changes and a whole lot more - very nicely done. The DAW/transport controls at the top are not recognized by Sib1 which is too bad. They input really high pitched notes instead. (?) I need to contact Sibelius to see if there's a way to use them because that would be ideal. It also weighs less than 5 lbs which is great - it can rest on pretty much anything and is super easy to move.

What is a pain is the registration process on the M-Audio site, took me nearly 2 hours to get it completed (including lots of calls to M-Audio to finish it) and as such I was not able to get the download of the Soni-Vox Eighty-eight (Steinway) grand piano sample to work. M-Audio needs to address that whole process - you're registering a product not accessing Fort Knox. The folks at M-Audio were friendly and helpful but they could save themselves (and us) a whole lot of effort and time by making the process easier for the consumer.
4210309
Useful little set, especially for computer keyboards.
2680891
I like the large font letters, the feel and especially the light - you can change the color and the brightness level to suit your needs.  Solved all my keyboard issues.
3235258
The keyboard works fine, but I just can't get used to the tiny spacebar, the location of the question mark, and having to use Fn+l for an apostrophe, a punctuation mark that I use often.  I find this very frustrating as it slows the speed of my typing way down.  Like anything, I suppose muscle memory will take over, and it will be easier.
1135418
Very nice keyboard with user-designed lighting and programmable side keys.  The programming interface is not very intuitive, but works well once you've read through the online docs.  You will find that the corner macro keys are easy to hit accidentally, especially when reaching for the mouse.  Good key response, with just the right amount of resistance.  The WASD keys have a second coating of ??? that makes them kind of stand out.  That took some getting used to.
3316244
A good gaming keyboard. It misses 5 stars only because they keys feel a bit "mushy" to me after using mechanical switches for a long time. That is somewhat expected, but it has caused me to miss a few keys.

That said, the ability to change backlight colors per profile and the profile editor (the same for all G-series keyboard and mice) is very nice. You also can't really ask for more mappable keys.

The information on the "game panel" is sufficient (4-star) if not stellar. I mostly use it (with the backlight color) to determine which profile is selected and to change profiles. There are other display options, but none that I have found much use for other than the time.
1049748
I do a lot of typing at the computer, and I prefer an ergonomic keyboard. This one more than meets the requirements. My hand position feels natural, and the keys have a smooth feel. I feel that I can type a bit faster and more accurately on this keyboard than on my previous ergonomic keyboard This keyboard has a number of keys that can be  programmed to do such things as zoom or open the email program. However, I have been using mouse clicks for so many years that I almost never use those keys. Still, I imagine some people would find them useful.
3033300
A nice addition for my use of the piano setting on the keyboard.  Wish I had gotten one a long time ago.
3947730
This is a very nice little keyboard as long as you are firm enough with each key.  The tactile feedback is better than I expected, but it's possible to feel like the key went down when the keyboard actually missed sending the strike.  However, its other characteristics are generally nice.  The battery section supports the keyboard at a comfortable angle.  Setup with a formerly-Nook hd+ running cyanogenmod was simple.  I can't speak to the quality of the documentation because I haven't needed to look at it.  The backspace/delete key is a good size.  The white labels show up nicely on the darker colored keyboards.  Note that the black function key labels vanish totally on the dark blue.  I'm a little bummed the gray color wasn't on display when I ordered the blue one, but I'm happy with this one and keeping it.
4472087
I have the version with 'green' keys, and have been using it for a month or two.

Good:

The keys are the best that I have ever used. I have been using computer keyboards since approximately 1966, and I have used IBM Selectric typewriters. All in all, I like this keyboard better than any other keyboard I have used.

The lighted keys are surprisingly convenient, especially when the room in which I am working is not especially bright.

On the keycaps, the shift characters are marked below the non-shifted character, for example, '$' appears below '4' rather than above. This takes a few minutes to get used to, but is not bad.

Not so good:

The position of the LED lighting does not match the lettering on some keycaps, so when the lighting is on, I have an 'AP OC' key, not a 'CAPS LOCK' key, and an 'HIF' key, not a 'SHIFT' key. The 'PAGE UP' LED is misaligned, so the key is dark. This does not give a wonderful impression of quality.

I have found no meaningful documentation. The online 'manual' is a red-on-black Web page with graphics that seems difficult to understand. In a manual, words are helpful.

The software occupies 400MB, a significant amount on my SSD. Almost the entire space is taken up by what appear to be duplicates of the same uncompressed image files for each of 14 languages. The most minimal programming effort would look up an image in a language-independent folder if not present in a language-dependent folder, slightly more programming would use PNG or other simple image compression. That trivial programming effort on the part of CoolerMaster would reduce the software to perhaps 10MB. In the long run this does not matter, because the software is pretty useless. I removed it.

The software installs a link in the 'Start' menu (Microsoft Windows 7), but clicking on the icon does nothing. Instead, to access the software, click on the icon in the icon bar (right side).

Bad:

I am not using the macro keys. However, if I accidentally press a macro key, the keyboard seems to send a continuous stream of random characters to the computer. I can stop the stream with the 'ESC' key. The character stream can cause all sorts of odd actions, such as sending an email I am composing, or deleting text in a file I am editing. This is very inconvenient.

The software user interface is red on a black background. I'm over 50, my eyes have a hard time focusing on fine detail in a dark image. Given the low contrast of a red on black image, I cannot use the software, because I cannot see the images. Books use black text on a white background for a reason.

The power connector is a 1.35mm DC power barrel connector. This is a poor choice for a keyboard, because the short and narrow pin does not hold the power connector very well when I move the keyboard around on my desk. If I use a connector with spring contacts (eg. Tensility 10-01070), the power cable holds in just well enough to really use. Next to the keyboard on my desk is an HF handheld transceiver with a 1.7mm DC power connector that holds in very securely. Cooler Master should have used a larger connector. Since the keyboard is so large, a 2.1mm or 2.5mm DC barrel connector would fit well, and would be mechanically much more secure.

The USB connector is a mini-USB. The small connector size is a problem when moving the keyboard around, because the connector can easily dislodge. A full-sized USB connector would be much better. The best solution for both power and USB would have a cable strain relief so the connectors are not under stress. In the long run, I expect the keyboard to fail because of the connectors long before the keys wear out.
2580908
The spacing is reminiscent of a type writer.  IT takes up less space than keyboards with the number pad.  I find I make fewer errors than with the larger keyboards.  I had to buy a blue tooth adapter as my computer did not come with blue tooth.  As such there was a learning curve with the installation.  I love the functionality.
3927109
Works really well.  The control and escape keys are in the right places.
2685967
Use for beginner level, nicely arranged in playable keys.
1423222
I like this keyboard.  To me it seems like an old school fat dell keyboard with a light kit.  The led light system is cool.  There are three modes with three colors.  There are red, blue, and purple.  The modes are one color, one flashing color, and all three flashing.  The main enter key is a little small and I often hit the other keys around it when typing.  This keyboard is really big.  My only real complaint is that the angle of the keys is off.  its hard to explain but the keyboard takes a little getting used to.  Other than that I cant complain about a cheap full-size keyboard.
2867670
This is a pretty great keyboard!  good key response, plenty of options.  I like the different color choices and semi-clicky keys.
1643907
I wear out keyboards.  This one should do as well as the others, even at a low price.
380898
This is a wonderful keyboard for what it does and what it doesn't do when abused. Would be nice if it wasn't the cause of more typos, but it's a small price to pay for such assurance.