Weeks ago, word got around about the Tesoro Gram Spectrum keyboard; as it turns out, someone sort of announced it early, resulting in an uneven launch and a bit of awkwardness around the Web. Now, though, some new folks at Tesoro have taken the PR reigns and made it official: The Tesoro Gram Spectrum keyboard is coming in June, and it has low-profile “Agile” switches.
As one can surmise from the “spectrum” nomenclature, this keyboard offers RGB lighting--in this case, per-key backlighting, with clear switch housings and “double-injection” key caps. Tesoro said that it offers nine lighting effects, including breathing, color wave and more.
The big story is the switches; they’re low-profile, with key caps that are significantly thinner that ones you normally see on mechanical switch keyboards. Tesoro branded these as “Agile” switches, but they’re made by Kailh.
We don’t have complete specs on the switches at this time, but a representative did tell me that the full travel of the switches is 3.5 mm. That is an intriguing spec; astute and frequent readers will note that the Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire has Cherry MX Speed switches, which offer key travel of 3.2 mm, and shallow travel (in the name of speed) is the whole selling point. Tesoro’s Agile switches have just 0.3 mm longer travel.
This, compared to standard switches that typically have 4 mm (scroll down this page a bit to see the table) of total travel.
Other features include a 32-bit ARM Cortex processor and 512 KB of onboard memory for profile storage. Tesoro also stated that the Gram Spectrum offers full NKRO, with G-key rollover and on-the-fly macro recording. You can also use the Tesoro Gram Spectrum software to customize things further.
Built from plastic and iron (yes, iron, according to the product page), the Gram Spectrum comes in standard black, but you can also opt for an all-white version (which looks incredible in the press images Tesoro distributed).
The black version will run you $137, and the white one is just a touch more at $139. They will be available in June.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Tesoro Gram Spectrum |
|---|---|
| Layout | Standard |
| Switches | Agile low-profile (Kailh) |
| MCU | 32-bit ARM Cortex processor |
| Polling Rate | 1,000 Hz |
| Onboard Memory | 512 KB |
| Lighting | -RGB, per-key with clear switch housings-Nine lighting effects |
| Cable | 1.8 m braided, detachable |
| OS Support | Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 |
| Misc. | -On-the-fly macro recording-Low-profile key caps-Tall flip-out feet |
| Dimensions | 445 x 136 x 24.5 mm |
| Weight | 1.05 Kg |
| Price / Availability | $137 (black) or $139 (white) / June 2016 |
Seth Colaner is the News Director for Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter @SethColaner. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.