Tt eSports Meka G1 Prime: Hands-On Review
A Quick Look (And Feel)
A red body, black keys, and some pink accents; that's the Meka G1 Prime in a nutshell. And yes, you read that correctly: there are pink keys. Even before we question Tt eSports' color choice, the decision to use it on the F-keys, Enter, Shift, Alt, and Ctrl over WASD is perplexing.
Keyboard from the front, palm rest not attached
Same view from the back
Speaking of this keyboard's looks, the shiny red body certainly turns heads. But it also attracts fingerprints. The same goes for the Meka G1 Prime's palm rest. When you get up at the end of the day, expect a full accounting of where your hands have been.
The palm rest's attachment reflects a common flaw of the iOne keyboards. Once the X-Armor's palm rest was pushed into place, it couldn't be removed without breaking the small, tight peg fasteners holding it. The Meka G1 has the opposite problem. The keyboard and palm rest have to be picked up together or the latter will fall off due to its own weight. A somewhat more stable solution would’ve been nice.
The Meka G1 Prime's feet can be folded out in two steps, just like the iOne keyboards, pushing the newer model off of its rubber pads that'd keep the board securely in place otherwise.
A stiff braided cable also stays true to the iOne tradition. It bundles three different cable types, with one for the keyboard itself, the USB 2.0 hub, and HD Audio I/O (headphones and microphone). The iOne keyboards offer PS/2 or USB connectivity, while Tt eSports' Meka G1 Prime switches this up to USB with a PS/2 adapter for n-key rollover. It's a good decision that covers the company's bases; not all PCs include a PS/2 port these days.
The USB and audio connectors can be found on the back of the keyboard, to the right side. Tt eSports only gives you 1.55 m of cable on its Meka G1 Prime, measured from where it exits the keyboard to where it enters the plug. Our common desk height of 70 cm, coupled with the desk depth of 60 cm, poses a significant and annoying problem. Other iOne products offer more generous cable lengths, which work a lot better.
