The Zboard passes my sandwich test. I’m not afraid to eat over this thing. Since the keysets are removable, it’s easy to shake crumbs out of them. I’m not sure if I would submerge a keyset in water though. I haven’t tested if the Zboard is dishwasher safe either.
I looked at my old keyboard and I had to decide if it was time to go back. I couldn’t do it. It was plain and boring. The Zboard is sexy. It was designed for someone like me – a player! Yet, when there’s work to be done, the Zboard can do that too. In addition to a standard keyboard layout, you can get business minded keysets. I was surprised to see keysets for Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash. If you spend your whole day in a single program, why wouldn’t you want a Zboard? It can make life easier, whether you’re playing games or doing work.
The Bottom Line: The Zboard is not the most ergonomic keyboard you can find, but it is definitely one of the sexiest keyboards around. It is fairly easy to switch keysets, but I seem to have settled on the Guild Wars keyset. I enjoy having a keyboard that reflects my interests. The Zboard can improve your game, as it clearly labels game commands. I’ve spent the last two years memorizing the details of Guild Wars, but the Zboard did show me some new tricks. Combine that with two extra USB ports and nine programmable function keys, the Zboard is also a boon for basic computing tasks. It’s a little on the spendy side, but that tends to happen when you mix fun and function. The Zboard took some getting used to, but I can’t see going back to a vanilla keyboard.