Best Roccat Skeltr Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

In our ultra-connected universe, smartphones and tablets are never far away, including a game of video games. Roccat has understood this and therefore offers its. Skeltr, designed to accommodate these mobile devices and control them without leaving the keyboard.

Presentation

The Roccat Skeltr is available in three colors (black, gray or white) at the recommended retail price of € 179.

Best Roccat Skeltr Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. ROCCAT SKELTR Bluetooth Smart Communication RGB Gaming Keyboard, Black

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4. Roccat Khan Aimo – Wired Headset – Full Size – Black

5. Roccat Vulcan 100 Aimo RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Ergonomics

The Roccat Skeltr is not an office keyboard and it shows at first glance. It displays a resolutely futuristic design – which also goes very well with that of Roccat mice, including the Kova , for example – and clearly marks its membership in the world of video game peripherals. Whatever the color chosen, the keys and borders of the keyboard are black; only the front and the top of the palm rest can be gray, black or white. The different parts of the keyboard are nevertheless all made of the same plastic with a grainy surface which, failing to give an impression of a high-end product, proves to be not very dirty and rather pleasant to the touch. The construction is serious and the keyboard seems robust.

Unlike a Suora, the Skeltr, on the other hand, is very imposing with 525 mm in width, due in particular to its lateral edges which protrude by several centimeters (up to approximately 40 mm). It’s as much space less to place your mouse next to it. The keyboard is also quite deep (290 mm, almost 350 mm with the palm rest), which is nevertheless explained by the slot reserved for the reception of a smartphone or a tablet.

Also count about 35 mm thick (top of the button highest, 10 mm more with the feet extended) and 10 mm at the base of the palm rest. The latter is also quite wide and provides some comfort; although it is removable, it would be a shame to deprive it, unless you run out of space on the desk.

Stability is ensured by 6 rubber pads under the keyboard and the palm rest adds. 4, 2 of which cover almost its entire width. Suffice to say that the keyboard is not likely to slip on the desktop!

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With such an impressive template, we could hope to benefit from dedicated multimedia controls. Unfortunately, this is not the case: Roccat was content to distribute the functions of volume adjustment and audio-video control over the F1 to F8 keys (with the addition of a shortcut to the calculator strangely placed on the F4 key) secondary functions, usable by holding down the Fn key. 

Problem, you have to use both hands for these key combinations, which forces you to let go of the mouse and move your left hand: anything but practical, especially in game. Much more significant, however, the 5 additional keys located on the left of the keyboard will delight fans of macros and other custom shortcuts, while the 3 keys located under the space bar will allow use as many additional functions with your thumb. The latter, however, deserved to be a little larger, for easier access in the heat of the moment.

Now let’s move on to what makes this Roccat Skeltr special, namely its compatibility with smartphones and tablets. These mobile devices are simply inserted into the slot coated with a rubbery material located at the top of the keyboard, without any particular fixing system. Advantage, the installation is very simple and the keyboard can accommodate the largest devices, as long as they are less than 11 mm thick – in other words, almost all current production. 

Disadvantage, the orientation as the height are not adjustable and the connections of the micro-USB plugs and mini-jack are not always obvious depending on the location of the corresponding ports on the device. On our Galaxy S6, for example, the two sockets are on the same lower edge and, with the elbow connector cables supplied with the keyboard, the connection is a bit tricky

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The micro-USB cable allows both charging and connection to the computer. However, it is necessary to use the Bluetooth connection of the keyboard if you want to use it to type text on the mobile device. We also regret that it is necessary to use the mini-jack cable to transmit the sound of the smartphone or tablet to the keyboard: with the Bluetooth connection, it would have been possible to do without a cable to reduce handling and clutter in the office.

Interaction with the mobile device connected via. Bluetooth and mini-jack is done simply via. 3 buttons located at the top of the keyboard. On the left, a button with a logo in the shape of a telephone handset is used to accept a call. Next to it, a second button is used to switch, between the headphone output and the microphone input located just above, between the audio of the device and that of the PC. Convenient to always keep your headset on your ears. 

The sound is good, but obviously depends on the quality of the headset used. On the right side, a third button is used to enter text input mode on the mobile device rather than on the PC, in order to quickly respond to an SMS, for example. The last button, located on the far right, launches the Roccat Swarm software (see box at the end of the test).

Final

The Roccat Skeltr also offers an RGB backlight. The latter unfortunately lacks homogeneity and certain keys are not fully illuminated due to their very structure, which can only direct the luminous flux towards the center; this can be seen particularly on the top of the numeric keys, much less on the letters. In addition, the backlight is not managed key by key, which limits its interest. Roccat announced however a distribution on 5 zones which would have made it possible to distinguish several blocks of keys, but 4 zones correspond in fact to the right and left sections of the keyboard, which have only one aesthetic function.

Hit

With a video game orientation and positioning on the high end, we were entitled to expect mechanical switches on the Roccat Skeltr. Unfortunately, Roccat is content here with membrane switches, less reactive and enduring than the mechanical ones. The typing is nevertheless flexible and pleasant, thanks in particular to the good rebound of the membranes used and to the half-height keys, which facilitate rapid movement of the fingers on the keyboard.

Without being as quiet as some keyboards with scissor switches, the Skeltr is still discreet. This will appeal to players who refuse mechanical keyboards because of their greater operating noise; the latest silent switches – such as the Cherry MX. Silent, used first on the Corsair Strafe RGB Silent , or the QS1, used in the SteelSeries. Apex M800 – are however much more discreet than conventional mechanical switches.

STRONG POINTS

  • Connection to a mobile device via Bluetooth with call handling.
  • Soft and discreet typing with mid-height keys.
  • Palm rest, comfort of use.
  • 5 dedicated macro keys and 3 other keys under the space bar.
  • USB port and headphone and microphone jacks.
  • A single braided sheath from keyboard to PC.
  • Complete Swarm software.

WEAK POINTS

  • Backlight not managed by button.
  • No dedicated multimedia keys despite the large footprint.
  • Volume adjustment impractical (necessarily with both hands).
  • Tilt angle of the smartphone cannot be changed.
  • Sound is not transmitted via Bluetooth, need a cable between the keyboard and the mobile device.
  • Some Bluetooth connection problems.
  • High selling price.

CONCLUSION

The Roccat Skeltr charges dearly for its compatibility with mobile devices via a. Bluetooth link which does not keep all its promises. Despite its high-end positioning, it is satisfied with membrane keys and a backlight certainly RGB, but with a more aesthetic vocation than anything else. Remains a relatively complete keyboard, comfortable although impressive, and practical for those who wish to juggle between PC and smartphone / tablet regularly.

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