Introduction

James Donkey is a PC peripheral brand established in 2014 and known mostly in Asia for its keyboards and mice in addition to many other products offering good value. The brand name also no doubt helps get word of mouth going but, as we saw before, the keyboards are decent enough to not just be a funny name. Indeed, the previous James Donkey review was of its RS2 keyboard that gave you 99 keys in a modified 96% form factor to allow for more functionality while still saving some space on your desk. I thought that keyboard was worthy of consideration given the feature set but was held back by some design shortcuts and a lack of customization. It seems that James Donkey listened and recently released an updated version. Thanks to MechKeys, via James Donkey, for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!


The James Donkey RS2 received an update last year itself with the RS2 2.0 that updated the hardware drivers and added software support too, thus already addressing my main complaint. The even newer RS2 3.0, which we are examining today, retains the base functionality and goes with a slightly different form factor to add in an LCD screen in addition to offering both pre-built and kit versions of the keyboard. This means the already feature-rich keyboard has the potential to be even better now. There's the expected RGB lighting, hot swappable switches, triple mode connections, built-in battery etc, and now we have both onboard and software-based customization too. James Donkey has also updated the aesthetics from the previous retro design to this white and blue color scheme. Let's take a closer look at the new James Donkey RS2 3.0 keyboard in this review beginning with the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The James Donkey RS2 3.0 comes available as a pre-assembled keyboard or a kit you need to pair with your own switches or keycaps. Mech Keys provided a sample of the fully assembled keyboard ready to go out of the box although I understand the unboxing experience with be very similar for both varieties. The product box continues the clean aesthetics we saw with the original RS2 in adopting a monochrome color scheme. The company logo and product name is seen on the front along with a larger render of the keyboard too. The salient marketing features are also listed here, and apparently this keyboard is also tenacious! There is another illustration on the back with more specific features called out to your attention in Chinese and English. Contact info for the company is on the side and the lid lifts off to reveal the keyboard neatly placed in a plastic compartment with a clear hard plastic dust cover on top for added protection.


Underneath the keyboard is paperwork in the form of a handy multi-language instruction guide as well as a quick start guide alongside. I recommend going through the instructions to make the most of the keyboard and all the pre-programmed functions aboard. There is a cutout below to allow the detachable keyboard cable and other accessories to be placed here. James Donkey is providing a color-coordinated USB Type-A to right-angled Type-C cable here in addition to a metal ring-style switch remover tool, a screwdriver with a hex head to help disassemble the keyboard—this would be more useful for the kit version—as well as a metal wire style keycap puller, which is an improvement over the original RS2 that shipped with a plastic ring-style keycap puller that can potentially scratch the sides of the keycaps in use.