Closer Examination

Looking at the font, we can see that the letters are nice and easy to read; however, some are very busy as they mention another function, and there are those that don't show their secondary function at all. Z, G, and B all have secondary functions; FN + Z brings up the Zalman website, FN + B brings up Bing, and FN + G brings up Google. It would have been nice to have these show somehow, rather than them only being mentioned in the manual.


Speaking of functions, because the Zalman ZM-K900M is all hardware based, everything is done via the keyboard. It is somewhat tricky as there are just so many key combinations; some more complicated than others. I will go over the quick ones now and move on to the trickier ones later.

Using FN with the following keys allows you to use the function I'll mention; FN + ESC opens My Computer, F1 is your browser, F2 is for a search, F3 is email, and F4 minimizes all screens.


Continuing with the function keys, FN + F5 opens a media player, F6 decreases the volume, F7 mutes the volume, and F8 increases the volume.


The following keys only work in PS/2 mode and deal with key repetitions. FN + F9 will have things repeat at normal speeds, F10 is a little faster, F11 is faster yet again, and F12 is the fastest repeat speed.


This cluster of keys deals with the macros. There are eight standard macro keys, one loop macro, and one auto macro. When recording standard macros, it saves everything you type and remembers delays. When using the macro, it will run once and output everything exactly as recorded. When using the auto macro, it is like holding down a single key, such as spamming a single cast in game. It will keep running until you physically stop pushing it, but any other key press will interrupt it, only to have it resume when you stop pressing that other key. Finally, there is the loop macro. It is very similar to the standard macro, but will loop. You can fine-tune macro speeds by increasing or decreasing key press times by 10%. To do so, use FN + the left or right arrow keys.


You can also insert mouse clicks into these macros by using the print screen, scroll lock, and pause keys. As you can see in this image, there are yet more functions if you use the FN key. FN + Ins changes the backlight color of all but those keys you have selected to stay a certain color. FN + Del changes all backlight key colors. FN + Home, page up, page down, and End save lighting profiles. Also, double pressing the Numlock key actually brings up the calculator, which is pretty nice.


Looking at the keyboard from the side, we can see that the Zalman ZM-K900M has a nice curved profile to it that makes typing easier, making it more comfortable to use.


Previously, Zalman used Cherry switches with their keyboard; this time, they opted for Kailh switches. This isn't a huge surprise as Cherry switches do cost a lot of money and Kailh are a good alternative if you want to keep cost down. Should Zalman pass these saving on to the consumer, it could address the price issue we had previously. The keycaps are of good quality and allow the lights to pass through them very well.


Turning the keyboard over, we can see that there are rubber feet at the front and back of the keyboard; these ensure that the keyboard doesn't slip on your select surface and also ensure that the keyboard doesn't scratch anything up. If you want to angle the keyboard, Zalman has given you flick-out feet that allow the rear of the board to be raised slightly. These are rubber-tipped, which is a nice touch.


Also on the bottom of the keyboard is a nice cable channel that allows you to route the cable in a number of different ways. I love it since it is such a simple idea, but allows the cable to be routed exactly how you'd want. This means less clutter on the desktop and far better cable management.