**Keyboards Today: A Review of the i500**

The majority of keyboards nowadays that use gamer-esque fonts are a common sight, with only one accent color on this keyboard being blue. This is seen on the caps and scroll lock indicators, giving it a sleek and modern look. The keyboard also features two rubber pads at the bottom and two photo feet at the top, both with rubber tips to provide grip when typing.

The keys are located on the back plate of the keyboard, making it convenient for cleaning dust and debris compared to keyboards that have recessed keys. This design feature is a great improvement, especially for those who tend to accumulate dust and dirt around their keyboard. The key caps themselves are made of single-shot ABS plastic, which was likely done to cut costs. While this may not be ideal for some users, it has its benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness.

The key caps do feel a bit hollow and clacky when pressed, due to the laser etching process. This is especially noticeable during typing tests, where the lack of substance can make the keyboard feel less premium than other options on the market. However, this may not be a deal-breaker for some users, who prioritize functionality over aesthetics.

The switches used in the i500 are Hanano Switch Blue clones of Cherry MX Blues. The Hanano Switch has almost identical specs to the Cherry MX Blue, with a travel distance of 4mm and an audible click at actuation. However, one notable difference is that the Hanano Switch requires a higher force (60g) for actuation compared to the Cherry MX Blue (50g). This may be noticeable to enthusiasts, but most users will not be able to tell the difference.

**Sound Test**

To test the switches further, I conducted a sound test with the music turned off. The first switch tested was the Hanano Switch Blue, followed by the Cherry MX Blue, and finally the Altimo Blue. All three switches were recorded about 5 feet away from the microphone for an accurate comparison of their sounds.

The results showed that all three switches produced distinct sounds, but it's difficult to pinpoint what makes them unique. However, upon closer inspection, it became clear that the Hanano Switch has a slightly more pronounced click compared to the Cherry MX Blue. The Altimo Blue, on the other hand, had a slightly softer sound.

**Water Resistance Test**

The next test conducted was to see if the i500 is truly water-resistant. To do this, I poured an entire glass of water onto the keyboard while it was being used and observed its behavior. At first, the keyboard seemed unaffected by the water, but as more liquid accumulated, the keys began to malfunction.

However, after shaking off the excess water and wrapping the keyboard in a towel to dry for a couple of hours, I came back to conduct another test. The results were surprising: not only did the keyboard recover from the initial soaking, but it also performed flawlessly.

Shaking off the remaining moisture and letting the keyboard air-dry was enough to restore its functionality. This indicates that the i500 is indeed water-resistant and may even be waterproof, although further testing would be required to confirm this.

**Is the i500 Worth It?**

So, is the i500 worth it? The answer depends on several factors, including your budget and personal preferences. If you can find it on sale for $30 or less, then I highly recommend it as a steal. However, once you start approaching the base price of around $35, other mechanical keyboards with features like LEDs and 10-key numpads may become more attractive options.

Ultimately, if you prioritize a simple design, reliability, and water resistance, then the i500 is an excellent choice. It's also worth noting that this keyboard may not be for everyone, especially those who value premium materials or advanced features.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the i500 is a solid mechanical keyboard that checks most of the boxes in terms of performance and design. While it has its flaws – such as the hollow key caps and high actuation force – these issues are largely forgivable when considering the overall package. Its water resistance feature is particularly impressive, making it a great option for those who value durability.

If you're interested in purchasing an i500 keyboard, I've linked it to Amazon below with an affiliate link that won't incur any extra costs to you. Let me know in the comments section what you think of this keyboard and what you thought of its water resistance test.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey what's up everyone Danny here in this video we're going to be checking out this 87 key mechanical keyboard the i500 this is sold on Amazon by two different brands tamoko and p tech if you look on the back of the keyboard though you see that it says Eastern times on it so this is actually an Eastern times i500 keyboard and it's sold by tomoko and p tech I grabbed this when it was on sale for $30 and it's even gone on sale for less than that before I think the lowest I seen it was $28 but the regular price of this is $35 it's one of the lowest price full mechanical keyboards out there on the market and one of the selling points is that it is water resistant so let's check it out to see if it's worth it this is the box that the i500 comes in opening it up the first thing we see inside is a manual which has no warranty information on it but both tomoko and PCH guaranteed 12- month warranties on their Amazon product pages included is a keyc cap puller which is always a nice thing if this is your first mechanical keyboard otherwise you'd have to buy one for an additional $5 or more then you have the keyboard itself it measures in at 14x 5 and 1/4 in and size-wise it's pretty average for a 10 keyless keyboard the overall build feels sturdy and there's a nice weight to it likely due to the materials used for the back plate the side that faces down on the desk is plastic but the side facing up is metal the back side has three holes at the bottom which is how this keyboard is water resistant if you spill water on it it's supposed to drain out through these holes we're going to test this out later on in this video aesthetically this is a really plain looking keyboard there's nothing too flashy on it and there's only one logo placed above the arrow keys the font of the key caps are pretty conservative as opposed to the majority of keyboards nowadays that use gamer esque fonts the only accented color on this keyboard is blue which is seen on the caps and scroll lock indicators there are two rubber pads at the bottom and two photo feet at the top with rubber tips on them to give this keyboard grip when typing and they work pretty well to keep it in place it also features n key rollover and here's a look at how I tested that the keys Flo on the back plate which make it really convenient for cleaning dust and debris compared to keyboards that have recess Keys the key caps themselves are single shot ABS plastic they had to cut cost somewhere to keep the price down and the keyc Caps are definitely where they do that they're pretty thin and you'll hear them sounding a little bit Hollow and extra clacky during the typing test being single shot and Laser etched also means that the lettering isn't going to be too durable here's a look at a frequent used laser Edge key from my daily driver Razer Black Widow compare that to a Brand New Key this macro key that I pressed probably less than 10 times in the entire life of the keyboard and you can clearly see that there's a difference between a new and worn out etched key the switches on the i500 are hanano switchmas Blues which is supposed to be a clone of the Cherry MX Blue this is actually my first time hearing about this company hanano but I looked it up and here are the specs their Blues are almost identical to cherri's with a travel distance of 4 mm tactile bump and an audible click at actuation the only difference is the force required for actuation which on the switch Master is 60 G versus the cherri's 50 g i was barely able to notice the higher Force required when typing if you're an Enthusiast you'd probably notice but I'd wager a majority of people couldn't tell the difference okay time for a sound test I'm going to kill the music and let you listen to what these switch master blue Keys sound like followed by Cherry MX blues and then altimo Blues these are all recorded about 5 ft away from the mic and here they are back to back in Rapid succession this is so that you can listen to the difference in transition next up is probably the most interesting part of this video and that's testing to see if it truly is water resistant this is what my test setup looked like I pluged the keyboard in and typed while an entire glass of water was being poured on it keep an eye on my results as the water is being poured notice that the keyboard is still functioning but some of the keys weren't registering this caused my errors to quickly increase by the end of the test so it's obvious that the keyboard was affected by the water but was it ruined I shook the water off and wrapped it in a towel to dry for a couple of hours I then came back and did another test and there was Zero issues so the i500 is indeed water resistant as advertised and it may even be waterproof too but I'm not going to test that because if I ruin it I'm not going to be able to get a replacement so now we have to ask a question is the i500 worth it and I think that depends if you can find it on sale like I did for $30 that $30 or less ah this mouth wound is still messing up my speech if you can find it on sale for $30 or less then I think it's a no-brainer definitely pick it up because at that price it's a steal but uh once you start going into the base price you know $35 price point you're starting to encroach on that almost $40 mechanical keyboard budget price and there are a lot of options there with LEDs and 10 keys and all that but you know it depends on what your purposes are if you can deal without the LED backlighting you know no colors very simple no flashy design uh if you can deal without the 10 key numpad uh and you're looking for something that looks really simple but is really reliable and uh resilient to water then this is the perfect option for you and if you're interested in buying one then I'll have it linked down below with an Amazon affiliate link so if you buy using that link it'll help me out without any extra cost to you but let me know down in the comment section what you guys think of this keyboard and uh what you thought of the water test I was actually really surprised that it survived that and it's working flawlessly afterwards but that's going to wrap it up for this video I really hope you guys enjoyed and if you did it'd be awesome if you can leave a like And subscribe if you haven't uh thank you guys for watching hope to see you guys in the comment section and in the next video byehey what's up everyone Danny here in this video we're going to be checking out this 87 key mechanical keyboard the i500 this is sold on Amazon by two different brands tamoko and p tech if you look on the back of the keyboard though you see that it says Eastern times on it so this is actually an Eastern times i500 keyboard and it's sold by tomoko and p tech I grabbed this when it was on sale for $30 and it's even gone on sale for less than that before I think the lowest I seen it was $28 but the regular price of this is $35 it's one of the lowest price full mechanical keyboards out there on the market and one of the selling points is that it is water resistant so let's check it out to see if it's worth it this is the box that the i500 comes in opening it up the first thing we see inside is a manual which has no warranty information on it but both tomoko and PCH guaranteed 12- month warranties on their Amazon product pages included is a keyc cap puller which is always a nice thing if this is your first mechanical keyboard otherwise you'd have to buy one for an additional $5 or more then you have the keyboard itself it measures in at 14x 5 and 1/4 in and size-wise it's pretty average for a 10 keyless keyboard the overall build feels sturdy and there's a nice weight to it likely due to the materials used for the back plate the side that faces down on the desk is plastic but the side facing up is metal the back side has three holes at the bottom which is how this keyboard is water resistant if you spill water on it it's supposed to drain out through these holes we're going to test this out later on in this video aesthetically this is a really plain looking keyboard there's nothing too flashy on it and there's only one logo placed above the arrow keys the font of the key caps are pretty conservative as opposed to the majority of keyboards nowadays that use gamer esque fonts the only accented color on this keyboard is blue which is seen on the caps and scroll lock indicators there are two rubber pads at the bottom and two photo feet at the top with rubber tips on them to give this keyboard grip when typing and they work pretty well to keep it in place it also features n key rollover and here's a look at how I tested that the keys Flo on the back plate which make it really convenient for cleaning dust and debris compared to keyboards that have recess Keys the key caps themselves are single shot ABS plastic they had to cut cost somewhere to keep the price down and the keyc Caps are definitely where they do that they're pretty thin and you'll hear them sounding a little bit Hollow and extra clacky during the typing test being single shot and Laser etched also means that the lettering isn't going to be too durable here's a look at a frequent used laser Edge key from my daily driver Razer Black Widow compare that to a Brand New Key this macro key that I pressed probably less than 10 times in the entire life of the keyboard and you can clearly see that there's a difference between a new and worn out etched key the switches on the i500 are hanano switchmas Blues which is supposed to be a clone of the Cherry MX Blue this is actually my first time hearing about this company hanano but I looked it up and here are the specs their Blues are almost identical to cherri's with a travel distance of 4 mm tactile bump and an audible click at actuation the only difference is the force required for actuation which on the switch Master is 60 G versus the cherri's 50 g i was barely able to notice the higher Force required when typing if you're an Enthusiast you'd probably notice but I'd wager a majority of people couldn't tell the difference okay time for a sound test I'm going to kill the music and let you listen to what these switch master blue Keys sound like followed by Cherry MX blues and then altimo Blues these are all recorded about 5 ft away from the mic and here they are back to back in Rapid succession this is so that you can listen to the difference in transition next up is probably the most interesting part of this video and that's testing to see if it truly is water resistant this is what my test setup looked like I pluged the keyboard in and typed while an entire glass of water was being poured on it keep an eye on my results as the water is being poured notice that the keyboard is still functioning but some of the keys weren't registering this caused my errors to quickly increase by the end of the test so it's obvious that the keyboard was affected by the water but was it ruined I shook the water off and wrapped it in a towel to dry for a couple of hours I then came back and did another test and there was Zero issues so the i500 is indeed water resistant as advertised and it may even be waterproof too but I'm not going to test that because if I ruin it I'm not going to be able to get a replacement so now we have to ask a question is the i500 worth it and I think that depends if you can find it on sale like I did for $30 that $30 or less ah this mouth wound is still messing up my speech if you can find it on sale for $30 or less then I think it's a no-brainer definitely pick it up because at that price it's a steal but uh once you start going into the base price you know $35 price point you're starting to encroach on that almost $40 mechanical keyboard budget price and there are a lot of options there with LEDs and 10 keys and all that but you know it depends on what your purposes are if you can deal without the LED backlighting you know no colors very simple no flashy design uh if you can deal without the 10 key numpad uh and you're looking for something that looks really simple but is really reliable and uh resilient to water then this is the perfect option for you and if you're interested in buying one then I'll have it linked down below with an Amazon affiliate link so if you buy using that link it'll help me out without any extra cost to you but let me know down in the comment section what you guys think of this keyboard and uh what you thought of the water test I was actually really surprised that it survived that and it's working flawlessly afterwards but that's going to wrap it up for this video I really hope you guys enjoyed and if you did it'd be awesome if you can leave a like And subscribe if you haven't uh thank you guys for watching hope to see you guys in the comment section and in the next video bye\n"