Introduction

iKBC as a brand has been a darling of the mechanical keyboard community for a while now, offering high build quality keyboards to satisfy most niche use cases at a good price. In a price range that used to be dictated by mass market keyboards cutting corners to hit a dollar number, iKBC offerings stood out in multiple ways. The company then extended its product portfolio to include RGB backlit keyboards, as well as full metal case keyboards heavy enough to literally be blunt weapons. Last year at Computex saw iKBC getting into wireless mechanical keyboards, including the CD108 BT we examined in more detail shortly after. This year's opening theme appears to be something else entirely, and one I was more than interested to take a look at once I knew more. Thanks again to the company for sending a review sample to TechPowerUp.


Part of their all new Table series, the Table E412 is unlike most other keyboards simply because of looks. It shies away from the bezel-less design many are going with lately and instead goes the other direction entirely with a footprint almost as wide as it is long. Indeed, this is even more valid an extrapolation for the Table E401 TKL version, and our coverage of the full-size (in more ways than one!) Table E412 should also help give a better idea of both models as a whole. In addition to the large integrated wrist rest, the word of the day as it pertains to the Table keyboard series is security. If you ever thought it would be a good idea to be able to password protect your keyboard and lock inputs to the PC, you are in luck and will want to read on as we begin the review with a look at the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

iKBC has gone with relatively subtle packaging in recent years, but found a way to visually distinguish their different keyboard lineups from each other. This is definitely the case with the Table series as it uses a more flamboyant color scheme than I expected. A bold color palette of black, yellow, orange, and red greets us here, with the company logo on the front and the product name in gargantuan lettering. It is in stark contrast to the company contact information in completely white and small print on the back. Interestingly, there is no mention at all of what the product is aside from a sticker on the side for retailers to distinguish the various SKUs in the lineup. iKBC also uses a two-piece packaging with an outer cardboard sleeve over a plain cardboard box that gets an all-black treatment.


Two double flaps on the side of the inner box help keep the contents inside in place during transit, and opening the box, we are greeted by the keyboard itself inside a wax paper cover. Small holes on the top prevent bunching or sticking of the lining to the keyboard inside, and there are thick pieces of shaped foam around the keyboard to add protection against shipping and handling woes. All accessories are found in a rectangular box above the keyboard, with markings on the box hinting at what is inside.


By now, I have come to expect a certain minimum accessory count from an iKBC keyboard, and the Table E412 does not stray from that path. Indeed, we have a set of replacement keycaps for the bottom row modifier keys sans the space bar, a keycap puller, quick start guide, and the keyboard cable itself. The guide included with my review sample is in Mandarin owing to this being one of the first samples made. Its English version has since been completed, and I was sent a PDF copy of the guide that will be included for subsequent retail units shipped to English-speaking countries. The keyboard cable is a gunmetal gray in color and has gold-plated USB connectors in black housing on either end, going from a male USB Type-C connector to a male USB Type-A as seen above. This is indicative of Type-C connectivity on the keyboard itself, which is always nice to see and in line with iKBC's recent keyboards as well. The keycap puller is a metal wire-style variant, which works well and minimizes the potential of scratching the sides of keycaps when used. Of thin ABS plastic construction and with laser-etched legends that support backlighting, the replacement keycaps are also a standard OEM profile bottom row.