Packaging and Accessories

i-Rocks is using a black cardboard box for the K70E keyboard, with the front completely devoid of any print sans an illustration of the capacitive switch used, as well as the name "i-Rocks Pilot", which is a much better-sounding name if I say so myself. On the back is the splash of color to denote the RGB backlighting support here, and a colored print of the keyboard lit up also shows off its per-key lighting support. There is contact information for the company on one side, alongside a single seal that helps with keeping the contents inside in place. Cutting apart the seal and opening the box reveals another set of cardboard packaging on the inside with two compartments to keep everything organized and further protected against shipping and handling issues.


The primary compartment at the bottom houses the keyboard with its cable tucked away in the compartment above. On top of the keyboard is a plastic pouch that contains the provided accessories, which include a quick installation guide that also acts as a manual, and it comes in both English and Mandarin unlike the other piece that is all in Mandarin and useless to me as-is. The manual is handy, however, and I encourage going through it to familiarize yourself with the pre-programmed onboard controls as well as the replacement top covers (more on this real soon). i-Rocks also includes a metal wire keycap puller, which is preferred over the plastic ring pullers most others include, so good on them for doing so.


Ah yes, replacement top covers. Many keyboards, especially those with a metal cover/plate and floating keycaps, advertise modding potential with replacement covers, but nearly everyone leaves it at that and does not actually offer optional covers for purchase. This is primarily because nothing will be universally appealing, and making new metal covers can be expensive. i-Rocks decided to do something about it and went in a different direction entirely by going with a transparent acrylic top panel and paper skins that go underneath. One such optional accessory is a set of different paper skins with another acrylic panel, and this was developed for another keyboard (one we will review here in due time) which has a solid panel. As such, while I would have liked to see them offer the skins separately so users with the K70E keyboard won't have to get the panel as well, this is still a nice touch. As we can see above, the panel and skins are packaged separately with cardboard layers around to prevent any scratches or tears. We will take a look at a few of the optional skins on the next page.