The Basics:

An overview of the whole Excalibur V2 keyboard can be seen in the image below, and the main thing you will notice is that there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. It looks like a typical keyboard, with a typical USB cord... all the keys look like they should, they are all in the normal locations and the normal size, and it doesn't look like there is anything special going on here. While some people might prefer a little visual appeal from their keyboard, this look is exactly what I like. I already know what it can do, so having something that looks and feels like a typical keyboard makes using it that much easier for me.



The next two images take a closer look at the left and right side of the keyboard. One thing worth noting is that Tesoro has used a non-standard font for the keys, which I really like. It is a bit bolder than the typical keyboard's font, and overall I like it. Some text characters are little strange looking - like the letter O, B, and D - and some of the specialty key's take a bit of translating to understand - like the Shift and Caps Lock keys. What you will also see is that many keys are double marked, since they serve their typical functions as well as special functions specific to Tesoro's interpretation of a gaming keyboard. You can do on the fly macros, lighting effects, and have special programs on certain keys.



The next image zooms in on the arrow keys, but also reveals a subtle message printed black on black in the same area... "Break the Rules". The arrow keys are of interest since it is one area where the keys serve a double purpose. They will work as arrow keys as you would like typical, but when pressing the right Function key they then turn in to lighting effect controls. The up and down arrows adjust the brightness of the backlighting, while the left and right arrows cycle you through all of the different lighting effects.



The below left image shows the bottom of the keyboard, which is about as unspectacular as you can get. We see that the USB cable is permanently affixed to the body and that there are four rubber feet, plus simple flip up legs to put the keyboard in a more ergonomic position. Speaking of the USB cable, we see it in the below right image. Just a decent USB cable about six feet long... no braiding, no gold plating... strictly business.