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When it comes to typing, nothing can quite match the kind of experience that mechanical keyboards give. These keyboards come with mechanical switches under each key, ensuring a more tactile feel and generally greater key travel. Or to just say it in simple English, they give us a more ‘clicky’ typing experience, which is in some ways similar to what we used to get on typewriters. In fact, most of the wired keyboards with desktops in offices are actually mechanical keyboards – the TVS series being a classic among them. There are other benefits to them as well. Mechanical keyboards are supposed to come with lesser lag (the time between hitting a key and the command being executed on the computer), making them better for competitive gaming (where they even come with special coloured backlighting). In some keyboards, you can even pull out the keys and replace them with others as well as customise functions. But while mechanical keyboards are versatile and a joy to use, they tend to be bulky and heavy, which makes them difficult to use on the move. Some brands have come out with wireless and more portable variants of them, but these tend to be very expensive, often in the range of Rs 10,000 and sometimes even beyond Rs 15,000 ( OnePlus’ Keyboard 81 Pro (review) is for Rs 17,999). Fortunately, there are some wireless mechanical keyboards out there that have become affordable following dramatic price cuts. One of these is Zebronics’ Zeb Max Ninja. The Zebronics Zeb Max Ninja was released a few years ago at a price of Rs 8,999. This remains its official price (zebronics.com/products/zeb-max-ninja), but it is available at less than half this price (often for about Rs 3, 700 – Rs 4,000) at various online and offline outlets. At that price, it is staggering value for money for anyone looking for a decent wireless mechanical keyboard. The Zeb Max Ninja is a very compact keyboard – what is referred to as a ‘mini mechanical keyboard’ or a ’60 per cent form factor’ keyboard with 61 keys in all. It is available in black and white colours and we recommend going for the black one as it is easier to maintain and clean. The Zeb Max Ninja is about a foot long and is 10.3 cm tall and 4 cm wide. It is about 600 grams in weight, which is very light for a mechanical keyboard. It is compact enough to be easily placed and carried in a backpack, provided you get a good carrying case for it, else the keys can get dusty or damaged. The keyboard is made mostly of plastic but has a very solid and substantial feel to it. And while the keys might seem small from a distance, they are comfortable to use and in the best mechanical keyboard tradition, have plenty of ‘clickiness’ as well as travel. Add to that the fact that it is backlit with five brightness levels, has 21 backlit LED modes for that spectacular colour effect seen in gaming keyboards, and supports not just wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, but also USB Type-C and the Zeb Max Ninja seems a crazy deal at its reduced price. It even charges off its USB Type-C port on the back (no need to fiddle with AA or AAA cells) and can be connected to a computer or a tablet using a Type-C cable. And speaking of connectivity, it can be connected to up to three devices wirelessly at one time. As we said, on paper, this is a crazy deal! The Zeb Max Ninja does take a bit of getting used to, though. While pairing it with a device is as easy as holding down a few keys and selecting the keyboard in Bluetooth places, or simply connecting it with a cable, you might face a few challenges in using the keyboard itself for a while. That’s because although it has five rows of keys, it has no dedicated number pad or even dedicated page up and down or arrow keys. A number of keys have other functions printed laterally on them, which can be used when they are pressed along with a function (Fn) key. That might not sound so bad, but in real life, something as basic as scrolling down or scrolling up a page needs hitting a combination of keys, which can be irritating initially. Hardcore mechanical typing enthusiasts might also be disappointed at the fact that keys cannot be pulled out or reprogrammed easily. Once you get used to it, however, it is very unlikely that you will ever go back to a normal notebook or Bluetooth keyboard. We did not play too much with the coloured backlighting or do too much gaming with it, but stuck to basic typing and the Zeb Max Ninja delivered a stunning experience, with loud clicks and plenty of key travel. What’s more, the keyboard worked perfectly with a OnePlus Pad 2 (review) , the 13 inch iPad Air, and a MacBook – wirelessly as well as over a Type-C cable. The clicking sounds and blinking lights will also get you some attention, which is a bit of a mixed blessing when you actually want to write. Battery life seems to be phenomenal. We charged it once (it took about four hours, though) and since then have used it non-stop for more than a week and there is no sign of battery depletion. There are no official battery figures available but we think you can get through a month easily on a single charge. All of which make the Zebronics Zeb Max Ninja a terrific keyboard for those who want the mechanical typing experience on the move. You will need a little patience to get used to the key layouts and combinations, but balance that with the crazy feature list that the keyboard comes along with as well as the option to even use it in wired mode, and at its reduced price, this is arguably one of the best wireless mechanical keyboard deals you can get. We just wish there was a good carrying case for it, because you get so addicted to typing on it that you wish to take it with you everywhere – we even use it for messaging on WhatsApp on our OnePlus 12 (review) ! None
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