Cougar 500K Gaming Keyboard Takes Swipe at Membrane Market

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Pro gamer functions of the Cougar 700K at a lower price

Cougar today announced its 500K Gaming Keyboard. In doing so, the company piled on the hype pretty high as to why its new membrane plank is roughly on par with mechanical keyboards that have become so popular today, but at a lower cost. One of the reasons Cougar makes that claim is because the 500K is supposedly "one of the extremely few real N-Key Rollover membrane keyboards" available.
"When it comes to features and functionality, the 500K is the best membrane keyboard currently available. For a start, being an N-Key Rollover membrane keyboard it outclasses all the non-NKRO keyboards and competes directly with high end mechanical keyboards. Apart from doing away with the precision gap between membrane and mechanical keyboards, the 500K also includes a whole set of premium gaming-oriented features," Cougar explains.
I'm pretty big on mechanical keyboards myself, though I'm not ready to dismiss Cougar's claims outright. While few and far between, there do exist higher end membrane planks that rival the feel of mechanical key switches. Whether or not this is one of them is something only a hands-on evaluation can determine.
In any event, the 500K sports the same layout as Cougar's 700K, which includes 6 fully customizable G-keys and dedicated keys for recording macros. Other features include profile switching, backlight control, Windows key lock, and a detachable palm rest.
No word yet on price or availability.
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