Thursday Razer launched the Tartarus membrane gaming keypad, the company’s successor to the popular Nostromo. It packs 25 programmable keys and an eight-way directional thumb pad, allowing for unlimited macro lengths and an infinite number of game profiles. It’s available now locally and worldwide for a mere $79.99 / EU €79.99.
“The Razer Tartarus places an infinite amount of control into a single hand—literally—affording immense flexibility, power and an ultimately free other hand, which is a deadly competitive advantage,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. “For serious gamers, this keypad can make the difference between victory and defeat.”
The device features 15 backlit keys connected to an adjustable wrist rest, and a thumb module mounted to the right. Thus, for anyone who has never used one of these form factors before, your fingers rest on the keypad, your palm on the curved plastic rest, and your thumb on the eight-way thumb pad. The ALT button resides above the thumb pad and a miniature space bar underneath. The LEDs located above the thumb module indicate which key map group is activated.
According to Razer, the thumb pad allows gamers to move with more precision while also acting as modifier keys for the fifteen main keys and the ALT button, multiplying the keyset count by eight, thus generating 128 different command options. The palm rest can be adjusted to accommodate gamers with piano fingers by gripping the level underneath and pulling the palm rest away from the actual keypad.
As for additional specs, the list is small: a braided fiber cable, full anti-ghosting, an improved ergonomic form factor compared to the Nostromo, and instantaneous switching between the eight key maps. There are four thin rubber pads on the bottom, preventing the device from sliding across the desktop in heated gaming moments.
Sadly, its design doesn’t play well with left-handed gamers although it’s possible to merely use the 15 keys.
