The Shrimp Keyboard Review: 25 Keys Dedicated to Gaming
If there is a mini keyboard, there is also a miniel keyboard. We call them macro pads because they are usually designed as a cluster of programmable macro keys/buttons.
Nordic Game Supply’s Mini Keyboard Shrimp is a little different. A 25-key macro pad arranged like the left side of a standard keyboard. The company calls it a 20% gaming keyboard, and it’s designed for gamers who want the feel of a mechanical keyboard to really matter, with the W, A, S, D keys and his 21 keys surrounding them. I’m here.
Shrimp’s small footprint makes it extremely portable, making it ideal for laptop users who don’t want to carry around an entire mechanical keyboard (although 60% of keyboards these days are pretty small, but you can find a few on the list). increase).of best gaming keyboard). It comes with a detachable magnetic wrist pad, a detachable USB-C cable, and a velvet carrying bag for easy portability. Available now at Nordic Game Supply’s Official site It costs 79.95 euros (about $87), but currently ships only to certain countries.
shrimp design
Shrimp is a 25-key macro pad with two tactile push dials and one media button, designed to look like the left side of your keyboard. It features ABS keycaps with see-through primary and secondary legends. There is a USB-C port in the middle of the rear end and his four rubber feet on the underside. It looks and feels very well made and is durable. Considering the build quality alone, it’s well worth the price.
The Shrimp comes with a padded magnetic wrist rest, a 6-foot braided USB-C to USB-A cable, a plastic keycap puller, and a drawstring velor carrying bag that fits it all. The carrying bag has a fabric divider to separate the keyboard from the wrist rest, but given that The Shrimp is marketed at least somewhat as a travel accessory, it would be nice to see something a little more sturdy. I guess.
Shrimp is available in 4 colorways. The “Vitello” features white keycaps and a white case with blue and gray accents and comes with a white and gray wrist rest. “Pinkey” has a light pink case with light pink key tops, accented with tangerine orange and marigold yellow. Comes with a pink-on-pink wrist rest. “Monochrome” has a black case with black and gray keycaps, white accents, and a black-on-black wrist rest. “Bomber” is a black case with light blue and burnt orange keycaps and neon yellow accents. Comes with a gamer-inspired doodle wrist rest.
The wrist rest is covered in textured leather and has four rubber feet on the bottom for grip. It sits flush with an attached macro pad and adds an additional 3.52 inches (100mm) of depth to The Shrimp’s overall size. This is a very classy (and tactile) accessory that definitely adds ergonomic comfort that fits the keyboard’s low-profile keycaps.
spec
button (tactile) | twenty five |
button (touch) | none |
Dial | 2 |
key cap | ABS |
software | none |
interface | USB-C |
cable | USB-A to USB-C |
Dimensions (width x depth x height) | 5.31 x 4.92 x 1.06 inch/135 x 125 x 27mm |
weight | 11.39oz / 323g (15.59oz / 442g with wrist rest) |
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price | €79.95 / ~$87 |
shrimp keys and typing
Shrimp has 25 keys arranged to emulate the left half of a standard keyboard. It does not have a function row, but has a second layer of functions (accessed using the Fn key) with secondary side legends for some keys. The keyboard comes with Gateron G Pro yellow switches, which are linear switches with 50g actuation force. This is the only switch option available at the moment, but the company says it will “probably” build models with hot-swap PCBs in the future.
The keyboard looks and feels great. The keycaps are made of his ABS, but they look and feel more premium than standard ABS keycaps, with a matte finish and an oversized legend adding to the overall aesthetic. Features a cherry profile. That means they’re slightly shorter than the OEM keycaps and feature sculpted tops, making it easier to type without much finger movement.
The Gateron G Pro Yellow switches were slightly heavier than what I’m used to, but it’s not really a big deal since I’m only using it for gaming and shortcuts rather than typing on the keyboard was.
shrimp dial
Shrimp has two tactile notched dials with push functions. The dial is plastic, but very durable and well made. However, they protrude a little past the keycaps, which can pose travel durability issues.
The left dial controls the per-key RGB lighting built into The Shrimp. Turn to adjust brightness, press to cycle through 16 preloaded lighting effects. With only three levels of brightness (strong, medium, off), this seems like a waste of dial functionality.
The 16 lighting presets are very well done. This is not a collection of simple variations on standard spectral cycling. It has various effects, including some effects that are activated by pressing a key.
The right dial controls the system volume and pressing it opens the default media center. The media key next to the right dial toggles mute/unmute.
Shrimp software
Shrimp does not currently ship with its own software, but Nordic Game Supply is looking into making software for the device (with a macro recorder) in the future. However, at this time you can’t remap The Shrimp in-game using the in-game menu, record macros using free software like AutoHotkey, or remap keys outside of the game. increase.
Conclusion
Shrimp is an interesting gaming accessory. Not a macro pad (if you want one of those, Elgato Stream Deck+ Also Adafruit Macro Pad RP2040), but it’s also not a keyboard. You can use third-party software to remap it, but it takes a bit more work to make it a dedicated macro pad (because it’s set as a keyboard, basic remapping also remaps the same keys on the main keyboard. will be displayed). Shrimp could definitely make a great little macro pad if Nordic Game Supply were to make a dedicated software for it.
It’s not technically a macro pad, so it doesn’t make sense as an accessory for a desktop PC setup that also has a full (not necessarily full size) keyboard.but it makes sense gamer with laptop People who want to travel as light as possible without sacrificing too much of their gaming experience. he’s not perfect best gaming mouse It offers a decent mobile gaming setup that’s slightly more space efficient than ultra-compact 60% keyboards like the . SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini.