AZIO has a new RGB mechanical keyboard up for crowdfunding on Indiegogo. This one has a less retro appearance, yet is still touted to be high-end in terms of its materials and build quality. It also has the OEM's new FOKAL spinning control, which can be used for a variety of sliding-value options and also acts as a 360-degree joystick.

Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 5G , Accessory , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Bay Trail , Business , Cannon Lake , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Nexus / Pixel , How To , Ice Lake , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Kaby Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Linux / Unix , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Project Athena , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Security , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Whiskey Lake , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) Ticker

AZIO is probably one of the best-known OEMs among retro keyboard enthusiasts. It now has a new product as a reward on its latest Indiegogo (IGG) campaign. This mechanical accessory does not have typewriter-like key-caps this time around, although the company asserts it still has a "vintage" appeal. This may be due to the FOKAL's construction, which incorporates iron plates within an aluminium chassis finished with leather.

This new keyboard also has Gateron mechanical switches, yet retains customizable RGB lighting. It also features the new control knob for which this keyboard is named. AZIO claims that this new addition, apparently designed out of inspiration by 1960s rangefinder cameras, can be used to control various panels of settings, including volume, RGB and various aspects of media.

This is done via the freely-spinning top moiety of this 3-part knob. The second has a button to switch between different control modes, whereas the 3rd and lowest is a 360-degree joystick (although an entire section of potential users may wish it were not affixed to the right upper corner of the keyboard).

Furthermore, the AZIO FOKAL has 1 RF and 3 Bluetooth connection profiles, so that it can be used with up to 4 devices simultaneously. This all sounds impressive; however, it is important to note that mechanical keyboards with control knobs or clickwheels are far from a novel concept at this stage.

In addition, some consumers may be wondering where the FOKAL's numberpad is: well, it's a separate device that also needs an additional purchase. It is priced at a minimum of US$59 via its IGG page. The rest of the keyboard goes for the early-bird price of $161 to the IGG Special price of $184 (correct at time of writing).

For this, the backer gets a choice of Gold or Space Grey colorways, Mac and Windows layouts, a 5000mAh inbuilt battery and fully-customizable keys. AZIO, which has well exceeded its $10000 goal at this stage for the FOKAL, currently estimates that it will start shipping these products in April 2020.