Today, I received the HCL "diamond" (HCK 5600) mechanical keyboard after a delay of two weeks.While ordering I specifically asked for a USB version and I was told that it is available. The keyboard I received however is a PS/2 version and I now have to use those lousy PS2->USB converters.

Here are my impressions:

The keyboard uses cherry black switches and is very quiet even when typing fast and the actuation point is somewhere around the half-way mark of the key travel.

The key caps have both English and Hindi lettering (QWERTY and INSCRIPT respectively) with the English lettering etched and the Hindi letters painted (in an ugly white) making the whole keyboard look ugly. I guess this keyboard is re-branded by HCL and as a part of the rebranding they’ve added the hindi lettering. This is clearly visible in the ink colour and quality. The keys themselves are somewhat smaller than the ones I had used earlier when I was working at ETV. The right control and alt keys are smaller than the arrow keys!.

The base frame of the keyboard is light and feels "cheap". The ones I had used earlier were much more solid and heavy. To make matters really worse, one corner of the keyboard is short by 2-3mm making the keyboard wobble even when typing mildly.

HCL charges Rs 950 on a buyback scheme or Rs 1500 otherwise. I opted for the buyback scheme by returning my old Microsoft Keyboard (another pathetic excuse for a keyboard) that I got a few years ago. In short, this is a pretty bad keyboard (except for the switches).