Extended capability courtesy of Kolude KD-K1

You may have noticed that we have had a lot of keyboard coverage lately. I can’t speak for all of the other authors, but for me, it’s because I’ve been paying a lot more attention to the keyboards out on the market. Prior to, say, 6 months ago, I really just used what was issued to me. Now, I’m becoming a bit more discerning. One of the more recent interesting boards I’ve run across is the Kolude KD-K1.

Why did the Kolude KD-K1 grab my attention? Sure, it’s a stylish board, but it’s all the connectivity that it offers that really grabbed my eye. To start with, any wired keyboard is going to grab a USB port off of your machine, right? Well, that can be ameloriated by a USB hub on the board itself, like we saw in our das keyboard review. That was quite nice, but wow, the Kolude KD-K1 takes things to a whole new level.

As you can see by that photo above, you’ve got a LOT of connectivity options. Or, really, how the keyboard itself a hub. Along with an HDMI port (to output video) and transflash and SD card slots, you’ve got 3 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, a USB-C PD port, and a standard USB-C port. In other words, this thing really is like a docking station for your computer, all in the form of a keyboard.

Now, in terms of keyboards, it’s a scissor switch (so not quite mechanical sweetness), but it’s backlight, and offers a mix of both Apple style (with the aluminum construction) and Logitech sensibilities (that’s what those keys remind me of). Oh, and yes, it is backlit.

The Kolude KD-K1 looks very much like it’s intended to be attached to a Mac, but it’s just as happy to sit on a Windows machine as well, and can handle any number of different language layouts. So, it’s not just flexible in the devices it can have hooked to it, it’s flexible in how you can use it.

Then again, if you’re putting $139 down for a keyboard, you want that flexibility. For me, not having seen one in person, and it coming from an unknown brand? I think I’d balk at the pricetag, as it’s a pretty unknown quantity in my book. That said, we’re reaching out to the brand to see if we can get a loaner in. And, if you just want a lot of connectivity, I’ve yet to see a keyboard offer quite this much. kolude.com