Cooler Master launches Aimpad-equipped MK850 gaming keyboard

Cooler Master has announced the launch of its MK850 gaming keyboard, the first to include the company's Aimpad analogue sensor technology - which, it claims, offers double the range-sensing compared to its competitors.

Cooler Master's Aimpad technology, which allows keys on a keyboard to sense how far down they're being pressed rather than a simple on-off binary switching, was first seen back in October as part of the crowdfunded ControlPad. Where the ControlPad was an add-on macro pad, though, the company has now brought the same technology to a full-size keyboard in the form of the MK850 - which suffers from a naming collision with Logitech's own MK850.

'We wanted to implement Aimpad technology to provide gamers with an extra tool and to push our innovation efforts to the next level,' claims Bryant Nguyen, Cooler Master's general manager for peripherals. 'What sets the MK850 apart is that it is the only analogue keyboard that uses prestigious Cherry MX switches and can sense the entire 4mm range of a key press versus competitor analogue keyboards that are only capable of measuring 2mm of analogue movement and do not utilise Cherry MX switches.'

Those competitors: The Wooting One, which launched on Kickstarter in May 2016, and its successor the Wooting Two.

Analogue key sensing doesn't come cheap, though, especially when combined with genuine Cherry MX mechanical switches: Cooler Master has confirmed a recommended retail price for the board of $199.99, while at present the only UK stockist has it listed at £209.99. More information is available on the official website.