3inuS has recently introduced a mechanical keyboard with a twist. Besides offering all the advantages of owning a mechanical keyboard (better key feel, more accuracy and the possibility of modding), the 3inuS KEBOHUB EE01 works as a 5-in one hub for your peripherals. And yes, that includes the monitor as well.
The idea behind the 3inuS KEBOHUB EE01 mechanical keyboard is to power it up using a laptop and then to connect the monitor, the mouse and even some phone chargers, so you don’t need to use a dedicated hub with your MacBook anymore. At the same time, I noticed that the maximum power output is 5V/5A – is that enough to keep all the peripherals alive?
Yes, 5 amperes should be more than enough for most peripherals alive, but the problem is that the output for a single port is actually 1.5A, at most. So, it may not be able to keep a portable monitor powered up (such as this one from Lepow). What I found interesting was the power cable has two connectors at the end. The idea is to use one USB-C port for delivering a total output of 1.5A for the USB-C1 and USB-A1 ports.
And, if you connect the secondary USB-C port, then each port will be able to output 1.5A. It’s pretty much obvious the targeted audience for the 3inuS KEBOHUB EE01 consists of MacBook users since Apple likes to position the two Thunderbolt ports together.
The annoying part is that the cable is permanently attached to the board which just asks for irreparable damage over time. It also means that we are not dealing with a Bluetooth keyboard, it’s only possible to connect it using the aforementioned cable. The silver lining is that the immediate consequence is a low latency when gaming.
The KEBOHUB EE01 keyboard itself offers hot-swappable switches and there are three types available, Red, Blue and Brown, but I was unable to find the actual brand (Gateron or something else). There are going to be 87 keys, so we’re dealing with a tenkeyless keyboard and, from what I could gather from their official page, it seems to be possible to do some modding (like adding some foam). The keyboard does support RGB (how else would you get those extra FPS?) and the manufacturer says that there are 18 different effects.
Since I mentioned the manufacturer, it’s worth noting that the keyboards are being created in the same factory as the Redragon keyboards (I tested a few a year back), so I suppose that 3inuS (Minus or Trinus?) does rely on their expertise to develop decent keyboards. The question remains whether people will be interested in getting this unusual device, especially the enthusiasts? I am not a stranger to weird mechanical keyboards because I have tested the Kwumsy K2 before, a mechanical keyboard that had a touchscreen display built in, so the 3inuS KEBOHUB EE01 mechanical keyboard is actually pretty tame in comparison.
But, as long as the keyboard works as intended, I suppose a lot of people will prefer to not have to carry with them an extra hub when the keyboard can do the same job, therefore occupying less space. The 3inuS KEBOHUB EE01 is available on Kickstarter for $84 at the moment of writing (40% off from future retail price) and up to May 4.
This offer includes an extra set of grey keycaps, four extra Windows keycaps, four extra corresponding switches, a key puller and a switch puller. If you want to know more about the hub / mechanical keyboard, then check it out on Kickstarter.com.
Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.