KEYBOARD FOR THE ELITE

Few keyboards have impressed me as much as the new Saga 3 Elite, from Hardware International. It transforms the humble Spectrum into an expensive-looking micro.

Looks, of course, are only skin deep, but the Elite offers a staggering 88 keys, of which 27 are single key functions.

A perennial problem with add-on keyboards is the need to cram all possible combinations of modes onto the key caps. The Elite sidesteps that by printing only the letter, and having a plastic card, angled for better viewing, at the top of the keyboard.

That means that if you are new to the Spectrum you will still have difficulty locating the correct key, although the three-colour card means that this is no more difficult than using the old rubber Spectrum.

Where the keyboard comes into its own is when using programs such as Tasword Two or Beta Basic. With Tasword you do not use any keywords and the single key functions could have been designed for it; with Beta Basic, where it is possible to type in keywords in full, the lack of clutter makes life much easier.

Every silver lining has a cloud and with Elite the size of the keyboard means that if you have an Interface 1 you will find that the lead to the microdrive is not long enough. The microdrive can either be angled out at the back to compensate, or Hardware International can supply a longer lead.

With many full-sized keyboards users have encountered problems when adding hardware to the back. That has been eased with the advent of the Spectrum Plus, as it too suffered problems, and manufacturers redesigned their cases accordingly. The Elite seems to be better than most in that respect and an old style, upright, Kempston E printer interface can be fitted easily.

The keyboard is arranged as two banks of keys. On the left are 10 keys: True and Inv, Video - single key functions - plus Load, Save, Clear, Copy, Cont, Pause, List and Run. Those are not single key functions, merely j, s, x, z, c, m, d, and r keys for ease of use.

The main body of keys, the remaining 78, are in one large block. To the left of the QWERTY section are Edit, G Mode, Caps Lock, E Mode and Symbol and Caps Shifts - which are duplicated on the right. The top row has both the numbers and the Symbol Shifted legends printed on them.

To the right are another eleven single key functions (?£"=;:$,.) plus Break (Caps Shift Space) and Stop (Symbol Shift A). On the far right is a numeric pad, with a double-sized zero key, surrounded by the four maths functions (/*-+), four shifted cursor keys, an extra comma and full stop and a Delete key.

All those keys and functions are not without price - £79.95 inc. That is very high for an add-on keyboard. Only the new Transform keyboard comes close to matching it in terms of performance, and that costs as much.

With the Saga 3 Elite, Hardware International is also launching the Saga 2 Profile. That is the discontinued AMS Lo>>Profile keyboard in a new colour scheme. Just before AMS stopped manufacturing, it redesigned the back of the keyboard to resemble the rear of the old rubber Spectrum to make fitting add-ons easier. The base was changed to solid, as opposed to flimsy plastic, and the position of the Spectrum inside the keyboard was moved so that Interface 1 users could put the microdrive alongside. Those improvements are included in the Saga 2. Hardware International has retained the old price, £49.95 inc.

It has 53 keys, 41 in the main block with a full-sized space bar and an extra, unshifted, key marked Caps Shift. On the right is a numeric pad with an extra Caps Shift key and one, unshifted, marked with a full stop.

Hardware International, 2 Eve Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 4JT. Tel: 04862-22977.

Spectrum
Saga System
Transform
Both cost £80

What do you get the Spectrum owner who has everything? Possibly one of the two new deluxe keyboards. At around £80, they have to offer something a bit special.

The new Transform keyboard looks likely to stand up to anything. A diecast metal case contains a full set of sculpted stepped keys. These are embossed in colour with the Spectrum keywords.

There is a separate numeric keypad and a few separate functions keys as well as an extended mode key. Fitting is simple and just needs the top whipped off the Spectrum. There is plenty of room for Interface 1, and the Microdrives can be connected without using an extension. There is an on/off switch, and room to mount the transformer in the case.

As you might expect at this price, the feel of the keyboard was up to the best professional standards.

The other contender, the Saga Elite 3 goes for a plastic IBM look alike keyboard. Again the feel is very nice. They have gone a bundle on extra function keys. No less than 10 down the left side with a full numeric keypad with cursor keys and arithmetic operators.

The only disappointment is the lack of keywords on the keys. These are supplied on a chart which clips just above the keypad. Not a problem for the Spectrum fanatic, but off-putting for the casual user.

Hardware compatibility is maintained by keeping the board in the same position in relation to the back and bottom of the case, although Microdrives will have to stick up in the air.

If you've got this sort of money to spend on a keyboard, then there isn't much to choose between the two. For me the Transform gets it by a short head because of the colour embossed keys and last-for-ever metal case. Transform telephone number is 01-658 6350 and Saga are on (04862) 22977.

JOINING THE ELITE

For some reason we didn't review the Saga 3 Elite keyboard when it first came out, but now that the price has dropped from £79.95 to £69.95, and Saga are about to produce a simple add-on which will allow the keyboard to be used with the Spectrum 128, we thought it was high time to have a look at it.

A first glance reveals it to be an impressively sleek unit, constructed of sturdy plastic in a sort of oft-white cream shade. The keys are large and moulded with a gently sloping surface that's comfortable to use. The 'action' of the keys as they are depressed is smooth but solid, so that you can be sure when you hit a key that the relevant character will appear on screen (good for those of us that need to look at the keyboard a lot when typing).

Unlike most add-on keyboards and the Spectrum's own keyboard, the Elite does not have all the various keywords and symbols marked on each key. This makes the keyboard look much tidier and less cluttered than it normally does, but the unit comes provided with a plastic strip that has all the keywords marked on it for use when entering programs. This might be more inconvenient for the BASIC programmer, but for someone like myself who actually uses the Spectrum for word-processing it's a real asset.

However, at the left hand side of the main keyboard there are two rows of keys marked with the most often used keywords (Load/Save, List, Run etc), which really gives the average user the best of both worlds. Back at the main group of keys there's a large space bar, additional keys for the various graphics and extended modes and two symbol shift keys, one on either side of the keyboard.

Further to the right is what you might call the calculator cluster. This is like the keyboard of a calculator, with an extra set of number keys cursor keys, and keys for the four main mathematical functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). The overall impression it gives is not unlike one of those hi-tech keyboards on expensive office computers.

If you're only going to use your Spectrum for games that can be played with a joystick, then I don't suppose you need to spend much money on a decent keyboard, but it you do want to use the machine for something like word-processing then a good keyboard is essential and the Saga 3 Elite, though not the cheapest, is almost certainly the best.

Available from Saga Systems, 2 Eve Rd., Woking. Surrey GU21 4JT.

KEYBOARD CAPERS

Our all-star reviewing team get to grips with the alternatives to the infamus Spectrum keyboard.

Saga Systems
£69.95

I admit that I had one or two problems getting this installed, because of the unexplained doohickey that came along with the keyboard. It turned out that this had to be connected to the keyboard membrane before it could be connected to the Spectrum's circuit board. However, once I got that sorted the Saga 3 rapidly took first place over the other keyboard that I'd been using.

Unlike most other keyboards, the Saga 3 does not have all the Sinclair Basic keywords and symbols marked on the keys. Instead, each key has just the relevant letter of the alphabet, and all the other information about keywords etc, is printed onto a loose plastic strip that can be used or put to one side as needed. This automatically makes the keyboard look much tidier than any other that I've seen, and the smooth action of the keys makes it an ideal choice for uses such as word processing. But when you need to do a bit of programming there is a small cluster of keys on the left hand side of the keyboard which are reserved for some of the most often used keywords (LOAD, SAVE, RUN and so on).

There is also a second cluster of keys on the right hand side, which you could call the calculator cluster. This contains all the numerical keys and keys for maths operations (addition, subtraction etc.), laid out as they would be on a calculator. This set of keys also contains an additional four cursor keys which come in handy when editing text or program lines. The inclusion and layout of these two sets of keys is well thought out and can save quite a lot of time as they remove the need to enter different modes and press loads of different keys by providing single key options for some of the most often used functions.

The main keyboard itself is nicely raked and the keys themselves are large, with slightly curved surfaces which makes it pleasant to use for faster, more experienced typists. There's a large space bar and additional keys for some of the more common punctuation marks, which again saves time in entering extended mode for commas, full stops and the like. There's even a small trough right at the back of the keyboard where you can hold pens and rulers.

The only criticism 1 have of the Saga 3 is that the delete key is stuck right out on the bottom right hand corner, and I've found that with the number of corrections I usually have to make when I'm doing any word processing it would be better to have the delete key closer to hand (somewhere near the space bar perhaps). Even so, this is must a minor quibble and doesn't stop me from concluding that this is by far the best add-on keyboard that is currently available, and that it certainly justifies its price if you need a decent keyboard for anything other than games playing.