Review | Rocksete vintage-style keyboard and compact workstation: looks odd, sounds great
- Rocksete is a mechanical keyboard, designed in Hong Kong, that has a flip up stand that can hold any touch screen device
- The JBL wireless speakers and general sound quality are highlights of the Rocksete; the revving engine sound, not so much
When did you last upgrade your keyboard? If it’s been a while, how about embracing a mechanical keyboard that revs like a car engine when you switch it on, lights up in waves of colourful LEDs when you type … and has superb built-in wireless speakers?
Welcome to the Rocksete, one of the more bizarre products you’re likely to come across this year. Developed in Hong Kong by Knewkey Rymek, this is a mechanical keyboard aimed at anyone after a compact workstation hub for a tablet or phone. If you’re now doing everything on a tablet or phone, having ditched the laptop, the Rocksete is an all-in-one, pairing in one unit a wireless keyboard and JBL wireless speakers.
It’s both eye-catching and space-saving. However, available in silver and bright red, and with lots of retro touches and unexpected design flourishes, is this mechanical keyboard-meets-music centre just a little over-the-top?
Design and hardware
Measuring 346mm x 233mm x 110mm and weighing almost 2.4kg, the Rocksete is solid enough not to move when being used, but lightweight and compact enough to be moved around and not take up too much space in a home.
It’s unashamedly retro to its core, with an 83-key mechanical keyboard that resembles a typewriter. Our review sample had red keys set against a silver base, and when you touch any key the entire keyboard comes alive in a wave of light. It’s pretty strange and we’re not sure why it does this. Talking of which, when you hit one of the four protruding silver knobs along the “hood” of the speaker to switch-on the Bluetooth 3.0 speaker embedded in its rear, the Rocksete revs like a car engine. Why? Again, it’s not clear.