Built for the office environment and bolstered with encrypted wireless communication, the B.UNLIMITED 3.0 talks the talk, can it walk the walk?
Product on Review: CHERRY B.UNLIMITED 3.0
Manufacturer: CHERRY
Street Price: £62 / $70
CHERRY is perhaps best known for their renowned mechanical switches amongst the gaming community, but they’re in fact a world leader in the PC peripheral market, producing many products for the office and industrial sectors.
The B.UNLIMITED 3.0 is aimed at the office, appealing to customers who want a reliable keyboard backed by German build quality and well-thought out design. The B.UNLIMITED features an incredibly low-profile design, a 128-bit AES encrypted wireless connection, for complete peace of mind, handy shortcut buttons and built-in Ni-MH batteries. You may also be surprised to find that this keyboard doesn’t use their own Cherry MX key switches, but instead uses a membrane SX key.
The keyboard and mouse are available in black and white, dependant on your region and keyboard layout.
We first reported on the B.UNLIMITED 3.0 back in April, after which, CHERRY were keen to send us a sample to review, read on for our report.
CHERRY on the B.UNLIMITED 3.0:
Adaptable and robust The CHERRY B. UNLIMITED 3.0, with its high-quality NiMH batteries and interference-free wireless 2.4 GHz technology with AES encryption, is designed for continuous professional use.
Technical Specifications
Layout (country or language):
Product dependent, see table “Models”
Transmission range:
• approx. 10 m
Frequency range:
• 2.400 GHz – 2.4835 GHz
Housing colour:
Product dependent, see table “Models”
Key colour:
Product dependent, see table “Models”
Weight (Product):
approx. 883 g (keyboard with batteries)
approx. 145 g (mouse with batteries)
approx. 6 g (receiver)
Total weight (with packaging):
approx. 1300 g
Storage Temperature:
• -20°C to 60°C
Operating Temperature:
• 0°C to 40°C
Current Consumption:
• max. 5 mA (keyboard)
max. 5 mA (mouse)
max. 30 mA (receiver)
Warranty:
• 2 years
Interface:
• USB
Connection sockets:
• Low voltage socket for USB charging cable
Product approvals:
VDE GS
c-tick
UL
CE
FCC
System requirements:
• USB port for wireless receiver (second free USB port for using the charger cable during operation)
Delivery Volume:
• 1 signal receiver
• USB charger cable
• Operating instructions in hard copy
• 1 optical wireless mouse
• 1 wireless keyboard
• 2 LSD NiMH batteries (type AAA)
• 2 LSD NiMH batteries (type AA)
Dimensions (product):
• approx. 460 x 165 x 15 mm (keyboard)
approx. 115 x 60 x 35 mm (mouse)
approx. 42 x 18 x 8 mm (receiver)
Packaging Dimensions:
• approx. 570 x 170 x 45 mm
Keyboard:
• Key technology: SX
• Service life, standard key: > 10 million key operations
• Inscription layout: Standard
• Number of Keys: Product dependant, see table “Models”
Mouse:
• Scanning: Infrared
• Resolution: 1000 / 2000 dpi (adjustable)
• Number of Keys: 3
• Mouse wheel design: Scroll wheel with key function
• Design: Symmetrical,
• Connection: wireless
• Housing colour: Product dependant, see table “Models”
• Key colour: Product dependant, see table “Models”
Packaging Unit:
• Number of products in the master package: 10
• Number of master packages per pallet: 16
Product dependent, see table “Models”
Transmission range:
• approx. 10 m
Frequency range:
• 2.400 GHz – 2.4835 GHz
Housing colour:
Product dependent, see table “Models”
Key colour:
Product dependent, see table “Models”
Weight (Product):
approx. 883 g (keyboard with batteries)
approx. 145 g (mouse with batteries)
approx. 6 g (receiver)
Total weight (with packaging):
approx. 1300 g
Storage Temperature:
• -20°C to 60°C
Operating Temperature:
• 0°C to 40°C
Current Consumption:
• max. 5 mA (keyboard)
max. 5 mA (mouse)
max. 30 mA (receiver)
Warranty:
• 2 years
Interface:
• USB
Connection sockets:
• Low voltage socket for USB charging cable
Product approvals:
VDE GS
c-tick
UL
CE
FCC
System requirements:
• USB port for wireless receiver (second free USB port for using the charger cable during operation)
Delivery Volume:
• 1 signal receiver
• USB charger cable
• Operating instructions in hard copy
• 1 optical wireless mouse
• 1 wireless keyboard
• 2 LSD NiMH batteries (type AAA)
• 2 LSD NiMH batteries (type AA)
Dimensions (product):
• approx. 460 x 165 x 15 mm (keyboard)
approx. 115 x 60 x 35 mm (mouse)
approx. 42 x 18 x 8 mm (receiver)
Packaging Dimensions:
• approx. 570 x 170 x 45 mm
Keyboard:
• Key technology: SX
• Service life, standard key: > 10 million key operations
• Inscription layout: Standard
• Number of Keys: Product dependant, see table “Models”
Mouse:
• Scanning: Infrared
• Resolution: 1000 / 2000 dpi (adjustable)
• Number of Keys: 3
• Mouse wheel design: Scroll wheel with key function
• Design: Symmetrical,
• Connection: wireless
• Housing colour: Product dependant, see table “Models”
• Key colour: Product dependant, see table “Models”
Packaging Unit:
• Number of products in the master package: 10
• Number of master packages per pallet: 16
Packaging & First Look
There’s very little can be said about the packaging. It’s white and features the CHERRY branding. The box is thick and should provide decent protection from knocks and bangs during transport.
Flipping open the lid, you can see that the mouse, charging cable and wireless dongle are contained within a separate box, while the keyboard is housed in the primary carton.
Included in the box is a multilingual instruction manual, as well as the USB dongle, which sits 35mm proud of the USB port, and a charging cable, reminiscent of the old Nokia 3310 chargers.
The B.UNLIMITED 3.0 hosts a clear font, laser etched for longevity and wear-resistance, along with a good-sized ambidextrous mouse.
Closer Look (Keyboard)
The B.UNLIMITED looks incredibly smart, with next-to-no pointless design features, keeping things as simple and honest as possible.
The CHERRY keyboard under the microscope today features their own SX switches, a type of membrane “scissor action” key like you find in most laptop keyboards. This helps to keep the overall height down, with the keyboard measuring only 17mm without the riser-feet. Typically, the overall height of a Cherry MX keycap would be taller than this entire keyboard.
The keys are tightly packed, with a very small gap between. The legend is laser etched onto the surface to prolong the life of the keyboard significantly.
The underbelly of the keyboard houses 3 reasonably sized rubber pads to prevent the keyboard from moving around, along with the 2 riser feet in the rear corners.
In the top right, CHERRY have taken away any kind of indicator LEDs for the CAPS lock, NUM lock and Scroll lock, possibly to prolong battery life. Instead, they’ve placed some handy keys for general office functions; from left to right, calculator, email, homepage and Windows lock. There’s also a small LED that will flash when the battery starts to run out.
Almost directly behind the power indicator is the on/off switch, as well as the charging port.
Closer Look (Mouse)
The mouse accompanying the keyboard isn’t the prettiest or best-looking mouse you’ll ever lay eyes on, but it’s shaped well and will suit most users comfortably. As a piece of office equipment, it’s absolutely fine.
The B.UNLIMITED mouse is fully ambidextrous, being identical on both sides. There’s a relatively deep channel running from the front of the mouse, all the way to the back. The charging port is placed right at the front (the mouse can still be used while charging.)
The rear of the mouse is very bland area, but this does highlight the only difference between the left and right, with it being the CHERRY logo on the left-hand-side. You can see the slightly concave shape to each side to house your thumb.
The right and left sides are made from a lightly textured but very firm plastic, the vertical grooves help prevent your thumb from moving backwards on the mouse.
The mouse also features an LED to indicate low battery power, slightly behind the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel is ridged and features a very light clicky feel.
The underside of the mouse houses the infrared sensor in the centre, capable of 1000 or 2000 DPI, along with an on/off switch. You will also notice the weird infographic describing how to adjust the DPI setting.
Performance Testing
Setting up the B.UNLIMITED 3.0 is incredibly simple, with both the mouse and keyboard sharing a single USB wireless adapter; wireless range is more than 8M (unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any further away from the test rig.)Typing on the B.UNLIMITED is a pleasure, the keys provide plenty of bounce-back to facilitate even the fastest of typing; we actually found the keyboard helped to improve typing speed in an online WPM test, compared to the Razer Green Mechanical keys on the daily driver. The overall construction of the keys feel solid and remain quiet even when being heavy-handed while typing. The function keys in the top right, the Calculator, Email etc, are a little funny, with an almost hinge-like feel to them, though they’ll be seldom used and shouldn’t be too much of an issue – It was noted in a previous review of a CHERRY keyboard, the Stream 3.0, that it would’ve been welcomed to forego the media keys and swap to more “office-focused” keys.
The sensor in the mouse can be configured to two different DPI settings, 1000 or 2000, the method feels a little silly, but it’s simple and easy to do; you press down both the right and left mouse buttons then use the scroll wheel to adjust up and down. The infrared sensor works well for general use but does suffer somewhat when attempting to snap-shoot some foes in Paladins.
Due to the recess running the full length of the mouse, right through the middle, we found that the edges of this can catch your finger while using the scroll wheel; this isn’t an issue at first, but when searching for images on Google or scrolling an online document, it can slowly start to cause discomfort due to the sharp edges.
Appearance being considered, the mouse and keyboard will suit the office environment but with that being said, it’s not going to win any beauty awards in front of a gaming PC. Speaking of which, gaming performance is pretty much non-existent; the keyboard responds quickly enough, despite the 100Hz polling rate, but the hardware begins to trip over itself when 3 or 4 buttons are pressed at once. It may be suitable for some light gaming during your lunch break, however.
Battery life is of very little concern, during a week of testing, which mounts up to around 50 hours of usage, the battery still hasn’t begun to show signs of going. CHERRY don’t provide a guideline on the time between charges but the included USB cable is long enough to facilitate charging and use at the same time. We’d be happy with anything over a month on both devices.
Conclusion
The CHERRY B.UNLIMITED 3.0, it turns out, is a very capable keyboard, boosting my typing speed by a noticeable degree and boasting an excellent battery life. The “Cherry SX” switches used in the keyboard feel amazing, they’re a true pleasure to type on while remaining quiet, yet solid.The 2.4GHz 128-bit AES encryption gives the user peace of mind, knowing full well that your wireless typing data is 100% secure, even for those in the most secretive of occupations.
CHERRY have priced the B.UNLIMITED at around £60, here in the UK, which strikes us as a bit of a bargain. The keyboard and mouse both ooze that typical German build quality, where nothing but excellence will do. The specific function “office keys” in the top right are incredibly handy for general tasks, such as opening your email browser quickly.
All in, the CHERRY B.UNLIMITED 3.0 is an excellent piece of kit that would suit an office environment perfectly.
A wireless keyboard and mouse, with a huge battery life, fantastic quality, simple design and near-flawless performance. What more can you ask for?
Pros
+ Build quality
+ Battery life
+ Wireless encryption
+ No wires
+ Price
+ Simple design
Neutral
+- Lacks gaming performance
Cons
– None
+ Build quality
+ Battery life
+ Wireless encryption
+ No wires
+ Price
+ Simple design
Neutral
+- Lacks gaming performance
Cons
– None
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
