Orion may not be well-known, but give something like its Nebula Elite keyboard a go at R700 and you'll come away wondering why more people aren't talking about this brand. It's a solid office worker that's got more than enough heft to trick your brain into believing this is a premium keyboard worth three-times what you'll pay for it.
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Design
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Features
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Battery
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Value
Say hello to Orion, the newest budget brand aiming for the jugular of the larger, more recognisable brands operating in SA. At least, that’s the impression we got from the company’s Nebula Elite, a keyboard that could be easily mistaken for something from Logitech’s range, without the outrageous prices.
To prove that point, the Nebula Elite can be picked up for as little as R700. That might not sound particularly budget — and it isn’t — but when it’s cosplaying a set of keys that’ll go for more than triple that price… Orion sounds that much more reasonable. It’s not all for show, either. Orion’s efforts, for the most part, compare favourably with the sort of keys that, let’s be honest, Orion is ripping off.
Yup, definitely a keyboard
The Nebula Elite incorporates a full-sized layout that should placate the accounts begging for an upgrade in the peripherals department. Because with the Nebula Elite’s minimalist black-on-grey design, that’s all it’ll ever be good for. It’s a proper office worker that excels in the right environment. An environment with plenty of light, anyway. The Nebula Elite doesn’t have any sort of backlighting.
Not that it needs it. As we said, this is an office worker through and through. Despite the all-plastic build, it feels distinctly premium thanks to a hefty chunk of weight above the keys, housing a 300mAh battery. You’ll also find a few extra keys — eight of them — up there for media playback and shortcuts to search and file explorer. You’ll also find the USB-C charging port, joined by an on/off switch, and a Mac/Windows switch.
We didn’t necessarily mind the keyboard’s lack of adjustable legs — the four grips and weighty battery pack did more than enough to keep the keyboard raised and our wrists free of pain, even during longer typing sessions — but if you’re after a keyboard that can lie down flat, you won’t find it here. If comfort is a major factor, note that there’s nothing here to stop your wrists from getting too friendly with your desk, either.
Not a weekend keyboard warrior
It doesn’t help much looking the part if it’s going to crumble under a day’s worth of typing. Fortunately, the Nebula Elite doesn’t have those troubles, putting up with all of our demands and then some. It’s a fairly shallow affair across the full-sized layout, which helped our fingers flow from one key to the next without any hassle.
We wouldn’t exactly call the Nebula Elite’s keys loud, but they’ll get more than their fair share of dirty looks from co-workers when battling a particularly fierce Word document in the bullring. Confine your excitement, and the Nebula Elite’s clickety-clack can be easily drowned out by a cheap pair of headphones. We’re even fond of it.
Whether you lean Windows or Mac, there’s no reason to fret if you’re presented with one of these at the office. Up top lives a switch that can switch between the two layouts on the fly, even if you’re only likely to accidentally flick it when fumbling around for the on/off switch that lives beside it.
We weren’t thrilled by the ABS keycaps Orion opted for here, but at this price, we didn’t expect anything better. Not because we’re the sort of computer nerds who are bothered by the sound our plastic keycaps make (okay, not all the time), but rather because we noticed a definite shine on most of the keys after only a month or so of use. We can’t say exactly how long it’ll be before the symbols are gone for good, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
Sticking around until the bitter end
Forget the batteries necessary for a keyboard in this price range, and grab the nearest USB-C cable (there’s one in the box, if that helps) to help get the Nebula Elite up and running. It won’t be long before you’re hammering away at the keys, nor will it be all that long before it’s begging for a top-up, either.
Don’t get us wrong. At R700, the Nebula Elite’s 300mAh battery turned out to be rather lenient and should be commended. Luckily, that’s what we’re here for. After almost daily office use — not counting the weekends — our review model put up an exceptional fight, lasting roughly a month before whining for a charge.
It’s only when you compare the Nebula Elite to its most intense competitors does that figure begin to look a little wonky. The Logitech MX Keys S, for example, which the Nebula is trying to imitate, offers up a 1,500mAh battery that’ll last for months at a time. Even our own MX Keys Mini outstrips it at 500mAh. It’s certainly no deal-breaker, but it will test your patience on the mornings you least expect it.
Orion Nebula Elite verdict
There’s just something special about a good keyboard that can’t be topped, even if it isn’t boasting RGB backlights or a mechanical flair under the keycaps, and especially one that comes in under R1,000. Orion’s Nebula Elite is certainly that, offering up a premium plastic build that’s made even more enticing by solid typing performance and a month-long battery life that won’t have you digging around for batteries in crucial moments.
