If you haven't heard of Shenzhen-based keyboard maker Akko, you've probably never heard of it. But if the $200+ keyboards that abound in the world have put you off the enthusiast keyboard market, Akko is making the enthusiast keyboard more accessible.

I love enthusiast keyboards. I'm one of those people who would analyze exactly which type of mechanical switch I'm hitting. But it is an expensive and totally unnecessary luxury, and it sits above the other expensive luxury in my life: PC gaming. The recent excitement in the enthusiast keyboard market is such that traditional manufacturers of all kinds are starting to embrace the idea of hot-swappable mechanical switches, double-shot PBT keycaps, and boards with more than just the traditional 100% 104-key layout.

The Akko Prunus Lannesiana 3098B is a $110 compact 98-keyboard with a full numeric keypad, even though it is only slightly wider than a TKL board without a numeric keypad. It also supports Bluetooth 5.0 or 2.4GHz micro USB dongle for wireless or USB Type-C cable for wired.

Not a bad price for a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard, but it also has real enthusiast credibility thanks to the double-shot PBT keycaps, sound deadening foam layer, and silicone pad between the PCB and the bottom of the enclosure similar to the Razer Huntsman V2.

The PCB makes it easy to insert and remove hot-swappable mechanical switches on the fly; the 5-pin connection allows most switches you can buy to fit comfortably.

However, it comes with Akko's own CS (Custom Series) switches, which you only need to worry about if you want to replace them later. My review unit comes with lavender-purple switches, which are a bit CS-tactile, but if you buy now, you can choose between Akko CS jelly pink or white linear switches with dustproof Cherry MX compatible stems.

And I was really impressed with the quality of these cheap mechanical switches. They are sturdy, solid, and perfectly responsive. And more importantly for a keyboard geek like me, they are really nice to use. The typing experience is flawless, and the highly recessed keycaps on the letters help make typos almost non-existent. Typically, I make a lot of typos...

There is no media key, only an alternate function with the Fn modifier key, so you have to look it up in the manual regularly. Also, there is no luxury item like a wrist rest. But we are talking about a genuinely compact and affordable board with almost all features. In other words, it has the functionality of a 100% full-size board, but the compact design gives the mouse extra desktop space. It is also very useful for gamers who want extra space for low DPI mouse input.

The 98-key layout omits only a handful of keys that PC gamers rarely care about. I bet you can't even name the six keys that are missing from this design. In other words, no one pauses or breaks nowadays.

While we're talking about design, I'm a big fan of the clean, clear font that Akko used for the Prunus Lannesiana 3098B. Also, who doesn't like a two-tone white and pink keyboard? I've used a number of factory-branded keyboards, and I don't think I've ever had one that felt so sturdy and professional right out of the box. It feels like the product of a company that has absolute confidence in its manufacturing and aesthetics.

And Akko is pushing that aspect forward by offering many custom designs. I'm a sucker for a Sponge Bob keyboard. But if you want a straightforward keyboard with this kind of geek appeal, Akko offers that too. Akko also offers a wide selection of hot-swappable mechanical switches.

Akko also offers a wide selection of affordable hot-swappable mechanical switches. This is a company that offers a high level of customization at such an affordable price. The workmanship is truly impressive at this quality.

The only issue I had with this board was that it required a bit more work to activate the 2.4GHz wireless mode during setup than just pressing the switch on the back of the board. Even with the mini-dongle connected and recognized by Windows, it took a manual download to discover that you need to add Fn+Y to initiate the wireless connection.

We also needed to update the firmware via the Akko Cloud Driver, which was a very simple process. The software itself is fairly basic, but you can add your own macros and adjust the RGB illumination for each key. Finding it, however, required a bit of digging around on Akko's support page. But these are minor things, and are quickly forgotten once the board is set up and bashin' away.

The Prunus Lannesiana 3098B is a showcase of what Akko is doing in the realm of enthusiast keyboards, and I think it's great that it offers so many options to a much wider audience than we've seen before. The 3098B is a great board in its own right; the 3098B is a great board in its own right; the 3098B is a great board in its own right; the 3098B is a great board in its own right. The wireless response is good, the quality is high, it's a value proposition, and the feel of actually using the keyboard is outstanding.

I'd also like a wrist rest to support tired joints, and I like the independent volume control, but this is one of the best compact wireless keyboards I've used from a small brand.