CIDOO V21

CIDOO V21, a mechanical numpad with premium quality but friendly price.

In the past we have reviewed several keyboards from CIDOO and have being thrilled with the quality and performance offered by their V series mechanical keyboards.

Being that this numpad is part of the V series we have high hopes for the CIDOO V21 and its potential.

The CIDOO V21 is truly named CIDOO V21 PRO but as is nearly always found as simply CIDOO V21, we will refer to it like this during the review.

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CIDOO V21 Review

Tests & Scores

Scores

CIDOO V21 Scores

Accessories - 8.5/10
8.5/10
Design - 10/10
10/10
Ergonomics - 10/10
10/10
Construction & Build - 9.75/10
9.8/10
Keycaps - 9.75/10
9.8/10
Switches - 8.5/10
8.5/10
Connectivity - 9.75/10
9.8/10
Customization - 10/10
10/10
Typing - 10/10
10/10
Productivity - 10/10
10/10
Office - 10/10
10/10
Tablet-Mobile - 9/10
9/10
Programming - 10/10
10/10
Sound - 10/10
10/10
Durability - 10/10
10/10
Lighting - 8.75/10
8.8/10
Software - 8.75/10
8.8/10
Battery - 8/10
8/10
Value for Money - 10/10
10/10

Summary

Pros

✅ All metal case

✅ Premium quality

✅ Hot swappable

✅ Excellent switches

✅ Knob

✅ VIA programmable

Cons

❌ Heavy

CONCLUSION

The CIDOO V21 offers an insane bang for buck for people wanting a premium quality numpad, yet spending little money.
If you are an owner of the CIDOO V75 PRO, you should definitely get the CIDOO V21 and boost your typing experience.
The CIDOO V21 has gained a permanent position in one of our editing spots.

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9.5/10

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ACCESSORIES & PACKAGING
^4.25^_/5

The CIDOO V21 comes inside an excellent and rugged packaging that already shows its premium quality and what you will expect as soon as you unbox the unit.

Inside you get:

• 2U backspace keycaps
• Allen key
• USB cable
• Keycap/keyswitch puller

DESIGN
⁵^_/5

The CIDOO V21 is a mechanical numpad with 21 keys and a knob.

The numpad has a retro vibe with a cream case color and matching colored keycaps.

Overall, the CIDOO V21 looks stylish and clean with a premium feel to it and match perfectly with the CIDOO V75 PRO mechanical keyboard.

On the back edge of the case, the numpad holds the USB-C connector, a slot for the 2.4G dongle and the switch mode; the switch has 3 positions according to the chosen mode but there are no labeling nor engraving that informs which position corresponds to which mode. To understand the mode that you are choosing you can either get the user manual and memorize it or look at the color of the backlit lights over the 2nd/3rd row of keys (Blue= Bluetooth, Green= 2.4G)

ERGONOMICS
⁵^_/5

The CIDOO V21 has the exact same height, depth and inclination of the CIDOO V75 Pro; making them pair together seamlessly as if they were born together.

We might not have the most popular opinion about numpads but we always found that a numpad sitting on the left of the main keyboard is way more ergonomic and makes much more logical sense than placed to the right of the keyboard. With the CIDOO V21 you can do either, meaning that being a standalone separate numpad, you can place it to the left, right, top, bottom or far aside with total freedom.

The level of versatility, usability and reconfiguration of your desk space is exponentially boosted with the CIDOO V21.

Furthermore, you will retain the same comfort and free space for you mouse while keeping the productivity of a 100% keyboard (when paired with a TKL or similar keyboard)

If you have a fixed or semi-fixed PC setup, the CIDOO V21 is a must-have; if you have a mobile setup or plan to carry the numpad back and forth from your office and home, we would recommend the lighter-weighted EPOMAKER EK21.

CONSTRUCTION & BUILD
⁵^_/5

The CIDOO V21 inherits the same outstanding build quality of the CIDOO V75 PRO with a full-metal case and a hefty weight despite the small dimension of a numpad.

Despite being only a numpad, the CIDOO V75 has more premium components than most mechanical keyboards on the market, including Poron foam, CNC aluminum shell, gasket-mount design and a metal rotary encoder.

On top of that, the board of the CIDOO V21 is hot-swappable and compatible with 3-pin and 5-pin mechanical switches without having to solder them.

It is quite insane the quality that you get with the CIDOO V21.

KEYCAPS
^4.75^_/5

Once again, CIDOO has not cheaped-out on any detail of the CIDOO V21 as the equipped keycaps are high-quality PBT keycaps with a thicker body than many premium keycaps and a Cherry profile.

The black over cream fonts/background combination gives a perfect contrast to maximize the readability of the fonts while the smart addition of the red colored Num Lock and Enter keycaps provide a clear differentiation to avoid mistyping

Also the backspace has a different color with a dark grey tone and can be replaced from the single key size to a 2x key size with the bundled keycap replacement.

The knob has the same pristine design and build of the bigger mechanical keyboards from the brand with a fluid but responsive rotational movement and a silent but tactile feedback per notch.

SWITCHES
^4.25^_/5

The numpad comes pre-assembled with CIDOO Matte switches, which are linear switches with high-tier build components such as POM stem, Nylon housings, light diffusers and factory-lubed – these switches are the same seen on the V75 Pro.

The switches offers a scratchless and fluid travel with a bit heavier actuation and bottom force than many widely popular linear switches but that we welcome in a numpad.

Since we have standardized this section’s score weighting also the variety of switches coming from factory pre-assembled we cannot give the V21 a higher score.

CON

CONNECTIVITY
^4.75^_/5

The CIDOO V21 has the same tri-mode multi device capability of premium mechanical keyboards, offering a multi-slot Bluetooth connection, 2.4G wireless with the included dongle and a wired connection through a detachable USB-C cable.

Unlike other Bluetooth connected keyboards and input peripherals, the CIDOO V21 does not need a “ghosted” key to be pressed to wake up the numpad after long standby time; this CIDOO numpad wakes up instantly on any key press and registers the key pressed to wake up the device – and we are talking even in Bluetooth mode which is the most “buggy” and slowest of all modes for any keyboard; of course with the 2.4G dongle the same lightning fast wake up response is exhibited.

On the other hand, the knob rotational movement does not wake up the numpad but the knob’s button function does.

P&E

PERFORMANCE & USE

TYPING
^5_/5

When matched with any keyboard, the CIDOO V21 offers a level of usability boost that you will be glad to have on any daily typing.

PRODUCTIVITY
⁵^_/5

The CIDOO V21 offers premium quality as a numpad that can be used not only as a standard numeric addon but also as a phenomenal express keys accessory to be matches with graphic tablets and pen displays or as a shortcut macro key device for multiple productivity scenarios.

OFFICE
^5_/5

Grab or buy any keyboard below 90% layout and pair it with the CIDOO V21 to have the best combo that you could ever dream of using as an office and business kit.

With its wireless and wired connections you can easily use it to bring it back and forth with you from home to the office.

TABLET/MOBILE
^4.75^_/5

Being Bluetooth enabled, the numpad is fully usable with mobile devices, phones and tablet, plus the programmability through VIA will not limit the customization of the numpad.

The only drawback of the CIDOO V21 will its weight if you are intending to carry it around the whole da

LIGHTING
^4.5^_/5

This CIDOO numpad has a south-facing LED board with RGB colors and full lighting programmability.

The light-colored case with the matching keycaps and strong backlit LEDs provided a very efficient illumination to facilitate the use in dark rooms or to create personalized light customizations.

SOUND
⁵^_/5

Despite having the same hefty metal case and same switches and keycaps of the 75% keyboard sibling (CIDOO V75 PRO), we were surprised to notice that the CIDOO V21 has not inherited the same sound profile.

The CIDOO V21 has more of a stealthier personality without the super thocky sound of the V75 and more of a quality marbly-thocky one with quieter but higher pitched tone.

Stabilizers and switches comes prelubed from factory, the stabs have the same level of a premium mechanical keyboard and showed quick but smooth performance.

SOFTWARE
^4.5^_/5

Yet another insane spec/feature of the CIDOO V21 is that the board of the numpad is VIA compatible, thus users have access to the full freedom of customization and programmability offered by VIA.

Per key macro, reprogramming, layer design, lighting control, etc. are all completely manageable and accessible with the CIDOO V21 and VIA.

BATTERY
⁴^_/5

The numpad is equipped with a rechargeable battery with a capacity of 1000mAh, in comparison with full mechanical keyboards, the battery might seem small but due to the kind of use and amount of keys/lights that the numpad has, the 1A battery seems sufficient.

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CIDOO V21

9.5

SCORE

9.5/10

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CIDOO V21 – Review

CIDOO V21