Hey All,
I was not sure If I should be posting this to the ergo or the keyboard sub forum but since there wont be any talk about ergonomics I thought this was the best place.
IntroI have two Kinesis Freestyle v3 VIP keyboards, one for work and one for home. One is over 4 years old and the other over 2 years.
For mouse input I use a Bamboo Pen & Touch (new version is called Intous P&T).
The reason I started to look to replace them is that the 4 year old device wasn't a joy to type on anymore (rubber dome, though better than most other manufacturers) and some keys where broken.
One of my complaints about keyboards is the numeric input on the right side, the Freestyle doesn't have this as much but its still quite wide compared to other TKL keyboards.
So I started to look around for replacements, this time though I wanted to try out mech keys and an even narrower footprint.
After lots of research I fell in love with the TEK but the negative reviews about key registration withheld me from buying it for two to three months until the new firmware was released.
I bought the TEK 209 about 4-5 months ago and the experience is amazing.
Well at least it was until some keys stopped working... At this moment three keys don't register most of the time including the H key which.
I bought the TEK at getDigital and they said it was no problem to replace the device, they gave me different options and I chose to order a new board before sending mine back (I want a second one for work anyway).
At that time the 209 went out of stock and a bit later the 229 was added to the inventory.
Last week the 229 finally arrived (due to some other issues) and I have been typing on it from the start.
Having both boards gives me the opportunity to review both side-by-side.
DifferencesThe main difference between the two is the usage of Kailh switches instead of Cherry and they changed the way the letters and symbols look on the key-caps.
Comparison, images209 on the left, 229 on the right
Cherry MX Brown on the left, Kailh MX Brown on the right
Kailh MX Brown up close
209 on the left, 229 on the right
Notice how most of the switches have been installed up-side down, not sure why though.
I already had installed some o-rings on the 209 so I removed those key-caps.
229 with some of the keys (with o-rings)
You can find the album with all the images hereComparison, videosWith key-caps, link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBbBho5VlXcNote how I'm not typing on the home row on the 209 because I already have o-rings installed there.
Without key-caps, link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbn25eJlw8OpinionThe typing experience seems to be the same on both keyboards.
The Cherry's seem to make more noise and the Kailh's feel a little less scratchy but this might be because the 209 is broken-in and the 229 is not.
But if you would blindfold me and put on some music I wouldn't notice the difference between the Cherry and Kailh switches.
If you're unsure about the TEK in general, you should buy it through a reseller like getDigital or the Keyboard Company.
So far their service has been great and you won't have to deal with the ****ty service of TE.
QuestionsLet me know if you guys have questions or if you want me to compare something specific, I will send the 209 back after this weekend.