A few keyboard related pictures I took while at Computex! Got to chat with some keyboard booth reps.
BloodyInfrared MX Compatible switch.
Glossy white plastic case.
The switch travel felt shorter for some reason. It also felt really plasticky while typing. The IR switches felt a bit scratchy, like semi-worn in MX Reds. I didn't like the feeling of the switch, but according to their live demo, it actuated around 10-40ms faster than "standard" mechanical switches.
Cherry
Cherry thought they could keep me away from taking proper pictures of their MX 6.0...
So I whipped out my polarized filter!
...and after all that effort, I realized they had an engineering model on display
MX 6.0 came with a magnetic, silky matte and soft rubberized wrist rest with "MX" engraved diagonally along the rest.
A Cherry logo hologram sticker to prove its authenticity?
Who wouldn't take a picture of a Cherry box?
DuckyDucky Year of the Sheep
Ducky Shine 5 - Cherry RGB
Dual mounted PCB. Secondary "SMD LED" PCB is thin, probably less than 1mm. Ducky used a larger SMD LED to light the Cherry housing as opposed to fitting the SMD LED into the switch bottom housing. They're still deciding about TKL, price not set yet.
The other guy's flash went off at a bad time.
Doubleshot ABS on new Shine 5s
Ducky One
Ducky Secret
Ducky Flipper
iOne1800 Layout + trackball
The clickiest keyboard I've ever touched. Actuation was literally at the very top with no pre-travel (as far as I could feel) before the tactile point. Seemed like some form of ALPS switch (couldn't pull a keycap off as it was at the display side window.
KB ParadisePrototype 100% board featuring medium thick doubleshot ABS keycaps
V60 Engineer samples featuring three different ALPS type switches: From top to bottom - Datacomp, Fukka, Matias. Datacomp switches had the highest tactile/actuation point of all 3, whereas Fukka had a nice mechanical clickity-clack sound to them. It was nice to be able to type on all 3 and feel the differences!
A few upcoming V60 keyboards that come with aftermarket keycaps will be released in the near future. Prototype white case is also being designed.
V60 with Matias quiet linears (red stem)
I've read about the smoothness on these switches, and can attest that they are indeed very smooth linears. As others have reported, these linear switches have a small "tactile bump" towards the end of the keystroke. Would work out nicely if you prefer a linear feel, but don't want the harsh feeling of "bottoming" out. Nice quiet & compact keyboard.
The rep at KBParadise was also handing out some new Gateron RGB switches!
You can see the top housing cover opened up for 4pin RGB LEDs.
Got to chat and interview Daniel at KB Paradise -- It went something along the lines of this (in Chinese):
Q: What led you to jump right into the 60% market straight away as a new keyboard company?
A: I've been in the keyboard market for over 10 years, selling membranes to scissor to mechanical keyboards. When I entered the mechanical keyboard market, my friend in Japan told me that Filcos were a hot seller, and that they love compact keyboards. That's when I found Vortex, and tested the market by selling their products to Japan. I've sold every edition of the Poker and Race, and found that the 60% market was quite large.
Q: Ah, that's quite an interesting background story. So what made you decide that you wanted to start your own brand?
A: We wanted to expand into other Asian markets, but Vortex already had distributors in those areas. As we sold many Pokers, we knew there was a market for compact keyboards. We always welcome customer feedback, and the biggest complaint was the non-remappable PN button/layer. That's when we decided to test the waters and see if we could improve the 60% layout -- and that's how it all started.
Q: I noticed that your company opted for a more angled case design instead of the generic rectangular block (rear looks like Lamborghini's exhaust). What was the reasoning for that?
A: The indentation from underneath helps with supporting the PCB and reduce flex when typing. It also happened to look unique. Tex Keyboard was one of the main contributors in the design of the keyboard case as we're good friends.
Q: Any particular reason why KB Paradise went for a less standard 5-mount screw mount design? (4 screws from underneath the rubber feet, one in the middle)
A: Our engineers concluded that it would be easier to assemble PCB to the case with our design, and the structural support would be better. Our goal was to reduce flex in the PCB by distributing the screw mount holes evenly.
Q: So technically, there is no "warranty void if punctured/removed" sticker placed anywhere on your case as the 4 screw mounts are hidden under the rubber feet, and one in the middle of the keyboard. Not many companies do that! Was this on purpose?
A: (Laughs) We understand that enthusiasts like to swap keyboard cases/trays, and didn't see a point in making it difficult to do so. Not much harm can be done with swapping aftermarket 60% cases.
Q: Yes, however most aftermarket 60% cases are designed with POKER mounts. I understand that only 3 or 4 screws holes can be mounted to aftermarket cases with your design.
A: That is something we look forward to improve on, perhaps add more screw hole mounts in the future. However even with 3 or 4 screws mounted in aftermarket cases, it still feels pretty sturdy.
Q: Do you have any plans on making bluetooth enabled 60%s? There isn't many on the market with standard layouts
A: That is something we've been thinking about. It's a possibility, however there are also many different BT certificates required around the world.
Q: Any plans on RGB switches? Now that Cherry RGB's exclusive rights is over, lots of keyboard makers are using them. Any plans on using Gateron RGB? How about Matias?
A: RGB lighting is something we'll think about for future editions. We'll have to design the PCB first and do some prototyping!
SolidyearI found the OEM for MSI's laptop that has a built in mechanical keyboard. Didn't get a chance to take a pic of the actual laptop on display as it was quite crowded.
Tai-HaoTai-Hao was demoing a few of their new ALPS clone switches & keyboards.
Red TH Alps - Tactile point at the bottom, noticed at halfpoint of keytravel. (roughly 2mm left of red stem showing above black housing)
Black TH Alps - Tactile & click on the bottom half of the keytravel
Brown TH Alps - Slightly heavier Tactile & click on the bottom half of the keytravel
Transparent TH Alps switch? Tactile as well, felt similar to Matias quiet click. Blue SMD LED lighting up the prototype (felt like 3D printed) keycaps.
An almost 65% layout keyboard. Top half was either plastic that looked like anodized aluminum with chrome sides, or was a thin layer of aluminum.
Topre
Topre Type Heaven RGB - Cherry MX Keycap compatible, Adjustable software based actuation point (1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm). Price a bit higher than current Type Heavens, expected release around next year. Clear Topre housing + white plunger + SMD LED. As per Topre's request, no pictures of the MX plunger for now, sorry. Possible that these could end up in Novatouch, still in the talks.
Adjustable actuation is done by calculating the change in electrical capacitance of the switch/spring.
Realforce JP Layout with adjustable actuation point. Can switch between keyboard, Xbox controller, PS3 controller, mouse cursor movement (with adjustable speed based off of pressure/position of key). Expected release before Computex 2016.
Stormtrooper (Black on White & White on Black) Realforces will be distributed by Ducky in the future. They will be 30g uniform.
A few new case colours that will be available with the Type Heaven
And for those wondering about Topre Keycaps, the rep said the production is on hold, as there isn't much demand for them. MOQ is around 1k sets per colour, doesn't matter if blank or dyesub.
Thanks for reading!
