I recently bought a SmartYao split keyboard and wanted to share with my fellow geeks some photos and personal thoughts about it. For some background, this is a split keyboard that was previously discussed about in
this thread here. I haven't seen anyone mention it again since then, so hopefully someone will find this quick review useful!
SmartYao Split Keyboard (LY092-MINI)
Manufacturer websiteTaobao product pageOptions available:
Chassis: Black / White
Switches: Cherry Red / Black or Gateron Red
Keycaps: Laser engraved PBT, side-printed
For reference, I took the black chassis and Cherry Black switches.
Some features of the keyboard:
1) Split keyboard
2) Staggered layout
3) All keys fully programmable (manufacturer provides custom program to configure keys on their website)
4) Function key row
5) Compact (touted as 70% keyboard)
6) Tentable? (I've not tried this out yet)
Here's a picture of a spec sheet pasted below the left board.
A closer look at the board. The keys look like blank caps, but they're actually side printed.
Even closer look at the boards.
Size comparison with an Ergodox EZ. Lengthwise they're about the same. The SmartYao is slightly slimmer in width.
Comes with a few extra keycaps, a key puller, and some tenting screws I think?
The program provided by the manufacturer for configuring the keys is quite sophisticated. I know it doesn't look like that in this screencap, but it's because I took it from the Windows XP version, which is only available in Chinese. For Windows 7/8/10, the manufacturer has kindly provided an English version of the program.
I think the staggered layout makes it quite accessible to those who are used to a regular keyboard but are wanting to transition to a split keyboard for ergonomical purposes.
The boards are plenty sturdy and very well-built in my opinion. There are USB ports on both the left and right boards so you can choose which side you want to plug into the PC with (helps a lot with positioning especially if your desktop is on a certain side).
Unlike other split keyboards I've used, SmartYao uses miniBB to connect both sides of the keyboard to each other instead of audio jacks. Seems to stabilize the connection, but I wouldn't know for sure until I use it for a longer period of time.
I think this keyboard would make for a good portable board as well. They're packed very well in compact boxes, which can be reused without much fuss. Here's a picture of the boxes and its relative size compared to a human hand.
So yeah, it's definitely a board to consider for the budget conscious looking to try out a split board before taking the jump into an Ergodox or something along that line.
For reference it cost me around US$90 including shipping to Singapore, and it took less than one week to arrive from the day of purchase.
Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions about the board!