CM Storm Novatouch Review and Teardown in Chinese

[intelli78]

Most of you predict $150-$250; I will make a bold prediction of closer to $129.99.

I can't see this happening. CM's keyboards sell for MSRP of about $80-$130 (QFR on low end, XT and new backlit QFR on high end). $129 would not differentiate the Novatouch from the existing Cherry MX products. It would just confuse consumers, who would see it as "different" but not necessarily better, which I think is what CM is aiming for. Just by looking at their existing price points, I don't think it'll come in at less than $150. Probably even more. $200 might be a bit of a stretch for the general market, but maybe $169 or $179.

How do you figure it's going to be $129?

[dorkvader]

I was always skeptical about the $150 price tag, seemed way too cheap considering the other Topre options on the market. Which brings me to my next point - considering this is still cheaper than the HHKB, has a more common layout AND mx sliders something tells me they won't have any trouble selling them.

I'm not as convinced, honestly. The current >$200 topre boards have a certain air of prestige and quality about them whereas Coolermaster are still perceived by most people to make good products, but not top tier products. People who are interested in 60% boards (FC660C and HHKB) won't see this as a viable alternative, which leaves the 87U as the sole TKL competitor. As it stands now, I can snag a Realforce 87U on NCIX.com for $185 CDN (roughly $172 USD) when I wait for a sale, so I'm not convinced people who are buying topre boards will settle for Coolermaster's product at a significant premium just to be able to put custom keycaps on their boards (which, given the keycap quality on the stock Novatouch means you're already above $300 factoring in a keyset of similar or better quality to the 87U which is stock PBT). While appealing, I'd still rather own the FC660C, HHKB or 87U over the CM Novatouch at a $225 price point.

I talked to the CM guy at keycon about this. He says that CM is well aware of their reputation, but wants to start branching out beyond such high-value goods. They want this to be a top-end KB and fight with the best. The thought is to start targeting the high-end / luxury market as well as the "great value" market they have a good hold on now.

If it does come out at $129.99, I'd probably pick one up if I had the cash. Maybe I'll sell something.

[Flyersfan1]

Most of you predict $150-$250; I will make a bold prediction of closer to $129.99.

I can't see this happening. CM's keyboards sell for MSRP of about $80-$130 (QFR on low end, XT and new backlit QFR on high end). $129 would not differentiate the Novatouch from the existing Cherry MX products. It would just confuse consumers, who would see it as "different" but not necessarily better, which I think is what CM is aiming for. Just by looking at their existing price points, I don't think it'll come in at less than $150. Probably even more. $200 might be a bit of a stretch for the general market, but maybe $169 or $179.

How do you figure it's going to be $129?

I mentioned this earlier, and I'm not sure how much of a factor it's going to be, but I wonder if Corsair's new line of RGB keyboards might play into all of this.  I know were comparing apples to oranges in terms of switch types, but Corsair has been teasing this stuff for almost a year now, and despite the price tag, will probably be more appealing to gamers at least.  I kind of assumed that CM would do all they can to get an edge on them since they both seem to be releasing in a relatively short time span of one another.

[intelli78]

Do we know the price on the Corsair RGB? I haven't paid much attention to it.

Another thought: I would not be surprised to see CM release its own line of keycaps in the near future. The synergy with both its existing MX keyboards and the Novatouch would be significant. Actually, it's hard to imagine them going to all the trouble of designing this new slider and not selling their own caps.

[Lpwl]

Corsair K70 RGB : $169.99 MSRP
Corsair K95 RGB : $189.99 MSRP

Source : guru3D

[osi]

No one will know until we see this years black Friday ad.

Delayed launch.

My bold and unfounded prediction.

[dante]

How do you figure it's going to be $129?

Because a single Topre board is going to be a hell of a lot easier to stomach financially/logistically than having to deal with several MX boards each having up to 5 switches.  On top of that when it comes to warranty time I'd gamble to say this board will outshine its MX brothers which will further save them money - which should allow them to lower the warranty buffer.

There is no free lunch however - I'm sure a contract is in place that places an expectation on them to make large orders regularly.

Retailers will love this board because it has a single SKU.

On the back end side of things - Topre has successfully exported this tech already - so other than the stabilizers and MX connector there really are no surprises.  I'm sure in a lab somewhere in Topre they were working on this stuff long before Carter ever made an announcement so most of the research was already paid off.