My week with the Novatouch is coming to a close, and I'll be shipping it out to Gameaholic tomorrow. In the meantime, here are my thoughts on it. I've never attempted to write a review before, so bear with me. I hope I didn't write too much
The Board More
The board has some decent weight to it for a plastic cased TKL. My one complaint with my favorite Topre keyboard, the HHKB, is that it's so light that it feels like a toy. That's not a problem with this board. That's not to say that it's heavier than any other standard TKL, but it's certainly not flimsy feeling either. The flip out feet have rubber bits on the end, which keep it static on my desk, adding to that solid feel.
The shape of the case is a little different from the usual. The angles on the sides and back remind me a bit of a Korean Custom and add some character to the board. Also, the only writing is on the back and underside of the keyboard--out of view--giving the keyboard a sleek look overall.
The Novatouch uses a Micro USB connector as opposed to the more commonly used Mini USB. Considering the info I've seen recently regarding the greater longevity of Micro USB, I think this is a good move.
The Switches More
I was pleased to find that the switches feel almost indistinguishable from those on a 45g Realforce. They're perfectly smooth, and bottom out with a nice "thock." I did notice that some of the keys, most notably backspace and enter, but also some others, had more of a "clack" to their bottom out. This is something I've experienced with both the Realforce 87ub and Leopold FC660C, so it's not specific to this keyboard. I don't think it's very detrimental to the overall feel, but it is somewhat odd, and I see how it could bother some people.
The KeycapsMore
The stock keycaps aren't great, but I imagine most people would purchase this board with the intent of replacing them anyway.
I've never been very fond of o-rings, but on the Novatouch I think they emphasize the muted feeling of the Topre bottom-out very nicely. I'll probably add o-rings to all the keys if I buy my own.
My favorite keycaps are probably the Cherry Doubleshots. Somewhat similar to the change in feel that the o-rings bring, the greater thickness of the doubleshots compared to the other caps makes the bottom out and tactility more pronounced. SA Profile has a similar effect, but I find the cap height to be too much for my liking.
As a sidenote, this is my first time feeling POM, and it's certainly interesting. I find it to be like a bridge between Cherry ABS and Cherry PBT, in that it's a bit more smooth than ABS, but not silky-smooth like PBT.
Conclusion More
Altogether I'm very pleased by the Novatouch. Cooler Master did an excellent job at maintaining the great Topre feel, while adding MX compatibility and putting it all in a nice looking package. I'm quite tempted to buy one, and if a 55g version ever surfaces, I'm positive that I will.
Sidenote--I noticed that the enter key is very wobbly. I thought perhaps it was just the POM enter, so I put a Cherry PBT enter on there and it didn't change anything. It's not all that annoying and I got used to it quickly. Still strange.
More
Also, I'll be including a WYSE Doubleshot and Cherry Lasered PBT set in the box with the board. There are already a few keys from both sets on the board, but I thought I'd include the full sets just in case anyone wanted to swap out some more caps.
