geekhack
geekhack Community => Ergonomics => Topic started by: cypherslock on Sat, 09 April 2011, 19:39:42
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Well. I had promised to post a review of the Engage. I ordered it and it was shipped to my place within 3 days. This is unheard of usually considering it was coming from New Jersey and I'm in Canada.
I can say that it works as advertised and is quite easy to come to grips with and use. typing on it was nice, if a bit stiff. The motion happened once an hour or so and though loud was over quickly.
HOWEVER, it appears that more testing needs to be done. My first keyboard lasted me two days, before the entire left side wouldn't type. As in nothing worked. So, I emailed Joseph Lipschitz, the Product Manager and he got me a new one sent out and it got to me, shipped out Friday, received Monday. And I happily used my new keyboard. For about a week. I noticed that the right side didn't have the same spacing as the left. At first I thought it was my eyes. But then I also noticed that it seemed to stop short when I hit the move button. From there it, for all intents and purposes, got stuck and wouldn't move at all, though the motor was running and I heard a clicking noise.
So, I video taped it and called Joseph the following day. I asked for and received and prompt refund.
You might think that this has soured me on the company and their products. Au contraire! The Whirl mouse that I have works like a charm. Every single communication with Smartfish has been courteous and relaxed, almost as if talking to friends. This, I'm sure you know is becoming rare in customer service. They are coming out with a smaller keyboard as well as a cheaper wired option.
So in the end, although at this point it didn't work out for me, I'm still rooting for Smartfish. Things just need a bit more refinement and I will be doing business with the company again (most likely getting the notebook version of the mouse). I'm told they are redesigning the office space, which is good, as we need companies to take risks like what they are doing. I do still highly recommend the mouse and the keyboard, with shipping and import fees the way they are here, I just felt a refund would be faster.
I went and got a Logitech k800 illuminated keyboard and love it.