geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Whiskey in the Jar-o on Sun, 16 September 2007, 04:21:02
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Does anyone like those? I have an Asus W2V notebook, and the keyboard is not bad, but the keys feel a bit hard, and you can't help but bottom out on each stroke. It has zero flex though. I've been thinking of getting a ThinkPlus Travel keyboard with UltraNav. They are supposedly the same as the ThinkPad keyboard, and everyone raves about ThinkPad keyboards. But the reviews are not encouraging. Many say that in fact, they are not the same, Then again, apparently IBM/Lenovo uses 3 different vendors for their notebook keyboards: Alps, Chicony and NMB, with NMB considered to be "the real deal", and it's pot luck which one you get. I have no idea who makes the ThinkPlus keyboard. Probably a lottery as well.
Speaking of vendors... I remember trying out a G4 Powerbook keyboard about 2.5 years ago. I was surprised that the keys felt rather stiff. Fast forward 2 years, and the keyboard on the MacBook Pro that I tried feels almost mushy.
Thoughts, anyone? BTW, Cherry succumbed to the trends and now make scissor-switch boards as well. They are supposedly well-made, but on the stiff side.
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The keyboards on the MacBooks (not MBP's) are probably the best laptop keyboards I've ever used. Thinkpads (like the one I am typing on now) are a close second. Dell laptop keyboards are the worst crap I have ever typed on...and that is across the board; from their cheapest economy laptops to the highest-end ones they have available.
whiskey,
Check your PM about the UltraNav keyboards.
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Toshiba has nice laptop keyboards to. The MacBook does have a nice keyboard, comparatively, but what went wrong with the MBP keyboards? Way to make a two and a hlf thousand dollar laptop with the worst keyboard ever made. The thing is even backlit, come on Apple, WTF?
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On Saturday, after I said good bye to the greatest cat ever, I was sorta depressed and went down to my local electronics superstore to... check out keyboards. I've tried pretty much all of them. Some observations (no Lenovo keyboards there, BTW):
A High-end Sony Vaio notebook with a non-MacBook-like keyboard had very good tactile feel. Some Toshibas had a pretty good feel. The MacBook Pro was quite good as well. The MacBook I could not really make sense of. I could type on it (I can type on anything), but don't know if I could live with it long-term. The new Aluminium Apple KB is not quite the same as the MacBook. The keys are firmer, with even less feedback. I am now convinced that the next Apple KB will be a touch-screen. No doubt about it anymore. When it happens, I expect fanbois to hail it as the best thing since sliced bread, even as they take 2 hours to type up a single sentence of gushing praise.
As far as standalone keyboards go... I found that an entry-level MS keyboard had a better, more tactile feel than a Logitech BT wonder 10 times its price. The MS Comfort Curve 2000 felt surprisingly good, given how cheap it is. As with almost all MS keyboards, the spacebar is the big letdown. Much louder and clunkier than the other keys. I have no problems with noise, as long as it's justified by quality tactile feel and is consistent among the keys.
The new Logitech DiNovo Edge was kinda boring looking in the flesh, and a fingerprint magnet to boot. The scissor-switch keys were definitely good, except for the spacebar. Still, I don't think it's worth the money. The OMG l33t w00t (whatever else the youngins say these days) Logitech G15 was nothing special.
The now old Apple keyboard is lame. It's long-travel, yet the activation point is almost at the bottom, and the down travel is not smooth, and the keys rebound slowly.
There were no mechanical keyboards.
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With regards to stand-alone membrane keyboards, I take it all back. I just had another browse at the store, and they are all crap. Different feeling kind of crap, but crap nonetheless. None measure up to my Cherry Cymotion (membrane).
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Some membranes can be OK. I typed on one of the new Microsoft keyboards and it wasn't something I'd buy, it wasn't that bad.
I've always wanted to try one of those HHKB Lite 2s, as they have membrane switches, but I bet they feel alright. Anyone ever type on one? I know it wouldn't hold a candle to what I'm typing on now though . . .
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BTW
I used a Razer Taranchula and the keys feel like the keyboards that came with the original iMacs. I was seriously disappointed.
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Some are better indeed, but often there is no difference in key feel between $20 and $100 keyboards. The only difference is bling.
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We're such Americans ...
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love the logi illuminated board
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WOW! Ressurrecting a thread from 2007?
And I thought I was spending too much time looking at old stuff in here...
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I like the Microsoft Arc.