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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Naack on Sat, 28 July 2018, 00:15:19

Title: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: Naack on Sat, 28 July 2018, 00:15:19
Do you think they will ever release HHKB Pro 2 (or maybe Pro 3) with USB C connectors?
Been thinking of picking up one of these bad boys but would hold out if there was a chance they would go USB C.
Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: dead_pixel_design on Sat, 28 July 2018, 00:26:33
They aren't going to release a USB-C Pro 2. No one knows if there is going to be an HHKB Pro 3 or not, every once in a while someone says they saw something somewhere, friend of a friend knows a guy. Personally I doubt we are going to see a Pro 3. Even if we ever do it's likely a long way off since the company hasn't made any formal announcement they were even working on one. I would say get the Pro 2, I have one and love it.
Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: Naack on Sat, 28 July 2018, 00:38:19
Like, I see that they have a Bluetooth version on their website, which is pretty good, but the battery pack on the back looks pretty gaudy.
Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: rxc92 on Sat, 28 July 2018, 14:47:03
Like, I see that they have a Bluetooth version on their website, which is pretty good, but the battery pack on the back looks pretty gaudy.
 
 
Don't hold your breath, it's a Japanese company; updates and new products are few and far between.
Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: Naack on Sat, 28 July 2018, 15:00:28
How true you are.

How great of a day it will be when the entire keyboarding world adopts one connector to rule them all.


Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: Acereconkeys on Sat, 28 July 2018, 15:46:43
It doesn't seem likely they'd work on a new chassis, new pcb (probably maybe a daughter board) just to switch to a socket that will be out of date eventually.

That means they'd have to do more engineering work for little to no benefit.
Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: snogglethorpe on Sat, 01 September 2018, 12:14:16
Don't hold your breath, it's a Japanese company; updates and new products are few and far between.

I think this is a little inaccurate ... Japanese companies in general actually tend to update and change their products at a ridiculous rate (I'd argue too often), because that's what works best in the Japanese domestic market, which tends to favor novelty and newness.

In the case of the HHKB, though, I think it's essentially a niche product that has existed on autopilot for a long time, and doesn't seem get much attention from the manufacturer (though it must sell OK if it's still on the market after 20+ years!).

[Another factor is that most Japanese products, including most of the model churn, don't tend to make it out of Japan; in the case of the HHKB, though, I never saw much activity in the HHKB line in Japan either.]
Title: Re: HHKB + USB C?
Post by: rxc92 on Mon, 03 September 2018, 04:08:38
Don't hold your breath, it's a Japanese company; updates and new products are few and far between.

I think this is a little inaccurate ... Japanese companies in general actually tend to update and change their products at a ridiculous rate (I'd argue too often), because that's what works best in the Japanese domestic market, which tends to favor novelty and newness.

In the case of the HHKB, though, I think it's essentially a niche product that has existed on autopilot for a long time, and doesn't seem get much attention from the manufacturer (though it must sell OK if it's still on the market after 20+ years!).

[Another factor is that most Japanese products, including most of the model churn, don't tend to make it out of Japan; in the case of the HHKB, though, I never saw much activity in the HHKB line in Japan either.]
 
 
That might be true for the domestic market, but the vast majority of us are international consumers of Japanese products, and therefore do experience the aforementioned rarity of change.