Wireless Keyboard Suggestion?

[RastaCook]

Hi,
My current keyboard is dying, so I need to replace it and am hoping you guys could give me a few suggestions.

Features:
+++ New keyboard must be wireless. My current wireless keyboard can go at least 1 month without the need for me to replace the 2 rechargeable AAA batteries, so I was hoping for something similar.
++ I would like to go with mechanical. It seems like it's hard to find mechanical + wireless though.
+ I dont need the numpad, so i'd like to get a smaller keyboard.
+ Durable... My current keyboard has half of the keys with that very used "shinny/glossy" look because the matte finish completely eroded, i got at least 15 keys where the letters were erased too... This makes the keyboard look very old/ugly/used/gross, so i'd like to avoid this on my next keyboard.
= I dont really care about leds, it could be useful at night if they arent too bright but, I think i'd rather have longer battery life instead of leds... I definitively am not a fan of the "gamer" keyboard style, I like sleek, modern look... unfortunately with mechanical keyboard i know that this mean the keyboard will be"chunky" but i'd like to keep it as sleek as possible, no unecessary border/bevel/edges or anything.

Usage:
I use win7 for now, will switch to win8. I work on my computer but generally dont need to write for extended period of time (i'm not a writer). Aside from work I also use my computer for gaming, I play a lot of first person shooters. I think for my use MX black or brown would be best but i'm not sure... I dont want the noisy ones.

Budget:
Well, obviously, as cheap as possible as long as it fits my criteria... I am used to buying cheaper keyboards, but considering i'm going mechanical wireless now let's say my max budget would be around 150$ including shipping.

Thanks!

[Melvang]

Off the top of my head I believe there has only been one wireless mechanical board.  Well that hasn't been an IOne build.  That OEM is generally known for crap quality from what I have read here. 

You could have a look at this one.

http://kbtalkingusa.com/

Not sure if it is plate or PCB mount though.

[Pacifist]

filco minila air

[SpAmRaY]

filco minila air

^^ http://www.amazon.com/Majestouch-Tactile-Keyboard-FFKB67M-EB/dp/B00BEVVFD0

[Melvang]

filco minila air

^^ http://www.amazon.com/Majestouch-Tactile-Keyboard-FFKB67M-EB/dp/B00BEVVFD0

Forgot about that one.  But yeah wireless isn't real popular around here.

[johndavis33]

Matiases secure pro? It uses alps switches but they're really good ones.

[vestigev2]

New versions of Noppoo Choc Mini also seem to come in wireless variants

[dmbr]

Yep, minila air is sweeet

[IvanIvanovich]

The best wireless options are probably Filco Minila Air, Neo Zelia, and Plum 96. Though I wouldn't expect such long battery life from them. You can add led for backlight to Neo or Plum if you wish as the PCB supports it.

[Melvang]

The best wireless options are probably Filco Minila Air, Neo Zelia, and Plum 96. Though I wouldn't expect such long battery life from them. You can add led for backlight to Neo or Plum if you wish as the PCB supports it.

What is the issue with the kbtalking line of keyboards?

[SpAmRaY]

The best wireless options are probably Filco Minila Air, Neo Zelia, and Plum 96. Though I wouldn't expect such long battery life from them. You can add led for backlight to Neo or Plum if you wish as the PCB supports it.

What is the issue with the kbtalking line of keyboards?

The OP mentioned he didn't need the number pad and wanted a smaller keyboard.

[RastaCook]

Thx for your input guys, here are my thoughts :

KBtalKing Pro Value Edition 149$
--- seems wayyy too big
= a bit pricey
= not sure how i feel about bluetooth, and also not sure if my desktop as a bluetooth adapter
+ comes in mx brown which i think might be preferable for gaming?

Filco minila air 139$
- i dont think i like the fact that there are no function keys... maybe i could get used to it but, it could also be a hassle even if used to it?
= again not sure about bluetooth
= Led light is nice, however probably going to cost battery life, anyone knows how long and/or if leds can be turned off?
+ really small compact and sleek

Matias secure pro 170$
- looks a bit plasticky/cheap ?
- expensive
= not sure if bluetooth or rf?
= it uses encryption to send the wireless signals which i worry could cause input lag but on the other hand states a 200hz polling rate which is supposed to be faster than any other wireless keyboard so maybe overall it's faster and safer...
+ good size, its small enough
+ ultra long battery life

Noppoo Choc mini 84-2M 110$ (+ 22$shipping)
= not sure if bluetooth...
++ this size seem perfect and design is the sleekest so far

Neo Zelia
= hmm not quite sure where you buy this.. i saw aliexpress.com but its all chinese stuff, idk, they sell it for 145$, not sure how much shipping would be...
- The design is a bit big and also, even though it looks interesting/cool i think that it would be a hassle to clean?

Plum 96
= Again an aliexpress thing, its 141$ + shipping...
- Its too big so, i dont think id go with this one.


So far I think the top contender are the Noppoo Choc Mini and the Filco minila air... the noppoo might have a slight advantage because it has the function keys... After that I think the matias secure pro interesting too, long battery life, supposed to have super fast input speed... it's just really expensive... are there any deals ever on these ? or... argh, not sure what to do.

[timmytangohead]

Hi RastaCook - I'm also looking to buy a wired/wireless mechanical keyboard that I can use for programming and gaming desk-style with a wire, and then detach for some coach based media playing and more gaming when I want to. My list of plusses and minuses is exactly the same as yours, so I thought I would add the research I've done to your thread. I found 3 main contenders:

Noppoo Choc mini 84-2M
http://www.amazon.com/Noppoo-wireless-keyboard-Mechanical-Dual-mode/dp/B00GTGAY0K/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1392825221&sr=8-9&keywords=noppoo+keyboard

+ 2.4G wireless, with wire
++ layout looks great
+ size is great
- more expensive than other contenders
+ amazon review says the range and response on the wireless is good

Morphling 87
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Morphling-Backlit-Wire-Wirless-Mechanical-Keyboard-Red-Switch-Brand-New-in-BOX-Fast-Free-shipping/803343_934354240.html

= not sure of size, looks slightly larger than Choc Mini - but more open layout is probably more comfortable
+ lower cost
- review on aliexpress says that wireless is rubbish and drops typed keys

Neo 87
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-Neo-87-zelia-wireless-wired-black-qingcha-red-shaft-mechanical-keyboard/894809100.html

= size and layout look in between Morphling and Choc Mini
- I saw a review of one being sold on ebay.co.uk saying wireless was also rubbish and dropped characters. Here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161209364502?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Does anyone have a link showing dimensions of the Morphling and Neo?

I don't currently have bluetooth so I had ruled out the Filco and seems less stable than wireless, but if the wireless on these three are all terrible then I would consider bluetooth.

The Matias is slightly more expensive and slightly larger than the Noppoo Choc Mini, so I'm not sure what the advantages would be unless the wireless is better.

I'm leaning towards the Noppoo for the size and layout, the fact that its on amazon prime, and the one good review of the wireless on amazon, even though the price difference to the Morphling is over $30.

I find it hard to understand why these expensive keyboards would have awful wireless - my $10 microsoft wireless keyboard I have been using from the couch has rock solid wireless with range of at least 10ft, I've never even tested further, it has never dropped a character, I've never noticed meaningful lag, and I haven't changed the battery in 10 months. Does anyone know why the wireless would reportedly be so unstable in one of these wireless mechanical keyboards?

[RastaCook]

Hi Timmyandgohead, thanks for sharing some info, about the matias :

The Matias is slightly more expensive and slightly larger than the Noppoo Choc Mini, so I'm not sure what the advantages would be unless the wireless is better.

I think, well, supposedly, the advantages of the matias over the noppoo choc mini would be that :
1. Encrypted wireless
2. Very long battery life
3. Fast wireless polling rate (200hz)

I dont know if these are just "marketing" claims though, and how this would compare in real life versus the noppoo choc mini for example... I dont necessarily need encryption, battery life of 6-12 month is nice but i'm ok with recharging my keyboard every 1-2month ( i dont know how long the other wireless keyboard can last though...) , and the 200hz polling rate well, it would help to be able to compare what the other keyboard polling rate is, and how much is really necessary, maybe 200hz is overkill, i have no idea...  The big disadvantage of this keyboard is the price, it's 170$ and probably would come to around 200$ with shipping, duties/taxes etc... To me this is a little insane price to pay for a keyboard... I guess they are taking advantage of a gap in the market, very little competition for wireless mechanical keyboards.

[timmytangohead]

I think standard USB polling rate is 125hz, so every 8ms - 200hz would be every 5ms. At nearly 50% faster, I could see that making a difference if you notice lag a lot. Gaming mice use 500hz or 1000hz, for 2ms or 1ms response time. I don't know, though, whether wireless keyboards would generally use the standard USB polling rate, so I have no idea whether my current USB keyboard or any of those that I'm looking at would have faster or slower responses than 8ms...

Like you I don't feel like encryption or battery life (I'll use with wire around half the time anyway) will encourage me to spend more money.

[Melvang]

I would be willing to bet that all wireless keyboards are going to be bluetooth for a couple reasons.

1.  It is an open system that anyone can design around.
2.  Encryption is possible
3.  Everything can use it.  Don't have it on your desktop?  You can buy an adapter for probably $20 and Best Buy or some other electronics store.
4.  More than good enough range and battery life
5.  You can then use it on to type on laptops, tablets, smart phones, supposedly consoles, etc, etc
6.  Hardware is probably cheap.

Also bluetooth is RF.

RF = radio frequency

[SpAmRaY]

But many wireless accessories use a proprietary dongle.

[Melvang]

But many wireless accessories use a proprietary dongle.

True but something as universal as a keyboard it should be a standard signal. 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/usb-bluetooth-4-0-bluetooth-adapter/1308417507.p;jsessionid=01AE0090C4CF8B59F5870D2E97411067.bbolsp-app01-198?id=mp1308417507&skuId=1308417507&st=usb%20bluetooth%20adapter&cp=1&lp=5#tab=buyingOptions

bluetooth 4.0 is backwards compatible with all previous versions.

[RastaCook]

I would be willing to bet that all wireless keyboards are going to be bluetooth for a couple reasons.

I dont understand why you say that? Obviously some of them are not bluetooth, like the noppoo apparently, as well as tons of other non-mechanical keyboards.

Anyways, the thing about bluetooth is that, I had a really bad experience with it 2-3 years ago... Essentially I bought one of those dongles to plug in my computer so that I could use a headset, well, I got all sorts of problems and eventually just gave up. With regular wireless device though yes, sometimes I've had some connection issue where you need to unplug/replug the dongle but generally it just works, no need to install anything, give access or setup anything, you plug it and the mouse/keyboard/headset works, i've been using wireless for years and am never going back to usb. I'd love to have wireless monitors and wireless anything... Also i am not concerned about using the keyboard on anything else but my desktop, so, the fact that a bluetooth keyboard could work maybe on a tablet/phone/ps3 is not a factor for me, but yes, it's a "nice to have" for some.

[dmbr]

The Minilla has two function keys on either side of the space bar--do you mean media keys?

[timmytangohead]

Melvang - are you saying that you think even non-Bluetooth RF keyboards with a proprietary dongle WOULD work with a bluetooth 4 adapter instead? I find this unlikely - the Filco Minila Air and KBTalking Pro both have a 'connect' button to pair with a bluetooth device, which I don't think the non-Bluetooth RF devices have.

Anyway, I reconsidered the Filco in light of being able to buy a cheap bluetooth connecter, which makes it a similar price to the Noppoo, and here are my thoughts:

+ More options of switch types available - I think I would prefer browns over reds, but having tried neither I can't be sure.
+ build quality and brand reputation seem excellent
- layout is worse than Noppoo - the Noppoo is 0.7 inches wider, but manages to include keys for home, end, pg up and pg down, which I use all the time for programming, as well as larger backspace, right shift and space keys, and separate F1-F12 - and lock keys for the in-keyboard number pad - it seems like a more intelligent use of the space to me, with only a tiny increase in size.