Bastron Glass Keyboard Review

[knightjp]

I know that this might be an unpopular opinion on this forum with a number of mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, but I honest I am pleasantly impressed with this keyboard. I didn't think that I would like it as much as I did.



Now everyone that has heard about this keyboard have spoken about it being a disaster for our hands how could anyone actually be able to touch-type on it. Well I would not call my typing style touch typing because I can hardly feel any keys.
I would not call my typing style as touch-typing, but I am able to type on the keyboard without looking at it. All I do before I begin typing is quickly glance down to make sure my two index fingers are hovering over the "F" and "J" keys and then begin typing. I do make some mistakes, but that can easily be attributed to my typing technique and skills.
I am not a fast typist and at this point I am trying to get back to QWERTY. I was using Dvorak for sometime and it was brilliant, but I am trying to decide which of the layouts is the best one for me.

The general consensus is that you won't be able to get any work done because it will be difficult to use a Glass Keyboard. People sometimes complain about having to use the keyboards on their iPads. I guess that is why Apple made those detachable keyboards.
I will admit that the glass keyboard is at home and I work in an office for the most part - hence I use a normal desktop keyboard; but since this pandemic started, I have been working from home and I have had to use my glass one more and more. I did not find it uncomfortable to difficult at all.
I guess my review pretty much echoes the statements made in this review.

[jamster]

I am not a fast typist and at this point I am trying to get back to QWERTY. I was using Dvorak for sometime and it was brilliant, but I am trying to decide which of the layouts is the best one for me.

I'm very curious about this last comment- what are the factors that make you think that QWERTY might be the better layout for you, besides ubiquity?

[knightjp]

I'm very curious about this last comment- what are the factors that make you think that QWERTY might be the better layout for you, besides ubiquity?

Ubiquity is the factor and pretty much the only factor that appeals to me about QWERTY.
Practically I don't find myself missing Dvorak all that much. Of course QWERTY is not as fluid as Dvorak, but I find myself being able to type just as fast as I was on Dvorak with little to minimum effort.
Perhaps it is because the layout is pretty much imprinted on my subconscious. Close your eyes and imagine a keyboard, I can almost guarantee that it will be a QWERTY one.
Also this article keeps coming to my mind.
http://allthingsergo.com/blog/articles/colemak-dvorak/

I might go back to Dvorak later on. At this moment, I am not sure at this point.

[jamster]

I'm very curious about this last comment- what are the factors that make you think that QWERTY might be the better layout for you, besides ubiquity?

Ubiquity is the factor and pretty much the only factor that appeals to me about QWERTY.
Practically I don't find myself missing Dvorak all that much. Of course QWERTY is not as fluid as Dvorak, but I find myself being able to type just as fast as I was on Dvorak with little to minimum effort.
Perhaps it is because the layout is pretty much imprinted on my subconscious. Close your eyes and imagine a keyboard, I can almost guarantee that it will be a QWERTY one.
Also this article keeps coming to my mind.
http://allthingsergo.com/blog/articles/colemak-dvorak/

I might go back to Dvorak later on. At this moment, I am not sure at this point.

It's interesting though that as a solid Dvorak user, you seem to be satisfied enough with QWERTY to move back to it.

Ugh, that author never seemed to become fluent with either of the alternative layouts, and his reasons for sticking with QWERTY seemed very flimsy.  His main complaint is that his finger length doesn't match the home rows, which is something that I am currently addressing via an offset orthogonal layout.

Apologies for the total digression from the actual keyboard though

[Maledicted]

Well I would not call my typing style touch typing because I can hardly feel any keys. I would not call my typing style as touch-typing, but I am able to type on the keyboard without looking at it. All I do before I begin typing is quickly glance down to make sure my two index fingers are hovering over the "F" and "J" keys and then begin typing.

Say you were unable to feel the keys at all. You would have then eliminated the reason to have any specific keyboard in the first place. The tactile feedback (or bottoming out with linears) of the keys that confirms for you that each has been actuated, and being able to feel the home bumps and contour of the caps before committing, is the only practical reason one would have to disparage laser projection, glass, roll-up, virtual, etc, etc, keyboards.

I don't know that any like or dislike of that board would be a trend, I doubt many people have even heard of it. I know I hadn't until I found one and picked it up for almost nothing. I know I sure wouldn't buy it for the retail price, since it is literally just a flat slab of glass that offers no benefits over laser projection while weighing more, taking up more space, and costing more money (besides maybe being able to be used on a handful of surfaces a laser keyboard may not work well on?). I imagine all of that contributed greatly to its very short retail stint.

I don't even own an iPad, never will. I have had a few Android and Windows tablets. Even with an external keyboard, I wouldn't want to have to use one for anything remotely productive without a mouse (or trackpad). I only use touch devices when literally nothing else is nearby and/or it makes less sense to travel to something more useful (this is rare). Touch screens, in general, are basically useless by comparison in almost all situations. I would imagine that if you have less feeling in your fingers than others, this would be especially true. They're already frustrating enough as it is.

If it works for you, that's great. It is always good when something that flops and/or becomes old/forgotten gets a new lease on life instead of ending up in a landfill.

[knightjp]

Well the best way that I can describe the actual typing on the Bastron is that it feels like putting an iOS or Android tablet on the table and using it as a keyboard.
The letters appear on the screen as soon as my fingers touch the glass. There no pressing for key actuation point. I guess you could say that my fingers are just bottoming out on the surface.
Someone said that I would not be able to type on the keyboard for long periods of time without having discomfort on my fingertips because they keep tapping the hard glass surface constantly. I have not experienced such discomfort, even after using the keyboard all day.
I believe that those who are used to long finger travel are the ones that will have the issues. I am used to typing on my Apple A1243 and other shallow keyboards. I will say that it gets a bit more tiring, because unlike other keyboards, I cannot rest my fingers on the keys while typing. The moment, my fingers just touch the keyboard, a character is typed. So my fingers are in constant hover position over the keyboard.

 With regards to the query about the Dvorak layout, I cannot say that it was better or worse. I did feel that I was making less mistakes in typing actual words, but when it came to punctuation and other special characters like "-", it was getting a bit difficult. I had only used the layout recently for about 3 - 4 months. So I cannot say that I am a confident typist on Dvorak to make an accurate assessment.
With QWERTY, because the finger movements are more scattered across they keyboard, there are more mistakes with the words, but I am seeing a big improvement as each day passes. I have noticed that by using the Bastron, once I get on a standard keyboard, my speed and accuracy has increased.
I guess you could say that typing on glass is a great trainer.

[treeleaf64]

You are not allowed to like this keyboard  ~


~ Leaves ~ ~

[tp4tissue]

You are not allowed to like this keyboard  ~


~ Leaves ~ ~

[Maledicted]

Well the best way that I can describe the actual typing on the Bastron is that it feels like putting an iOS or Android tablet on the table and using it as a keyboard.
The letters appear on the screen as soon as my fingers touch the glass. There no pressing for key actuation point. I guess you could say that my fingers are just bottoming out on the surface.
Someone said that I would not be able to type on the keyboard for long periods of time without having discomfort on my fingertips because they keep tapping the hard glass surface constantly. I have not experienced such discomfort, even after using the keyboard all day.
I believe that those who are used to long finger travel are the ones that will have the issues. I am used to typing on my Apple A1243 and other shallow keyboards. I will say that it gets a bit more tiring, because unlike other keyboards, I cannot rest my fingers on the keys while typing. The moment, my fingers just touch the keyboard, a character is typed. So my fingers are in constant hover position over the keyboard.

 With regards to the query about the Dvorak layout, I cannot say that it was better or worse. I did feel that I was making less mistakes in typing actual words, but when it came to punctuation and other special characters like "-", it was getting a bit difficult. I had only used the layout recently for about 3 - 4 months. So I cannot say that I am a confident typist on Dvorak to make an accurate assessment.
With QWERTY, because the finger movements are more scattered across they keyboard, there are more mistakes with the words, but I am seeing a big improvement as each day passes. I have noticed that by using the Bastron, once I get on a standard keyboard, my speed and accuracy has increased.
I guess you could say that typing on glass is a great trainer.

I imagine that this is just like any other extreme change in switch. If I go from a really heavy clicky to a light linear, I put a lot more force into bottoming out than I would if I were using that linear board for a few days straight, and it is jarring. It takes a little bit to acclimate to such changes. I don't see how typing on this (once used to it) would be particularly jarring at all other than the fact that there's literally nothing at all decelerating your fingers other than a slab of glass. How much of a difference can that make? Who really knows.

You can't rest your fingers on MX red boards anyway either. 

[treeleaf64]

For me, I would assume it is like typing on laptop keyboard. Eventually, you get used to it. I just do not want to get used to it, because it is hard to get used to my favorite full travel switches again.


I will try to type normally instead of putting extra spaces and weird punctuation in my sentences, you're welcome.

[Leslieann]

The general consensus is that you won't be able to get any work done because it will be difficult to use a Glass Keyboard.

My consensus is let's see how your joints are in 10 or 20 years.

You are asking for severe joint issues later in life typing on that all the time, arthritis, tendonitis and probably few itises I'm not aware of. It's bad enough just typing (carpal tunnel, repetitive stress), you don't want to add high impact. You are beating the hell out of your finger tips and sending massive shock up through the joints even if it doesn't feel like it to you. From and ergonomics point of view it's a disaster waiting to happen.

[jamster]

Thanks for the Dvorak/QWERTY comparison.

With regards to the Baston, would it be accurate to say that the experience is practically the same as just using the onscreen board that pops up when using an iPad, or is there more to it than that? If it's just that? If it's just that, then we could all get an idea of what it's like very easily.

[Maledicted]

Thanks for the Dvorak/QWERTY comparison.

With regards to the Baston, would it be accurate to say that the experience is practically the same as just using the onscreen board that pops up when using an iPad, or is there more to it than that? If it's just that? If it's just that, then we could all get an idea of what it's like very easily.

I have one, but used it only very briefly. I would say that's accurate, though there's no way to make it vibrate for verification that anything has actually registered. I believe knightjp also compared it to a touchscreen. The biggest difference would be that this abomination is actually large enough to type properly on and mistype less frequently.

If you're a touch typist, pretend you're typing on the surface of your desk or something, especially if it is glass. Same thing.

[funkmon]

I did once use a tablet a long time ago as an alphanumeric cluster just to see if I could do it easily, and the answer is yes. It's not something I would choose to do, but it's definitely usable; at least as usable as very bad chiclet keyboards.

I think the glass trackpad is totally boss though.

[treeleaf64]

Yes, I agree with what Leslie said, it is not good for your fingertips to bottom out that hard. It may look good, but I don't think it will feel as good as it does 10 years down the line.

[Maledicted]

Yes, I agree with what Leslie said, it is not good for your fingertips to bottom out that hard. It may look good, but I don't think it will feel as good as it does 10 years down the line.

I don't think it looks good either. Just some cheesy pseudo-futuristic nonsense like from a science fiction movie. The kind of movie where every single piece of technology makes you go, "... why does this exist?" or " ... well, that was stupid."

[funkmon]

First of all how dare you. Haha. That stuff famously is cool! That's why it's there!

On the other hand, I do really hate the beeping and stuff in movies.

[jamster]

Hey, at least you have to give the company credit for trying something different. There is so little real creativity with almost all keyboard products these days regardless of which end of the market you're looking at.

[Maledicted]

First of all how dare you. Haha. That stuff famously is cool! That's why it's there!

On the other hand, I do really hate the beeping and stuff in movies.

Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it is extremely cheesy yet endearing (Star Wars). I mean more-so the not-so-endearing cheesiness.

Hey, at least you have to give the company credit for trying something different. There is so little real creativity with almost all keyboard products these days regardless of which end of the market you're looking at.

Yes, true. As useless as these, laser projection, and roll-up keyboards are, they're something different. I did actually even buy one of those roll-up keyboards. I envisioned myself lugging it around for fixing/testing computers that may not have any peripherals connected. This was in the dark times, before I knew of mechanicals.

[knightjp]

I don't think it looks good either. Just some cheesy pseudo-futuristic nonsense like from a science fiction movie. The kind of movie where every single piece of technology makes you go, "... why does this exist?" or " ... well, that was stupid."

What movie would that be? Tron?

Well the beeping and stuff that you hear in movies is really cheezy, but I guess you need that sound to make it sound like they are typing. Otherwise,  if it a normal keyboard, you would have the standard mechanical key sound. The Bastron does not have any beeping at all.

I used those toll up keyboards too. They were awful to type on. Hardly get anything done.

[fohat.digs]

I did actually even buy one of those roll-up keyboards.

The one I had was far and away the worst thing I have ever used. Maybe if you were judging diving contests and had to sit next to the swimming pool ....