Microsoft Arc Keyboard short review

[jkercado]

This keyboard has been in the market for quite a while, and I was able to snatch one off eBay for $15 in mint condition. I'm very satisfied with this keyboard. Extremely light and portable, yet has an excellent key feel quality--snappy, responsive, with a very nice tactile feel--I think it feels better than all the other Microsoft keyboards, which feel mushy by comparison. Has more key travel than a regular laptop keyboard, and is pleasingly tactile. And it looks damn cool.



Here it is in all it's diminutive glory. Like the Das Keyboard, being shiny means it is sort of a fingerprint magnet in the long run. But I can live with that.



How does the arc shape works? Quite nicely. It gives your hands more surface area while keeping the size compact and nice. Quite comfortable.



The keys have a nice dished shape that's very hard to capture in pictures, but it does make the keys feels very nice and help you avoid hitting the key edges and miss keystrokes.

Things some people might not like? The cursor movement pad takes some time to get used to, although I've found a "trick" when using it by "rocking" my index finger on it to move the cursor. But it's definitely something you gotta get used to. The Home, End, and paging keys are at the top of the keyboard, with F7-F12 available by pressing the Fn key on F1-F6. So the layout is a bit odd. It does have dedicated audio keys, which I dig.

But what I most like about it is the key feel. There's something about the tactile feel that I just love. I know, very subjective, but it is what it is, I guess.

I have been using it for coding at home (since I have a very small office) and so far, so good! I love not having keyboard cables around my tiny desktop. With this and my Microsoft Touch Mouse, I have a nice, compact solution for my compact office.

 

[khaangaaroo]

I had one of these for a good length of time before switching to mechanical keyboards. I agree with you on all points. I really did enjoy the feel of the keys.
People will probably come to bash this and that about the board, like the arrow keys, but I doubt they've spent much time on the keyboard. I too adapted to the cursor pad and used a rocking motion to get the clicks without any problem.

Wireless connectivity on it was reliable, and battery life was good. My only gripe about the keyboard that affected me productivity-wise was the lack of a Ctrl key on the right side. I use a lot of design programs for work (with lots of hotkeys), and hitting something like Ctrl + P would require two hands instead of one, so I would have to take my hand off the mouse. I would have liked to see a shorter spacebar to make room for a Ctrl key.

I gave the Arc keyboard to my parents when I got a QFR. But whenever I have to do something at their computer and use the keyboard again, I wonder why I spent so much money on mechanical keyboards when I could be pretty darn happy with just this $15 board haha.

[Burz]

Didn't this get discontinued?

My friend has one. The switches remind me of the ones inside old Atari 2600 joysticks. I think the Apple compact keyboard is a little better in sound and feel.

[jkercado]

Didn't this get discontinued?

My friend has one. The switches remind me of the ones inside old Atari 2600 joysticks. I think the Apple compact keyboard is a little better in sound and feel.

I find the Apple compact rather stiff and with too short travel. The keycaps themselves feel nice, and of course, looks great.

[Hyde]

I thought about getting this the other day http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-ca/p/wedge-mobile-keyboard/U6R-00002#overview

But in the end I can't justify the price also it doesn't have wired mode.  Though I do admit there are a few rubber domes out there that actually feels very nice to use.

Another good example is Logitech Illuminated Keyboard.

[Saturn]

Have to admit that that design is kind of badass.

Scissor switches need love too.