Hi All, this is my first review here and second post on GeekHack, so please be kind
. Unlike most of you, I only really started using computers after membrane keyboards became very common. Before that, I do recall that I did once type on a keyboard when I was a few years old when my dad bought a 286 so that I can use some educational software. I can't remember what the feeling was like except that it was very noisy and I now regret not keeping the keyboard when my dad threw the computer away -- not that I knew anything about keyboards at that time. I didn't know or think about mechanical keyboards until I listened to a podcast by John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame about the AEKII and was slightly influenced by my previous boss and got a HHKB Lite for mac and then moved on to a HHKB Pro last year.
My blue cherry Filco arrived last week from EliteKeyboards. The model I have is the non-'otaku' 87 key together with a set of blank keycaps which I ordered at the same time (together with a set of WASD and Esc keys for the HHKB which you can't get in Singapore). Going slightly out of topic here, but I do think that the key feel does feel slightly different after installing the WASD keys on the HHKB2.
The reason why I got this was that I am very interested in what the blue cherries switches feel like as I've heard from others here in this forum (despite my low post count, I'm a stalker) that the brown cherries have a feel quite close to the HHKB Pro 2 and I wanted something clicky. This brief review would be based on my comparison with the HHKB Pro 2 which I have been using for almost six months now. I now use the HHKB2 at work (due to its quietness) and the Filco at home so this review should encompass how I feel typing during the day and during the night.
Noise:This keyboard is definitely nosier then the HHKB. It doesn't irritate me at all though and I instead do really like the clickiness of it. I suppose this is non colleague-friendly especially when using it in an air-conditioned environment but it doesn't seem to be as loud as I was expecting it to be. People do hear me very clearly when typing on conference calls that I attend and I do have to remind myself to to mute my phone before I start typing. I do not turn on air-conditioning at home except on really hot days so the noise from the keyboard is probably mooted by the noise from my fan and the TV in the living room.
Keycap Feel:The Filco keys definitely do not feel as good as the keys on the HHKB. They have a cheap plastic feel to them and if you are blind, you definitely know that you are typing on plastics when compared to the "velvety" feel of the HHKB. I wonder how this keyboard will feel and sound like with Topre-like keycaps.
Another thing that I noticed (and I could be wrong), is that the Windows keys does not feel as tactile and noisy with the keyboards then the ordinary key caps found on the rest of the keyboard. I swapped the Windows keycap with the Alt keycap that I got from the non-printed keycap set and it certainly does feel more clicky and nosier then the original keycap. Am I only the one experiencing this?
Tactile feedback while typing:This is a totally different beast when compared to the HHKB2. The keys definitely feel rougher when compared to typing on the HHKB2. These are two different key switch technologies so this is understandable. The keys also do not feel as bouncy as the HHKB2 in my opinion but this could be influenced by the sound when the keys are being pressed. The bump, in my opinion, is not as noticeable as the one on the HHKB2.
Key press pressure:The 5 grams pressure really do make a difference coming from the HHKB 2. I can already feel that the keys are slightly stiffer when I get home from work although it doesn't take long to get used to the slightly heavier keys. I do find myself having to exert slightly more pressure to depress the keys when I am typing. When typing on the HHKB, it feels like a "touch and go" but this does not work for me on this keyboard at this moment. I guess time will tell.
Weight:This keyboard is definitely heavy when compared to the 530grams of the HHKB. The case feels more well built probably but this could be amplified more so by the weight?
Key layout:After using a HHKB Pro at home and a HHKB Lite at work for the past six months, it takes a period of adjustment to return to a keyboard with a normal layout. I do find my pinky going to the location of the function key on the HHKB Pro 2 on this keyboard whenever I need to use the arrow keys. The backspace key is also a problem as I find myself pressing the "\" key whenever I need to backspace. This takes some getting used to and I am not going to deduct points off a keyboard based on the layout alone.
Conclusion:The two keyboards feel totally different but each has their own plus points though the review might sounds like it is biased towards the Topre switches. I am still at the initial experimentation stage when it comes to keyboards so I guess it takes some time for me to feel the difference between tactile bumps and overall key feel. I will post an update to this review in chronological format as times goes by but I should state that I really like the different key feel of both keyboards at this point of time.
