("Switch Putter", LOL)
Maybe they're more or less like the Korean Topre knock-offs (OfficeMaster, etc.), but I can't help wondering.
I'm also sure these people must be falling all over themselves with delight when clueless Westerners send them $139.00 for a keyboard that must cost them, like, $20 to make.
As opposed to Weeaboos sending Jpan $300 for their Topre ?
EVERYONE is laughing their way to the bank, EXCEPT geekhackers.. hahahahahaha
1. Dude, sorry, but why do you always feel compelled to include the "size" tag? It just looks like you're yelling. Are you vision-impaired, maybe? But if so, I take it you're already magnifying your screen to see the posts you're replying to, so what's the point of making your posts bigger?
2. I take it you haven't spent much time in Asia. Japan's economy is much more like the U.S.'s; if anything, living there is more expensive than the U.S. Mainland China's standard of living is far lower. People work for very little in China, mostly because the government doesn't allow protests, collective agreements or unionization. So products can be made there very cheaply (which is why practically every American company has moved its manufacturing jobs there).
Consequently, Japanese products like Topre keebs cost only slightly less in Japan than in the U.S. Chinese products, like these capacitive keyboards, cost vastly less in China; their prices are usually raised to Western-style levels by importers and distributors.
Chinese manufacturers are now wading into direct online sales. Obviously there's great motivation for them to do so, but they're still figuring out how to appeal to, and communicate with, Western consumers.
I should also add that Topre keyboards, though they
incorporate RDs, are made to the highest standards. Topre was an internationally respected maker of precision electronic instruments for quite a while before they decided to develop their own keeb technology.
No, they are not an improvement over Topre... They are an approximation of Topre, and the build quality is noticeably lower, but they are perfectly usable. I use the Nano 75 with my iPad and its switch is better than any MX switch I've used, but overall it's not as good, IMO, as a genuine Topre board. However, it should be noted that the 35g version feels completely linear, rather than tactile. You have to get the 45g version before the switch even begins to feel tactile like a Topre.
Thanks for explaining, zs. It sounds similar to my Korean
Hansung capacitive board: not quite a Topre, but enjoyable and novel enough.