For those who don't read through the specs, it uses Gateron KS-33 low-profile 'blue' switches (though the plastic on the Pi 500+ switches is grey, not blue).
In my testing, the keyboard was between 55-60 dBa from about a foot away. Not quiet, but so much better to type on than the Pi 400/500's chicklet keyboard that came before.
It's a mid-tier mechanical keyboard with low-end desktop performance. So it's not going to move the needle if you're satisfied with an N150 mini PC and a cheap keyboard. But if you were already thinking of buying a Pi, or you like the keyboard-computer aesthetic, this is now the top-end for that (especially considering the 16 GB of RAM).
If it's just the keyboard appearance itself piquing your interest, you might check out the Keychron K3 (the brand has apparently grown a lot since I was last shopping around for keyboards, so it looks like they have a "K", "K Pro", and "K QMK" as well as several other "[Insert Letter Here]" lines of models now... back then all they had were K keyboards).
To clarify, this is to say I'm looking on their website right now and seeing at least five variants of "K3" alone.
It's hard to tell when all the promotional photos are showing either a partial shot or an aggressive angle, but it looks so much like my K3 that I actually thought they were going to say they collaborated with Keychron on the design.
Yep I second this. I have a K1 (I think) with blue switches. The switches are the most important choice - since that controls the entire feel of using the keyboard. When I first got mine, I got red switches. But red switches don’t give you any tactile feedback when it passes the threshold to be considered “pressed”. I swapped to blues and I love them. Very satisfyingly clicky. They’re a bit loud though. Swapping switches is easy - I think the replacement set of blues just set me back $20 or something.
If there are any computer shops you can go in person to try them out, I highly recommend it. They make a lot of different switches and the feel is a very tactile, personal thing. (Though I think I’d also be happy with yellow or brown switches after some time with them!)
I have plenty of decent external keyboards about. I usually have to make my own. Keychrons are pretty decent except for the difficulty of updating the firmware and having to pay extra for proper back-lighting on some models.
The whole device pegs my nostalgia meter. It's almost like a C64, but it has a decent OS and now it has a better keyboard than the C64 ever had.
Though it would be a decent standalone keyboard if they updated the 'Pi Keyboard' design (one of their oldest products) with this top case, and with a USB 3 hub integrated into it. Price would have to be in the sub-$100 range to be interesting, though.
For those who don't read through the specs, it uses Gateron KS-33 low-profile 'blue' switches (though the plastic on the Pi 500+ switches is grey, not blue).
In my testing, the keyboard was between 55-60 dBa from about a foot away. Not quiet, but so much better to type on than the Pi 400/500's chicklet keyboard that came before.
It's a mid-tier mechanical keyboard with low-end desktop performance. So it's not going to move the needle if you're satisfied with an N150 mini PC and a cheap keyboard. But if you were already thinking of buying a Pi, or you like the keyboard-computer aesthetic, this is now the top-end for that (especially considering the 16 GB of RAM).
[dead]
Not a real keyboard until it has at least 103 keys.
Pish. If you need more than 48 keys, you should go for the Symbolics Lisp Machine keyboards. IBM PC standard keyboards are pale imitations.
Inspired by those, this is a real keyboard: https://mechboards.co.uk/products/hyper-7-v4
I have this: https://marius95.go.ro/posted/keyboard.jpg
Is it ... is it worth buying for the keyboard alone?
If it's just the keyboard appearance itself piquing your interest, you might check out the Keychron K3 (the brand has apparently grown a lot since I was last shopping around for keyboards, so it looks like they have a "K", "K Pro", and "K QMK" as well as several other "[Insert Letter Here]" lines of models now... back then all they had were K keyboards).
To clarify, this is to say I'm looking on their website right now and seeing at least five variants of "K3" alone.
It's hard to tell when all the promotional photos are showing either a partial shot or an aggressive angle, but it looks so much like my K3 that I actually thought they were going to say they collaborated with Keychron on the design.
Yep I second this. I have a K1 (I think) with blue switches. The switches are the most important choice - since that controls the entire feel of using the keyboard. When I first got mine, I got red switches. But red switches don’t give you any tactile feedback when it passes the threshold to be considered “pressed”. I swapped to blues and I love them. Very satisfyingly clicky. They’re a bit loud though. Swapping switches is easy - I think the replacement set of blues just set me back $20 or something.
If there are any computer shops you can go in person to try them out, I highly recommend it. They make a lot of different switches and the feel is a very tactile, personal thing. (Though I think I’d also be happy with yellow or brown switches after some time with them!)
I have plenty of decent external keyboards about. I usually have to make my own. Keychrons are pretty decent except for the difficulty of updating the firmware and having to pay extra for proper back-lighting on some models.
The whole device pegs my nostalgia meter. It's almost like a C64, but it has a decent OS and now it has a better keyboard than the C64 ever had.
Definitely not.
Though it would be a decent standalone keyboard if they updated the 'Pi Keyboard' design (one of their oldest products) with this top case, and with a USB 3 hub integrated into it. Price would have to be in the sub-$100 range to be interesting, though.