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If you have noticed extra typos on the site the past month, there is a reason (and no, I have not developed especially fat fingers).
I’ve been using the Das Keyboard Professional as my primary keyboard to give it a thorough try. It’s big, it’s shiny, it’s thick, it’s loud and, thanks to German engineering, it will exploit your every ill-timed typing flaw.
Click One, Pearl Two
This latest keyboard by Metadot Corporation, the same company that brought released the blank key keyboard, is targeting the growing gaming market by offering (*sarcastic gasp*) visible markings on the keys.
Das Keyboard Pro is an all-black Qwerty keyboard with a shiny base (think Playstation 3 shiny) and matte black keys. The The physical setup is your standard keyboard with Qwerty keys on the left, F1-F12 on top, arrows, INS - Page Down buttons and trio of function keys in the middle-right and the number block on the way right.
The keys include, according to the company’s site, “German-engineered gold-plated mechanical key switches that provide tactile and audio feedback.“ That basically means they are darn loud. Everyone around you know that you are typing, so forget using it for stealthy mid-night AIMing or gaming sessions in the dorm.
The keyboard is a bit higher than most modern keyboards with the front section of the base being about 13/16 in. high (including the rubber padding on the bottom but not counting additional key height) and approximately 1 1/2 in. tall in the back (with legs extended, not counting button height).The footprint is about par with other standard computer keyboards at 5 7/8 in. from front to back (not counting the logo and USB section which extends an extra 5/8 in. from the top) and approximately 18 in. wide (left to right). The USB cable is also all black and measures approximately 6 ft. 4 in. from keyboard to tip.
The click point is intentionally audible and set before the key is completely depressed which is also where a key is activated. They means you can actually type without completely depressing the keys if you have an especially light touch.
Next to the F and three top-row function keys are three blue status lights that indicate when the CAPS LOCK (it glows as an “A”), NUM LOCK (“1”) and the SCR LK (an underlined down arrow icon) keys are activated.
“Must You Be So Loud!?“
The keyboard is essentially the same design as really old computer keyboards with the very blocky keys and deep buttons. However, that very distinct clicking sound is even louder than ye olde keyboard. This one shouts, “Screw silent typing. I must be heard!“
Everyone within 20 feet of you will hear every keystroke. If you ever worked in an office with a noisy typist, you know how quickly that can become annoying. The positive effect might be a bit of intimidation for professional gamers looking for audible intimidation that will ping through opponents’ headphones. Of course, being seated close to your squad mates in a live competition, that might actually backfire.
The height of the keyboard and the straight-cornered edge might also require that you employ a thick wrist guard in front to help elevate your arms to the right angle for typing and relieve pressure for those whose arms would otherwise be at an ergonomically unfriendly angle to the desk.
The shiny, all-black case is impressive even when slightly smudged by usual finger slips. Glowy blue indicators are certainly impressive and the two USB ports in the side are ideal for a short-cord mouse and oft-needed thumb drives. The USB cable is pretty dern long which is either very nice for those who like to plug into a desktop rig that sits on the floor next to the desk or really annoying for those who like their custom, modded rig prominently on display next to the monitor.
As for typing, you’ll naturally start to type a bit harder at first while getting used to the deeper keys. When you finally figure out the sweet spot (or press point) for the keys, much like driving a standard clutch car, you’ll actually start using a lighter touch. That is, if you are a professionally trained typist. Otherwise, you probably will bang away and, far too often, press many keys at the same time.
IstHis Reallly anImproove ment/?
Although it boasts that you can press 12 keys at the same time and get perfect response (try that with two hands), it also forces you to have a perfect hand positioning, otherwise you’ll accidentally press multiple keys and get a strange slew of characters in the middle of your word (see the previous header). That also means that the space bar, especially if you are a sloppy fat-fingered typist, will get tapped a split second or two too early (or late), leading to many odd word combinations or unwanted gaps.
My typo rate has increased drastically while using this keyboard. Although you don’t need to press the buttons as hard, it is entirely unforgiving due to its uber sensitivity. (My wife, who also works in a typing-intense industry, also used the keyboard and deemed it OK for typing but obnoxiously loud.)
If you are a professionally trained typist with perfect posture, don’t every use a wrist guard, have naturally A+ ergonomic positioning and miss those typie-typie-loud keyboards from 10+ years ago, the Das Keyboard Professional is probably your dream come true. For everyone else, however, it’s simply too sensitive, too fat and too noisy when compared to slimmer, more modern keyboards, resulting in a tiresome string of typos, mysterious letters and awkward spacing (or lack of spacing) between words.
Product Page [Das Keyboard Professional] Read [Gadgetell] Read [ArsTechnica]
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