Speaking of wireless: trying out a Keychron K3. Haven't tried it over BT so far though, and that mode will only be for the odd "in case I have a use for it" usage. Still definitely nice to have.
(Sorry for the potato-phone cam blur.)
Configuration: Nordic ISO layout, optical tactile ("brown") keys.
Impessions so far:
- Build quality seems good, especially for a 1100SEK keyboard. The aluminium frame/top plate seems solid, there is no noticeable flex despite the thinness of the keyboard, the weight is a good balance between feeling solid and being portable. The feel of the USB connector, feet and mode switches on the back is very good.
- Ergonomics: a bit iffy so far. Need to see if I'll get used to it. Despite being low profile it's clearly still thick enough to require a wirst rest for lazy typists like me. Guess that's a built-in upsell for Keychron with their (admittedly very nice looking) thin wooden wrist rest, as there aren't many other options on the market for a low profile keyboard.
- I like the layout. Very notably smaller than my MasterKeys TKL without giving up any keys that are frequently used. The print screen key is rather annoyingly placed right above the backspace - I'm currently at 8 inadvertent screenshots in ~20 minutes of intermittent typing. Probably get used to it though, and no doubt my use of backspace will decline as I get used to the keycaps and layout
- I'm a bit iffy on the switches still. They're not bad, but they're
very different from regular height Cherry Browns. They require noticeably more force to actuate, and the tactile bump+actuation is very close to the top of the switch travel. The bottom-out is ... not mushy, but a bit slow, and the key doesn't rebound as readily as the full-height keys - almost as if there is a delay before it springs back. Still, the typing feel is quite pleasant overall, tactility is good, key uniformity feels okay, and noise levels are quite all right.
- Sound: Overall the key press sounds are quite muted, which I like. Definitely nowhere near the noise levels of my Masterkeys (which, for the record, has a bunch of foam stuffed into it in various places). There's a light "tick" to the switch actuation, kind of like if someone in the next room over was typing on Cherry blues under a blanket. It's not loud, and not intrusive, but its there. Hammering down the keys makes this noise more apparent, and if I were to guess it's the keycap itself making that sound.
- Speaking of keycaps, they seem well made, the legends are sharply defined (painted shine-through light lettering on gray) and easily legible, and the font is nice. Lighting is bright and even across the keys. Having secondary and even teritiary legends light up is nice. There are some exceptions - notably the F keys only have their media/other functions illuminated, but that's not that big a deal to me.
- The profile is ... slightly odd. Coming from a DSA profile the "stair step" keycap row profile will take some getting used to. It's not terrible though. The caps are nicely sculpted to catch your fingertips, but I've had some accidental presses of neighbouring keys - guess the large gaps between keys on DSA has made me lazy?
- Other stuff: Media keys and stuff work well. There are a bajillion lighting effects. I love to see integrated backlight brightness controls, as not all keyboards have these. The dimmest setting is quite comfortable even in a dim room. The included keyboard cover is clearly meant to imitate fancy ones, but is ultimately just cheap vacuum formed plastic for shipping protection. Should still be somewhat usable for protecting the keyboard when travelling though. It doesn't fit perfectly (it's a bit bowed), but well enough. The included keycap and switch pullers are fine. USB-C-to-A cable is thick and stiff, feels okay, nothing special. The inclusion of Mac and PC keycaps is probably a nice bonus for some.
