Topre switch / Cherry MX compatible

[Muirium]

Indeed there is!



Note the bit about simultaneous worldwide release. When it's out in America, it's out everywhere! If Australia's got retailers that carry CM (and surely there are some) then they ought to have their hands on the NovaTouch just as soon.

[002]

MechKB (Australian site) will have it apparently, they just couldn't say when.
http://www.mechkb.com/

Hi,

We do have plans to stock the Novatouch, but we currently have no solid ETA on the product unfortunately.
We hope it is ready for release day though.

[luckynet2]

awww yyiiiissss!!!

[magicsam075]

Can you also confirm us that the ISO version will be released simultaneously in Europe too?

[Monkay]

Can you also confirm us that the ISO version will be released simultaneously in Europe too?

This would be really important to me, too.

[rindorbrot]

For when it will come online again I cannot communicate a new date yet only that it will be soonish and it will be at the same time globally...

That should be a yes.

[Cdim]

More info:

Spoiler:

great rep team, very nice. I talked to a few guys on the phone and heard the release will still be about a month away so sit tight ppls.

[Elrick]

I talked to a few guys on the phone and heard the release will still be about a month away so sit tight ppls.

No worries, we can wait for these babies . It's now in the home stretch so it won't be too long before they start showing up on websites everywhere.

Gives us time to horde our SA profiles for this unique keyboard .

[Muirium]

NovaTouch vs. Round 5: the race is on!

[matt3o]

Round 5 should be almost ready, right?

[Muirium]

Almost. Too much almost!

[c137]

Yesss! I also got my NovaTouch.
A little teaser: http://mecha-blog.de/eingetroffen-coole ... touch-tkl/ (including a part of the packaging!)

[JBert]

Still the ANSI version or did they get an ISO test-version out of the door?

[Muirium]

ISO, huh?



I requested an ANSI model for my review, which I can compare with the ISO prototype I already have. My understanding is they launch simultaneously.

[c137]

That's my understanding, too.
I got an ANSI btw.

[Muirium]

Mini ISO teaser review: the Return key works perfectly, and I've thrown a lot of caps at it. I think we're good here!

[_PixelNinja]

The information I have is that ANSI and ISO will indeed launch simultaneously. Certain regions may not have a localized ISO layout though.

[_PixelNinja]

Found this laying around on the Internet :

[Muirium]

Nice find. You really are a ninja then!

289 Singapore dollars = 231 USD = 174 Euros = £139, according to my calculator. Sounds a bit steep. Anyone know what the tax is like there?

[_PixelNinja]

To the best of my knowledge they have GST currently at 7%. My understanding is that it is included in the selling price.

[c137]

You would have to include 20% VAT in the UK, 19% MwSt in Germany etc.
Unfortunately, conversion doesn't always work that simple for prices.

For instance, it's perfectly usual to have 129€ incl taxes in Germany and $129 in the US, which even adding local sales tax is much cheaper.

I hope, Cooler Master tells me their recommended retail price more sooner than later.

[wildlife]

Cool.

[Muirium]

I think we saw it spoiled by that accidental early product listing (last page). Just my guess.

[Hypersphere]

Now that the Novatouch is close to release in the West, do we have any further information about the switches? Are they in fact Topre and manufactured by Topre, or are the switches in the Novatouch a new hybrid made by someone else? Related question: has the patent on the original Topre switch expired or about to expire soon?

I am tempted to try the Novatouch when it is finally released in my neighborhood, although if the rumors are true about other form factors (60% ?) and switch weights (55g ?), I would prefer waiting for these other models rather than buying a 45g TKL

[Muirium]

Ripster's got your answers about the insides. It's Topre!

http://imgur.com/a/CMqpt

Wouldn't hold your breath for 55g or Type-S though, let alone a 60%. They may well come eventually, but I've heard nothing.

[scottc]

€174+?! Thanks for playing up the hype to us, CM, but for that price we might as well get a Realforce.

[Hypersphere]

Thanks, @Murium and @scottc. This helped. I was starting to wonder if this new CM product would blow RF and Fujitsu out of the water. I had started hunting for some thick dye-sub PBT sets for the CM Topre-hybrids and despairing over the paucity of good caps (having missed the recent GBs). But the inimitable Ripster restored my confidence in the venerable Topre products I already own: the HHKB Pro 2 and RF 87u with their excellent switches (including 55g already in the RF!) and keycaps (dye-sub PBT in Helvetica!). Glad that I already have what I want.

[Monkay]

So the Novatouch will cost as much as a normal Topre with nice PBT-Dyesubs, but it just has ABS?

[002]

I think the premium is for the ability to put pretty much any Cherry MX caps you like on a Topre board.
Sure, the Realforce isn't much more expensive, and comes with pretty nice caps as stock, but your options for changing the caps on a Realforce are pretty limited. People who buy a Realforce probably aren't thinking too much about customising it anyway. The Novatouch means that those who enjoy Topre switches but were perhaps holding back on a Realforce because they can't add any "flair" to it, can go crazy with custom caps.

[Muirium]

Yup. If you're a caps fanatic, as experience proves that I am, then the MX compatibility is the magic of this board. I couldn't do any of this with any other Topre:




The NovaTouch might as well ship naked for guys like me! Its stock caps are enough to get you by, if it's your very first MX mount keyboard (and I've heard from a few people who do indeed plan to make it their first buy) but these switches are just crying out for a world of aftermarket love.

It's the polar opposite deal you get with other Topre keyboards: meh stock caps but enough options out there to go beyond nuts.