deskthority

When Cherry released their new catalogs earlier this year, I already noticed that the Clear Switch had disappeared. I did not think much of it, since the according G80-3000LQC series with clear switches is still listed on their website.

However, yesterday I heard from a friend that Cherry Asia has officially announced that they are phasing out the "soft tactile switches" aka Cherry Clears. I am still awaiting answer from Cherry Germany, but I am pretty sure it is as official as it gets. They were not wrong about the double-shot announcement back then either

I guess the last big batch went to Deck.

Oh, that sucks. If they didn't sell they could try the clear stems with different switches or something..

Why are they discontinuing so much stuff? That can't be good for business.

On the opposite. Because the stuff is not good for business.

It is a good thing to simplify the amount of switches they offer and cut down on costs.
Now, maybe I should go purchase a kb with Clears in them before they become hard to find.

lootbag wrote:It is a good thing to simplify the amount of switches they offer and cut down on costs.
Now, maybe I should go purchase a kb with Clears in them before they become hard to find.

The cool part is that they have also raised their MX costs by 25% for all mass orders in 2011.
Further more they have increased the delivery time from 30 days to 3 to 6 months depending on switch type.

2015 predictions? MX switches.

Say good-bye to Cherry Corp. They basically discountinued all the good staff, and the distribution policy they follow also sucks. According to sixty the old stabilizers, cases, and mx black switches they used to make were better either.

But don't you guys all go panic and buy all MX boards now. I have been told Costar alone has a MX switch stock to last two years of permanent production at the current rate.

So even in the worst case scenario this switch will be alive for quite a long time still :p

PS: I'm really not surprised to see them phase out clears - switches were so rare and barely anyone used them, and if they did they didn't like them too much usually.

Maybe they will be able to concentrate on making switches that cannot be defeated by a single hair.



I thought the Clears werent that great anyway? Perhaps nothing of particular value was lost.

I think they are trying to copy the same lack of success Logitech had with their rubber domes.

Realism guys..

Although that does not necessarily mean it's over. There is the new demand from Taiwan. I bet Taiwan will eventually come up with its own switch though, I don't think they like to give money to the Germans just for the fun of it.

Actually I would not be surprised either if all the keyboard production goes to Cherry Asia at some point in time. After all they still did all the cool stuff like the reds and even ignored the death of double shots and produced boards for a few more months with left stock.

PS: Old clears with modded springs are pretty nice. I like them quite a lot. New ones are terrible.

Bring back the Montereys or Alps Plate Springs. Surely someone can come up with a better clicky switch design than a 30-year old linear switch hacked with a silly free-moving slider?

sixty wrote:Actually I would not be surprised either if all the keyboard production goes to Cherry Asia at some point in time. After all they still did all the cool stuff like the reds and even ignored the death of double shots and produced boards for a few more months with left stock.

Their factory part looked very promotional to me.. no mention of the Czech Republic, and as clean as a college student's room before the announced arrival of his parents. All high tech and looking very expensive, while the same type of production in Taiwan is now moved deeper into the mainland because Taiwanese labor is getting too expensive. It's not an iphone or camera. It's simple tech.

I bet they end up like the Heineken brewery in Amsterdam. They stopped making beer there many decades ago. Still looking good though.

Clears are nice...I definitely like them better than browns. I hope they don't get rid of reds though, they are truly my favorite.

hello guys, i have no idea why cherry corp would do that. I did heed the advice by kl - after reading one of his reviews @ gh and got one of those. cheap though. i didn't want to go overboard w/ just a switch which i didn't know for sure whether i was going to keep it or not. surprisingly, kl was right. it probably is the only switch i like from cherry. now deck is the only one in town that carries it. a shame.

kl i read your response about the clears @ gh. i didn't reply right away, for i didn't have the board at the time. i'll post a reply over gh. take care.

At least we've got Unicomp

Minskleip wrote:At least we've got Unicomp

I'll drink to that one...

With the new demand from trulyergonomic, surely Cherry will keep producing MX switches for many decades.

Yes, and they're even more ergonomic than the datahand! Amazing feat of engineering.

It's a long time before they can compete with Open Pandora though. I was going to use mine for my master thesis two years ago; time to change project lol

I heard the new Unicomp mini keyboard will use buckling Cherry switches.

Someone start a factory and restart Monterey production, or perhaps a revised white Alps design with a less wobbly slider design, better dust resistance, a lower tactile point (shouldn't be that hard to just move the tactile bend in the leaf down a mm), and redesign the actuation mechanism to be smoother.

Received answer from Cherry US: They have no idea and want me to ask Cherry Germany. Good thing I am already ahead of their support there.

Received confirmation. Clears are discontinued in Asia, but remain available in Europe. MOQ is being raised to 20000 pieces.

Sounds like a lot. But it's less than 200 full sized keyboards.

Reds are now also available for MO from Cherry.
Interestingly it seems like they are expanding their catalog, while MOQ and delivery time is about doubled to quadrupled. Prices also have been raised.

Dunno if all of this is a good sign or a bad sign.

Good sign because they're including more products which means they're not "downsizing". Bad sign for consumers who are interested in switches because you have to order more.

Time to start making them ghetto clears .

bugfix wrote:Good sign because they're including more products which means they're not "downsizing". Bad sign for consumers who are interested in switches because you have to order more.

Well.. the delivery time went up to 6 months from like the previous 20 days or something. Quite a big difference. I am pretty sure its not because they are producing more switches now. That sounds more like they only turn on the machines every X days now.

I hope they keep up making the MX switches. They very likely will on at least a lower level. There is a market for mechanical keyboards out there.

Not worried or bothered, all good things will eventually come to an end........ to make way for better things to come, I hope