Best commercial keyboard 2015

[webwit]

Please suggest nominees for the Best commercial keyboard or keyboard family in 2015. You have to give a short motivation for each suggestion. The keyboard must be released since November 2014.

By voting in the third round of this category, you can win a store credit of £100 from the Keyboard Company!

The first round ends on Thursday 3 December, 00:00hrs UTC.

Current suggestions (this list is frequently updated):

• Cherry MX Board 6.0
• KBParadise V80MTS/V80FD
• Planck keyboard
• JUSTSYSTEMS x Realforce 108UW HiPro
• REALFORCE 91UG-S
• Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire XTi
• Vortex POK3R

[Muirium]

This is open to all size classes now, right? If so: HHKB. The definitive 60%, and a little slice of purified genius. The Topre switches and elegant Helvetia dyesubs complete the perfect little package.

Bollocks. On the little old iPhone. Didn't see the Best NEW Keyboard part. Ah well.

[photekq]

"The keyboard must be released since November 2014."

[Muirium]

Would the word "New" have hurt in the thread title? Gurk…

[photekq]

Would the word "New" have hurt in the thread title? Gurk…

Well, it does say 2015.. Stop living in the past!

[Muirium]

The irony being I quite agree with the pointlessness of awards for old boards! I'm jut out and can hardly read on the old 3.5 inch beastie. I'll add some nominations to the DTAs tomorrow instead. One all the good ones are already taken.

[SL89]

Without having used it, I'd have to say the Novatouch will be nominated at some point. But what was it's debut date?

[guk]

Iirc, the Novatouch or the switches won at least one award last year, should be out.

[Halvar]

I'll nominate the Cherry MX Board 6.0 keyboard.

It's the first quality mechanical keyboard from the inventor of Cherry MX in years. I don't agree with everything they did, and some of it seems to be technobabble marketing bullshit similar to what their competiton in the gamer market produce. However, I understand that you can only sell mechanical keyboards today if you cater to gamer preferences, and I salute them for their effort to finally come up with a product that meets and surpasses today's standards for high-end mechanical keyboards. They have proven that they honour their history and still care about keyboards.

title-prod.jpg (62.64 KiB) Viewed 71700 times

Cherry MX Board 6.0[/url]

[bhtooefr]

Let's toss the KBParadise V80MTS/V80FD in. Alps-style switches, in a conventional tenkeyless layout, that doesn't look like it's straight out of 2003 (I'm looking at you, Matias.)

I'd get a V80MTS myself, if it weren't for Ellipse's F62/F77 project...

[XMIT]

I have both a V60MTS and a V80MTS. I'll second a nomination for the V80MTS. I don't love Matias Quiet Click most of all Alps switches - that honor may go to Alps Salmon with Alps Cream Damped sliders if I ever get around to trying them - but the board is solid.

If Ellipse's F62/F77 arrives by the end of the contest I'll nominate that too.

[andrewjoy]

I'll nominate the Cherry MX Board 6.0 keyboard.

It's the first quality mechanical keyboard from the inventor of Cherry MX in years. I don't agree with everything they did, and some of it seems to be technobabble marketing bullshit similar to what their competiton in the gamer market produce. However, I understand that you can only sell mechanical keyboards today if you cater to gamer preferences, and I salute them for their effort to finally come up with a product that meets and surpasses today's standards for high-end mechanical keyboards. They have proven that they honour their history and still care about keyboards.

title-prod.jpg

Cherry MX Board 6.0[/url]

If only they used costar stabilisers

[Muirium]

I guess I should finally write my review of the MX Board 6.0 before it goes winning any prizes! Obvious spoiler: I really don't think it deserves the title.

[KRKS]

Did the Planck go commercial this year? because I think it's much better than the Cherry board.

[bhtooefr]

Hand wiring kits went on sale a year ago today: http://deskthority.net/post196098.html#p196098

(Prototype?) PCBs and universal plates went on sale 2015-04-08: http://deskthority.net/post222782.html#p222782

Production PCBs arrived 2015-05-13: http://deskthority.net/post229859.html#p229859

Kit on sale 2015-07-20: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=62 ... msg1805571

And, it looks like fully assembled boards were part of the Massdrop GB that opened (it seems) 2015-08-13: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/planck-mec ... guest_open

tl;dr: For a complete keyboard, yes, it did go on sale this year. For a complete kit, yes. For parts that you could use to make a keyboard, it was in November 2014.

[ramnes]

What is the definition of "commercial keyboard"? I feel like the Planck is more a custom keyboard that was sold in parts with an assembly option. I'd love to see it nominated though, Jack deserves it.

[KRKS]

I guess "sold on demand and not as a GB"?

[ramnes]

Then the Planck would be eligible, since he sold them on his OLKB website. But does keyboards kits count as "commercial keyboards"? With that term, I personally understand "factory-assembled keyboard".

[KRKS]

Fair point. Let's wait on the admins' judgement.

[bhtooefr]

Interestingly, the complete keyboard option appears to have appeared in their store on or before 2015-03-26, but I'm thinking they couldn't have been shipping anywhere near then: https://web.archive.org/web/20150326040 ... ete-planck

But, that point's moot, as they're shipping now it seems, and it didn't happen before this year.

Also, how does a Maltron count? It's switches stuffed into a plastic case, wired without a PCB, yet it's definitely commercial. If it counts as commercial, I'd argue that a fully assembled Planck is too.

[XMIT]

Jesse Vincent's keyboard.io project should get a nomination here.

[KRKS]

As good as I think it is, keyboard.io ships "Summer 2016"

[SL89]

Its also not a commercial venture, isnt it a GB?

[XMIT]

Keyboard.io is most certainly a company, not just a GB. But, sure, he hasn't shipped yet.

[Muirium]

Man, last year the trouble was no sufficiently good new fullsize boards. This year it's a shortage of good new boards of any size! What happened?

Gutted at the fact the JustSystems Round 5 homage HiPro was *just* on the wrong side of the cutoff:

http://deskthority.net/product-news-f44 ... ustsystems

So instead I nominate, uh, the random Realforces Topre unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show:

http://deskthority.net/product-news-f44 ... 11591.html

But which one? The big one has the nicer caps, while the little one has the better size and switches. Guess it has to be the latter: the REALFORCE 91UG-S

[webwit]

I've allowed the JustSystems because it couldn't have been in your hands last year and only became known in December.

[Muirium]

Yes!! Our champion has arrived!

[guk]

Nominating cm storm quick fire xti for making 002 type on a cherry mx keyboard over weeks.

[Pompom58]

I nominate Vortex Pok3r for his value for money and his scalability!