At first glance, It looks like a normal keyboard, with 10 times than the price. ($170/-SGD)
But what's so special about a Filco Keyboard that makes people go gaga over it?
it's far from a "normal" keyboard... normal keyboards uses membrane rubber dome ...
Filco and Steelseries have mechanical keyswitches where each key has a spring under it.
it's pricey because it uses mechanical switches.
Like those industrial ones they use.
The first well known mechanical keyboard and still a topic of worship today is the venerable IBM Model M keyboard. It uses the old buckling spring key switch.
Buckling spring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buckling spring - Tactile, clicky
Most modern mechanical keyboards today use key switches from Cherry, specifically the MX series.
Cherry Keyswitches
There are 3 main different Cherry keyswitches in the MX series.
Cherry MX Black - Linear feel, no tactile, no clicky, slightly more pressure needed
Cherry MX Blue - Linear feel, with tactile, with clicky, light pressure
Cherry MX Brown - Linear feel, with tactile, no clicky, light pressure
Personally I prefer MX Brown switches as its likely to be more responsive for gaming without clicking the whole house down.
It weighs about three times as much as a normal keyboard. Very solid, very good build quality.
The Cream Of The Crop
In my opinion, the best keyboards available have mechanical key switches. They are known as mechanical keyboards, or mechanical key switch keyboards. What makes them so desirable is that mechanical keyboards tend to be constructed of higher quality materials, they last longer and are more reliable, and most importantly, once properly acclimated to one, a mechanical key switch keyboard will make you a better typist--you may even be able to get work done faster, with less fatigue.
That may sound like a stretch, but it is absolutely true. You see, the vast majority of keyboards included with white box systems or sold at office supply stores are rubber dome or membrane keyboards. They are inexpensive, mass produced, relatively low quality devices that are inconsistent and degrade the user experience. The problem is most users don't know this, or simply don't care. The appeal of cheap rubber dome or membrane keyboards is that they're usually available in a variety of styles, are included "free" with a new system, and they may sport additional features like media controls or wireless connectivity. But these cheap keyboards typically don't provide users with any tactile feedback, the keys feel mushy and may not all actuate at the same point, and the entire keyboard assemblies themselves tend to flex and move around when typed on. Not fun.
Some reviews i've seen...
The first thing I noticed about the Filco as I was unpacking it is how heavy it felt. This is a full 104 keys modern keyboard, but the footprint is minimal compared to the Ergo 4K and yet the Filco weighs a little more.
The key caps on the Filco have a different look to them. It is as if they have been polished. The key switches themselves are Cherry MX Series brown axis switches. They are a soft tactile switch type: If you press on a key very slowly and really try to pay attention to what is going on as you press the key, you will definitely notice that after a very short amount of travel the key actually gives in and travels the rest of the way down almost by itself. I once used an IBM electrical typewriter that had a very similar behaviour of the key presses. The Filco is also fairly quiet, but louder than rubber dome boards.
During continuous typing tasks I feel that my fingers flow better on top of the Filco keys. It took me about an hour of typing to get comfortable with the Filco and at the time of this writing I've typed with it for a few long sessions over a couple of days. I am definitely not a fast typer, but this keyboard has already improved my speed by 4 words per minute and my accuracy by 2 percent.
Is the Filco Majestouch the perfect keyboard? From all the boards I have tried so far, the Filco ranks way up there with the top 1.
In short, if you're too Bo chup to read the above..
- the keyboard words doesn't fade out as it ages
-Nice technology, versus rubber dome
-Marvellous experience typing(due to Cherry Brown MX), it's like rubbing silk on your fingers.
-Life time use, over 5 million clicks
-SGP Price? A whopping $170/- Enough to scare anyone away.
Lastly, hear it to believe it. I almost got wet listening to the keyboard..
