I would really like to give 3.5 stars overall, for the combination of the quality of the keyboard, and the experience of the purchase.
First, the keyboard itself: I would give this 4 stars. One reviewer calls this the best keyboard money can buy; it isn't. Most keyboards manufactured today use a technology based on the keys resting on a bubble in a plastic membrane; pressing a key squashes the bubble and makes an electrical connection. and the resilience of the plastic then pushes the key back up. These are cheap to make, and horrible to type on. They should last for about 5 million keystrokes.
Better quality keyboards use proper switches, one for each key, mounted on some sort of chassis. The most widely used switches are made by Cherry. They are great to type on, and have a life of about 50 million keystrokes. If you look around on Amazon, you will find keyboards made by companies like Filco that cost twice as much as this one, yet use exactly the same Cherry MX switches. So why is this not the best keyboard money can buy? Well, the Filco has things like a rigid metal chassis where the Cherry has a more basic PCB, high quality plastic for the case (which you can't bend like you can bend the Cherry) better quality keycaps, etc. However. all this is insignificant compared with the huge improvement of the switches over a membrane. It's a bit like buying a basic BMW: you get quality where it matters most for a lot less money than a top-of-the-range model costs. This might not be the best keyboard, but it's probably the best bargain: top quality switches (some people, but by no means all, prefer the much more costly Topre switches) in an adequate plastic case.
I would give the purchase experience 3 stars. On the positive side, it was very reasonably priced; I chose the second hand, like new, option, fulfilled by Amazon Warehouse, and it was indeed like new, missing only the packaging, which I would only have thrown away. It also arrived very quickly even though I took the free delivery option.
On the negative side, the keyboard is available, as far as I know, with 3 different types of MX switch (Cherry make 6 or 7 versions). The "click action" in the description strongly implied this keyboard would not have black switches (linear action, no click, preferred by gamers but not so good for typing). It actually has the blues I expected, though I'd have preferred the slightly lighter, quieter browns if there had been a choice. It also comes in either 104 key (ANSI/US standard layout) or 105 key (ISO/UK standard layout), and this is where Amazon does fall down a little. as the pictures show both! The main picture shows a US model, the other pictures are of 105 key models, though they are German QWERTZ layout, not UK QWERTY. I suppose I could have enquired - I'd have taken the 104 key model if offered a choice but decided that, for the price, I could live with whatever turned up, which turned out (again as expected) to be a standard UK 105 key version.
Overall, an excellent keyboard for the price, and most buyers would obviously expect the UK layout, and probably the blue switches. As an upgrade from a membrane keyboard, very highly recommended.
| Brand | CHERRY |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 47 x 19.5 x 4.4 cm; 935 Grams |
| Item model number | G80-3000LSCGB-2 |
| Manufacturer | Cherry Europe GmbH |
| Series | CHERRY G80-3000 |
| Colour | BLACK |
| Hardware Platform | Laptop, PC |
| Operating System | Mac |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 935 g |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
