However, if someone wanted to use the keyboard full-time with a Mac, there are ways of remapping the keys, so this is not necessarily a dealbreaker. I wasn’t so bothered by the numbered function keys as I rarely use them, but those two keys were a pain. The misplaced CMD and Option keys was a real usability barrier when using it with a Mac. The only question, then, is whether the Kailh switches would have the longevity of the real thing, and that’s not something I can tell from a short review. The travel is good, the feel is positive, and they have that lovely sound (Qwerkywriter has a recording here). In use, however, it felt to me extremely similar to keyboards I’ve used with Cherry switches. It has a very similar feel to a keyboard that uses Cherry switches, but the company tells me they couldn’t obtain these in sufficient quantities, so they instead used Kailh ones.Ĭherry keys are German while Kailh are a Chinese copy, which of course immediately raises quality questions. The Qwerkywriter isn’t just a visual novelty, it is a proper mechanical keyboard. It’s here that the price starts to feel a little more reasonable. You can also program it as a macro key, but with only five characters, it’s of limited use for that.īut enough of the aesthetics: what’s it actually like to type on? That’s definitely a fun touch, though I confess that I used it a few times and then just used the normal Enter key after that. This is one element that isn’t purely decorative: it does actually function as an Enter key! One other minor issue with the usability of the keyboard – which the photo doesn’t capture – is that the Escape key is slightly awkward to reach because the carriage-return bar gets in the way a little. Qwerkywriter tells me it has a firmware upgrade that fix the volume and brightness keys, but not the others. For example, F1 and F2 control the volume rather than the brightness of a Mac. The upper function keys, too, aren’t properly mapped. For example, the CMD and Option keys are the wrong way around, while the Fn key is in completely the wrong place. I mentioned that the Qwerkywriter is not specific to iDevices, and that does pose a few issues. The iPad is held securely in place when it’s used on a desk or table.īut I found that after using it for a while, the typewriter illusion had become so convincing that I simply picked it up by the base to move it and almost dropped the iPad in the process! It’s of course not attached in any way, merely resting in the slot. It’s a multi-platform device that will accommodate just about any tablet on the market, and with my 9.7-inch iPad Pro slotted into place it really does a most convincing imitation of a typewriter. There’s a deep slot at the back designed to hold a tablet. I mean, there’s of course no reason for them to – they are purely decorative – but I did expect them to, just for fun.Ĭlose-up, then, it looks a little cheaper than it did in the photos. But it’s still undeniably a lovely-looking thing. The chrome key surrounds are plastic, not metal, as are the keycaps themselves.Īnd the paper-advance wheels don’t turn. On closer examination, it gets a little less impressive. It has those lovely round keycaps with the chrome edging, the carriage-return bar, the paper-feed wheels, the lovely red tab and delete keys, and that proper three-dimensional look of a typewriter keyboard. In fact, I’m pretty sure if you asked anyone who wasn’t familiar with it what it was, that’s what they’d say. At a casual glance, you really could mistake it for a compact typewriter. So yesterday I tried it out with my iPad, and today I’ve been using it with my Mac – including writing this review on it – in order to find out … My questions were whether it would look as good in real-life as it does in the photos, whether it would turn out to be a novelty or a serious keyboard – and whether it could possibly justify that $349 price-tag? A recent post on 9to5Toys reminded me about it. So when I spotted the Qwerkywriter on Kickstarter ages ago, I always meant to check it out. For creative writing, I actually use an app that creates simulated typewriter sounds, simply because I find that puts me in the right mindset. I couldn’t imagine going back to one now, but there is something rather lovely about the sound and rhythm of the keys. I’m old enough to have started writing on a typewriter – albeit, as a kid.
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