1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:09,120 So, it used to be that if you wanted a retrostyled like uh typewritery 2 00:00:05,359 --> 00:00:12,160 keyboard, the only real options were to 3 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:15,759 convert an old typewriter, which we have 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:17,279 done, or buy custom key caps and replace 5 00:00:15,759 --> 00:00:22,240 all the ones on your current keyboard. But now, there are actually a fair 6 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:26,850 number of offtheshelf options for these typewritery keyboards. So, let's try 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:34,880 some of them out today, shall we? 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:42,640 So, we actually don't quite have as many options today as it might at first 9 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:50,480 appear because some of them are just different variants of the retro classic 10 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:54,719 from Azio. So, they've got the Artisan, 11 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:56,399 the Posh, the Onyx, and the Lwood. And 12 00:00:54,719 --> 00:01:02,000 the first thing that comes to mind for me looking at this is, are there really 13 00:01:00,239 --> 00:01:06,960 so many people out there that are looking for these style of keyboards 14 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:11,200 that they need four different colors? So, let's go ahead and get these 15 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:18,560 unpacked. Cable feels nice. So, they Ooh, how to impress Lionus. That is a 16 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:26,000 type-C connector, which I actually found out recently is only a cost difference 17 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:28,479 of about 15 over a highquality microB 18 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:32,320 connector, but for some reason, many new products still haven't switched over to 19 00:01:30,479 --> 00:01:36,079 it. Couple other things back here. So, there's Bluetooth mode, there's USB 20 00:01:34,159 --> 00:01:41,840 mode, and you can switch between Mac and PC. All right. Well, part of the video 21 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:44,079 today is definitely going to be rolling 22 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:48,560 through all the different color options here because if you're the kind of 23 00:01:45,439 --> 00:01:50,399 person who buys a stylish keyboard, then 24 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:57,280 surely you do care about the color scheme a fair whack. So, not only can 25 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:59,520 you switch between Apple and Windows 26 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:03,520 mode, they've actually included a bunch of 27 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:07,200 additional key caps. This must be the Mac version of the F keys. All right, 28 00:02:05,759 --> 00:02:13,599 now let's have a look at what the Artisan has to show for itself. This is actually 29 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:19,360 a perfect example of a company leveraging what little tooling work 30 00:02:16,239 --> 00:02:21,599 they've done to uh turn that into as 31 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:27,440 many models as possible. So, you can actually see here that the Artisan is 32 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:33,760 just a cross between the Onyx and the Posh. So, it's got exactly the same kind 33 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:37,120 of rose gold metal accents and then it's 34 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:39,920 just using the uh faux leather backing 35 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:45,280 and then the matte black uh infill for the key caps. Bringing us finally to the 36 00:02:43,519 --> 00:02:50,160 Lwood, which is different from every other 37 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:57,040 model that we have in pretty much every way actually. So, for one, this thing h 38 00:02:53,519 --> 00:02:59,760 this has what appears to be a genuine 39 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:04,480 wood backing. Is it really? No way. 40 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:07,800 Feels like it. Hey, James. 41 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:14,080 James. I think he's out for lunch. That's okay. 42 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:19,760 There's another finishing touch on this one, though. That's pretty cool. So, you 43 00:03:16,159 --> 00:03:22,800 actually have the ability if you want to 44 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:24,720 replace the plate here. So, you can undo 45 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:28,640 the screws. And I wonder if you could flip it around and engrave it yourself. 46 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:35,200 Either way, they sent a custom one with their impressive established 2009 retro 47 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:37,680 classic. And check that out. They silk 48 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:42,080 screen line as media on there. That's That's cute. I I mean, my last name's 49 00:03:39,599 --> 00:03:47,040 Sebastian, not media, but you know, hey, A+ forever. 50 00:03:44,159 --> 00:03:51,360 All right, these are really freaking heavy 51 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:55,840 keyboards. How much are these things? These are not cheap. I think they're 52 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:01,040 going to have to do a lot more than look cool, but let's get to that in a minute. 53 00:03:57,519 --> 00:04:03,120 First, let's have a look at the 54 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:08,720 Challenger. This is the No. 55 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:14,000 So, is that like the opposite of okay? Like 56 00:04:10,319 --> 00:04:16,320 the This is the No K Rych with blue 57 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:21,600 switch, gorgeous light effect, retro style, and Bluetooth/wire 58 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:26,880 dual mode. Now, the packaging isn't as good. I don't know what the deal is with 59 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:29,680 this like gradient brown. Whenever I 60 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:33,840 find tape on packaging, I have to know what's under it. Oh well, that's fine. 61 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:38,880 If Cher's OEMing your keyboard, that's not embarrassing. 62 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:44,240 Maybe some of our clever Chinese viewers can give me some idea of what that's 63 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:48,800 about. Without the tape on it, I actually would have had a lot more 64 00:04:45,759 --> 00:04:51,520 confidence going into Okay, this is 65 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:57,680 looking not too bad to start. So, they've got a little aluminum 66 00:04:54,639 --> 00:04:59,360 something. They've got a little other 67 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:03,199 more different aluminum. Oh, this is like your uh like your stopper thing for 68 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:09,039 the Yeah. Okay. That's not going to have much of a function on a keyboard, but 69 00:05:06,479 --> 00:05:17,840 might look kind of neat. And then we've got the keyboard itself. 70 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:21,120 I will say this, the uh 71 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:23,120 the the feel of the plastics here 72 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:27,199 doesn't hold a candle to the retro classic. 73 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:30,800 Oh, I was going to say though, what's good is that they've got these 74 00:05:28,639 --> 00:05:35,680 reinforcing ridges here so that when you slide them into the slot, you can't put 75 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:38,680 strain on the can. And they don't do anything. 76 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:48,320 They just borrowed someone else's tooling for the USB connector. Wait, 77 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:51,919 there's two. Why does it have two? 78 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:54,560 So, this seems to go in here. 79 00:05:51,919 --> 00:05:58,560 Oops. Okay. Does this come off? It's like a 80 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:03,759 little handle here, but it doesn't seem to come off. And don't even get after me 81 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:10,800 about Padk because there's no manual. Does it go in this way? 82 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:13,800 And it what? It just sits there. 83 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,800 No, 84 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:23,479 that's it. That's the whole mechanism. Why do they even have these holes on it? 85 00:06:20,479 --> 00:06:23,479 Okay. 86 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:34,039 That too. It doesn't secure in any way. It just sits there. 87 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:44,919 Oh, Indiegogo. Did they Did this thing Is this thing even Holy crap. This thing 88 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,919 raised $360,000. 89 00:06:45,759 --> 00:06:53,280 What the It's almost $200. This costs 90 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:57,199 almost as much as the Azio one. You retro keyboard people. Not only are 91 00:06:55,759 --> 00:07:01,280 there more of you than I thought, you guys are You guys are nuts. How many 92 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:05,280 switches are these? They're covered by the back plane here. I can't tell what 93 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:09,919 they are. Also, these lighting effects are really annoying. There we go. Now 94 00:07:07,919 --> 00:07:14,319 they're breathing. Now they're just scattered around. Now they're breathing. 95 00:07:12,479 --> 00:07:20,120 Well, they're not cherry. You know how I know that? You hear how different the 96 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,120 sound is between those two? 97 00:07:23,759 --> 00:07:32,039 Okay. So, what the big Oh, you have got 98 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:32,039 to be kidding me. 99 00:07:39,199 --> 00:07:44,400 So, there's a pad. Look. So, there's a 100 00:07:42,319 --> 00:07:51,720 little rubberized pad here presumably to keep whatever you put on there safe, 101 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,720 but it doesn't touch it. 102 00:07:52,479 --> 00:07:56,280 It just sits on. 103 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:06,000 Okay, I guess we'll use a phone. So, I guess this is part of its jam is you can 104 00:08:02,319 --> 00:08:09,479 be sitting at your computer and you can 105 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,479 have your phone. 106 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:15,919 I mean, it says it has Bluetooth, but how do you even 107 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:20,720 You know what? Forget it for now. How great it's Bluetooth is is not important 108 00:08:18,479 --> 00:08:26,160 unless it's actually decent for typing. So, let's find ourselves a typing test. 109 00:08:23,039 --> 00:08:29,039 Holy crap, that does not bode well. Look 110 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:32,880 at the wobble on these key caps. I'm barely touching them. 111 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:38,880 You know what? Let's start with a baseline. So, this is a Razer Black 112 00:08:36,399 --> 00:08:44,399 Widow something or other with uh their orange switches, which are 113 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:47,399 basically Chinese clones of Cherry MX Browns. 114 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:58,880 Okay. 73 adjusted words per minute. Now, it 115 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:04,519 should be borne in mind that these ones get every advantage now because I'm more 116 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,519 familiar with the text. 117 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:14,520 Oh boy. Ah, I can't get momentum. 118 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:21,600 Is that the same score? Yeah. 119 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:24,600 Dang. I'm consistent. Let's try one more 120 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,600 time. 121 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:33,839 Okay, this one is more representative of probably what I can do, but we're going 122 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:38,240 to go back to the razor in a moment. Critiques of this guy. These key caps 123 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,320 are wobbly. The shape of them is absolutely 124 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:47,440 awful. Pardon my French, because it's very easy to accidentally mash two keys 125 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:51,600 at a time. This one, on the other hand, actually not a terrible amount of 126 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:55,040 wobble. a little bit more than I'd like, but the spacing between the keys means I 127 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:59,040 wasn't accidentally hitting multiple keys at once. But I did have a hard time 128 00:09:57,279 --> 00:10:02,640 registering keystrokes from time to time because the switches they're using, 129 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:06,800 which I'm actually not sure what they are. Uh, we'll have to find that out. 130 00:10:04,959 --> 00:10:11,920 But the switches they're using are a little bit on the heavy side for me. 131 00:10:09,519 --> 00:10:18,279 Okay, so they're kale, some kind of kale blues. Let's go back to the first 132 00:10:15,279 --> 00:10:18,279 keyboard. 133 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:28,720 All right, 97. Actually, let's try out 134 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:31,600 the Bluetooth functionality first. So, I just flipped this over to Bluetooth 135 00:10:30,079 --> 00:10:35,519 mode, and what I'm hoping is it's going to be significantly simpler to pair. 136 00:10:33,839 --> 00:10:40,160 Okay, I'm holding function, and it starts flashing. That's weird. There we 137 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:45,880 go. That's intuitive. So, function and the Bluetooth key. 138 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,880 Has it come up? 139 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:55,360 Okay. It's kind of a drag though that uh the 140 00:10:53,920 --> 00:11:01,120 switch is located in such an inconvenient spot. What's cool though is 141 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,880 apparently it has a 6,000 mAh battery, 142 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:09,079 so you can continue to use it in Bluetooth mode 143 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,079 even when it's not plugged in. 144 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:16,800 So, it's wireless, too. 145 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:22,800 and back lit. Not bad. That helps a lot 146 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,959 with the cost. Now, this guy, on the other hand, 147 00:11:26,959 --> 00:11:33,920 not impressed. So, I wouldn't go as far as to say that either of these is a 148 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:39,839 replacement for a more standard keyboard for me. But I was surprised and 149 00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:45,920 impressed by how close I was able to get on the Azio Retro Classic, especially in 150 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:49,279 light of how apparently 151 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:52,240 desperate the keyboard community is to 152 00:11:49,279 --> 00:11:58,959 get their hands on some kind of retrostyled keyboard because this is how 153 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,640 much this product managed to raise on 154 00:11:58,959 --> 00:12:04,320 Indiegogo. So, I'm not strongly recommending 155 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:08,399 either, but I will say that if you need to buy one, I would definitely go with 156 00:12:06,639 --> 00:12:12,399 this one. So, thanks for watching, guys. If you 157 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:18,079 disliked this video, then uh maybe you work for uh what's their company called 158 00:12:15,279 --> 00:12:20,480 again. Maybe you work for UK. But if you uh did like this video, oh, right, you 159 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,240 can hit that button. But if you liked it, hit like, get subscribed. Maybe consider checking out where to buy the 160 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,920 stuff we featured at the link below. Also, down there is our merch store, which has cool shirts like this one, and 161 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,880 our community forum, which you should definitely join.