For some of us who type all day for a living, the world is too quiet. We pine for the whir of the Xerox machine, the rattle of rotary telephones, the clackety-clack of the typewriter. A slightly romantic vision, maybe, but no longer completely impossible, thanks to this keyboard modelled to look exactly like a vintage typewriter.
The Qwerkywriter was just funded on Kickstarter as an 84-key typewriter-inspired keyboard that connects to your tablet using USB. See that little shelf where the paper usually goes? That’s where your tablet plugs in.
The biggest difference here from what you might already be using with your tablet that this is a fully mechanical keyboard, with individual switches under each key. That’s what produces that satisfying feedback you don’t get from a membrane keyboard.
The most impressive thing about this whole project is how it’s managed to keep the vintage vibe with functionality of an actual keyboard. To keep the experience as authentic as possible, they have sourced these nice customised keycaps with chrome rims that feel nice on your fingers as you tap, tap, tap away.
There are lots of videos where the founder explains his development process, but the one I loved the best was this one, where he demonstrates how he’s been able to create that authentic “typewriter” sound.
Something about typing on that machine seems so more satisfying than the muted patter of my MacBook Air. No, it won’t work with a computer just yet, but one of the stretch goals is a wireless model that would. I’m kind of in love with it already. [The Qwerkywriter]