I grew up learning how to type on a real typewriter. Then when PCs came out, their keyboards felt like typewriters when you typed on them because they gave real feedback when you typed on them. Then that changed with the latest Apple keyboards which do not come close to feeling like a keyboard that I was used to. So I have had to make due and adapt to that as best as I could. But I could never really feel comfortable with them no matter how much time I spent with them.
That changed when I discovered the Matias line of keyboards. They had a reputation of making keyboards with high quality mechanical switches that feel like what I was used to. I went up to their office which is located just north of Toronto and had a look at what they had to offer and settled on the Quiet Pro Keyboard for Mac. Though, I will note that they also make a version for PC.
It’s a solidly built full size keyboard with a plastic housing and a very long USB cable to enable you to place the keyboard wherever you need it without needing to resort to extension cables. It also is heavy and feels like a quality product.
On each side of the top part of the keyboard is a USB 2 port which is similar to what Apple offers in their wired keyboards. USB 3 support would have been nice, but it’s intended for wired mice and USB sticks, so USB 2 is more than acceptable.
There’s also a third USB 2 port on the back. That’s handy, and something that’s missing from Apple keyboards.
The key point of the Quiet Pro keyboard is that you get tactile feedback while not annoying those around you. The ultimate win win as far as I am concerned. I really like the feel of it and felt right at home immediately. Another thing that helps me feel right at home is the fact that it is sclupted so that it feels really great and makes it easy to type and keep my fingers in a natural position. But a cool key feature is that it has anti-ghosting circuitry. What is ghosting? Most keyboards allow only a few keys to be pressed at once, so they can’t keep up with very fast typists. The net result is that you end up with letters missing from what you actually typed. This is called ghosting. I type at 60 words a minute so this is a big plus for me.
Now a quality keyboard like this doesn’t come cheap. It’s $150 CDN. But well worth every penny if you know how to type and you want a quality keyboard. If that’s you, consider this keyboard a must have.