I find this product intriguing, both from a use and technological standpoint. As one poster observed, the price isn't much more than the Logitech BT keyboard/covers that I have been using.
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Hands-On With the Collapsible Magnetic 'TextBlade' Keyboard for iOS Devices
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I'm really hoping this is legit. Extraordinary promise. The ergonomics are spot on. The form factor is spot on. The chording is open to debate but I won't be surprised if that debate will go on forever. Keyboard feel, quality of construction are definite questions.
For those of us already on 60% or smaller keyboards the real question is whether this will provide as good an experience as topre or cherry mx key switches. Many of the junkies have a love of heavy clicky keyboards. I've become quite accustomed to cherry browns.
That said the reduction in finger movement and the ability to effectively chord with the wrists at a natural angle are appealing. Not quit a Kinesis or a Datahand but a heck of a lot more practical and portable IF it works well.
A decent 60% custom or semi custom will generally run $3-400 once you are all in and it takes months to get it put together. The HHKB and Poker 2 crowd will watch this closely as will the stenographers.
The dvorak and colemak club will be watching this too.
People who think their $20 rubber dome keyboards are just fine won't be interested.
Fascinating use cases. Potentially brilliant product... Or a cloud of smoke and a bit of perfume.
I'm hope that this turns out to be a game changer in portable keyboards. I haven't swapped out my keyboard pcb for one with a bluetooth module and an arduino yet but if this is vapour my current keyboard will need some more soldering.
For those of us already on 60% or smaller keyboards the real question is whether this will provide as good an experience as topre or cherry mx key switches. Many of the junkies have a love of heavy clicky keyboards. I've become quite accustomed to cherry browns.
That said the reduction in finger movement and the ability to effectively chord with the wrists at a natural angle are appealing. Not quit a Kinesis or a Datahand but a heck of a lot more practical and portable IF it works well.
A decent 60% custom or semi custom will generally run $3-400 once you are all in and it takes months to get it put together. The HHKB and Poker 2 crowd will watch this closely as will the stenographers.
The dvorak and colemak club will be watching this too.
People who think their $20 rubber dome keyboards are just fine won't be interested.
Fascinating use cases. Potentially brilliant product... Or a cloud of smoke and a bit of perfume.
I'm hope that this turns out to be a game changer in portable keyboards. I haven't swapped out my keyboard pcb for one with a bluetooth module and an arduino yet but if this is vapour my current keyboard will need some more soldering.
I don't mind that they didn't email that there was a change. My issue was that once I emailed them asking the question, the first email was not responded too, and I had to send another asking for clarification.
At this point it doesn't matter to me. As my order was CNX not by me but by someone at the company. If it was from my post - this would be incredible considering that they would have to research my user name and try to compare it with my real name. LOL sounds like someone has too much time on their hands....
Just as well, as I can see this ending up in the back of my desk drawer in two months, only to be thrown away after six months.....
I am impressed by this post. It made me realize how little I know of keyboard enthusiasts.
Yeah, I'm a WayTools customer. You have my order and my trust, for now. I'm excited by the product, and can't wait to get mine. I'm not that happy about the extra delays, but it's not a big problem, I'll live with it.
I speak as a keyboard enthusiast, someone who quite happily drops over £150 on a decent mechanical keyboard.
Like others, though, the tone of some WayTools post like the above one detracts from your reputation, IMO. Please don't cede the moral high ground like this. I do understand your upset, but it's best to respond differently. I also think you could improve customer relations. I'll bet someone in your company has decent PR skills you could make use of?
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You might be interested in this page: http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/official-mechanical-keyboard-guide
It's very comprehensive and has a lot of information on keyboards.
Oooh, fancy - lots of separate, detachable pieces... to lose.
I like the idea, but it's a bit... erm... "so what"? The magnets seem an outright gimmick, and having it in so many pieces just seems like they're inviting problems. WHY? WHY? Why does it need to be THAT small and made of different parts that detach? There seems to be a case of a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist.
Nice engineering, but, in my most humble opinion, it seems a lot of overkill, and the benefit-to-price ratio seems small.
I like the idea, but it's a bit... erm... "so what"? The magnets seem an outright gimmick, and having it in so many pieces just seems like they're inviting problems. WHY? WHY? Why does it need to be THAT small and made of different parts that detach? There seems to be a case of a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist.
Nice engineering, but, in my most humble opinion, it seems a lot of overkill, and the benefit-to-price ratio seems small.
Why? So that you can have keyboard that fits in your pocket or purse alongside your phablet.
No, mine is currently knocked back to May 12, I expect another week delay, so I might get if by May long weekend (May 16), but I doubt it.
tocl said:
"I definitely understand concern over advertisements masquerading as posts. That does happen on a lot of sites that do paid reviews and sponsored posts, and it's disingenuous -- that's why we don't do it."
Honestly ... give me a break. You don't need to be offered money or goodies in order to be ethically compromised in your reporting. Reporters always offer favours for the "scoop" and getting early and privileged access to a product is more than enough to bring question to the proceedings. What did you have to offer to get that exclusive access. or what was the clear expectation of you if you agreed to their invitation? A favourable review? We may never know.
Regardless, here's some reality:
My Textblade order was placed on January 15th, and initially said that it would delivery March 26th. That pushed out with the supposed butterfly reworking to April 29th. Then, when that date neared, it pushed out again to May 13th. Now, in mid May, they've taken any references to an actual date off the construction and shipping tracker and just list "May". With shipping being what it is, unless it ships pretty much today, it's not arriving in May, so it's really going to arrive some time in June ... if it arrives at all.
A second piece of reality is that the WayTools account on their forum has been engaging in some pretty low-brow accusations with their customers, many of whom are complaining about the delays, a perceived lack of transparency, debating on whether Waytools is actually a functioning company with a real product, etc. Some of the accusations are that posters are competitors, colluding with each other, running multiple accounts, etc. and the general tone of the WayTools responses has been to wear a distinct chip on the shoulder and excessive defensiveness. It's almost as if they can't understand why people would be upset waiting five months for delivery of the product they paid for back in January. Several threads of complaints have been closed by the company, at this point, so they are actively looking to censor discussion around those delays. Many people in those forums are asking for verification of the company's location, verification of a working product ... people are pretty damn angry.
I cancelled my order yesterday. After seeing the atrocious lack of professionalism in that forum, I don't care of WayTools exists, or if the Textblade exists. No company that speaks to their customers the way that WayTools representative has spoken to them gets my money - period.
"I definitely understand concern over advertisements masquerading as posts. That does happen on a lot of sites that do paid reviews and sponsored posts, and it's disingenuous -- that's why we don't do it."
Honestly ... give me a break. You don't need to be offered money or goodies in order to be ethically compromised in your reporting. Reporters always offer favours for the "scoop" and getting early and privileged access to a product is more than enough to bring question to the proceedings. What did you have to offer to get that exclusive access. or what was the clear expectation of you if you agreed to their invitation? A favourable review? We may never know.
Regardless, here's some reality:
My Textblade order was placed on January 15th, and initially said that it would delivery March 26th. That pushed out with the supposed butterfly reworking to April 29th. Then, when that date neared, it pushed out again to May 13th. Now, in mid May, they've taken any references to an actual date off the construction and shipping tracker and just list "May". With shipping being what it is, unless it ships pretty much today, it's not arriving in May, so it's really going to arrive some time in June ... if it arrives at all.
A second piece of reality is that the WayTools account on their forum has been engaging in some pretty low-brow accusations with their customers, many of whom are complaining about the delays, a perceived lack of transparency, debating on whether Waytools is actually a functioning company with a real product, etc. Some of the accusations are that posters are competitors, colluding with each other, running multiple accounts, etc. and the general tone of the WayTools responses has been to wear a distinct chip on the shoulder and excessive defensiveness. It's almost as if they can't understand why people would be upset waiting five months for delivery of the product they paid for back in January. Several threads of complaints have been closed by the company, at this point, so they are actively looking to censor discussion around those delays. Many people in those forums are asking for verification of the company's location, verification of a working product ... people are pretty damn angry.
I cancelled my order yesterday. After seeing the atrocious lack of professionalism in that forum, I don't care of WayTools exists, or if the Textblade exists. No company that speaks to their customers the way that WayTools representative has spoken to them gets my money - period.
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Same experience
I had largely the same experience as Thruxomatic. Ordered the TextBlade 1/13, after reading that it was in "final production." Nearing the time it was originally supposed to ship, a design change pushed the date back. Then again, and again. While the delays annoyed me (I thought I was pre-ordering a finished product, not funding a Kickstarter-like project), I was waiting relatively patiently.
And then I discovered their Rants forum. Give them credit for hosting it, but the responses from the WayTools rep were sort of amusing at first, then disturbing. The delays only concerned me a little; it was the very bizarre passive-aggressive nature of the rep's posts that made the whole thing seem maybe a little scammy. I cancelled my order last week. Again, credit where due: the refund was prompt.
If this keyboard ever appears in a store, I might buy it. But I think I'm done pre-ordering things for a while.
I had largely the same experience as Thruxomatic. Ordered the TextBlade 1/13, after reading that it was in "final production." Nearing the time it was originally supposed to ship, a design change pushed the date back. Then again, and again. While the delays annoyed me (I thought I was pre-ordering a finished product, not funding a Kickstarter-like project), I was waiting relatively patiently.
And then I discovered their Rants forum. Give them credit for hosting it, but the responses from the WayTools rep were sort of amusing at first, then disturbing. The delays only concerned me a little; it was the very bizarre passive-aggressive nature of the rep's posts that made the whole thing seem maybe a little scammy. I cancelled my order last week. Again, credit where due: the refund was prompt.
If this keyboard ever appears in a store, I might buy it. But I think I'm done pre-ordering things for a while.
My apple BT keyboard, costed me more than this will cost me, and atm I have my Apple Keyboard in my bag, when i carry my iPad for meetings, to take notes - I pre-ordered this and hope it will replace my (compared to this) huge apple keyboard.
S
So how goes it man? Has it measured up? Please don't leave us in suspense. Since canceling my pre-order I've been wondering.
So how goes it man? Has it measured up? Please don't leave us in suspense. Since canceling my pre-order I've been wondering.
Last update on my order status page was November 25th. It does make me want to cancel though because we're coming up on what, a year now? That's kinda ridiculous.
Wow...
Well I'm now seriously looking at the foldable MS keyboard that was mentioned earlier in this thread. Not quite as small, but certainly pocketable... Wish it included a stand though.
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Well, the MS keyboard is now freely available, which looks like a much better proposition than a vapourware product that doesn't seem like it will ship anytime soon.