Well, what do ya know? A couple of, supposedly, Rev A SMK-88's showed up today. 
The surprising thing is that they have the new key layout, but still have the blue-stemmed Cherry keyswitches (which are VERY nice, BTW)
New and old key layout, for reference:
![smk88-old.jpg]()
OLD LAYOUT
![smk88-new.jpg]()
NEW LAYOUT
Here are some pics of one of the new boards (click on the images for larger versions):
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It definitely takes a bit getting used to the smaller keyboard compared to the Model M mini. But overall, the tactile feedback is very nice. Lots of "clickiness" and yet it feels like I barely have to "flick" my fingers at the keys to register a keystroke.
I've been on this one for about two days now and I think my typing speed is almost up to that of when I am on the Model M.
One thing I do notice right off the bat is that the delete/backspace key is VERY stiff. Not annoyingly so...but it definitely has a different feel than the rest of the keys. (perhaps that is by design??) I'll pull it off in the bit and see if the keyswitch is different.
The surprising thing is that they have the new key layout, but still have the blue-stemmed Cherry keyswitches (which are VERY nice, BTW)
New and old key layout, for reference:
OLD LAYOUT
NEW LAYOUT
Here are some pics of one of the new boards (click on the images for larger versions):
It definitely takes a bit getting used to the smaller keyboard compared to the Model M mini. But overall, the tactile feedback is very nice. Lots of "clickiness" and yet it feels like I barely have to "flick" my fingers at the keys to register a keystroke.
I've been on this one for about two days now and I think my typing speed is almost up to that of when I am on the Model M.
One thing I do notice right off the bat is that the delete/backspace key is VERY stiff. Not annoyingly so...but it definitely has a different feel than the rest of the keys. (perhaps that is by design??) I'll pull it off in the bit and see if the keyswitch is different.