Reports are coming into the Waytools forums from TREG testers (still waiting for mine). Here is an abbreviated sampling of them so far. Any place there is a double blank line, that shows where a new post is being quoted. You may find the video about Jumping from one device to another very interesting. Sure is quick:
Exactly the same as Macrumors article. Build quality looks to be very good.
The build quality is very nice and I'm getting used to the feel of the keys. Some keys seem easier to hit then others. You have to get used to not moving your fingers as much as on a normal size keyboard but I don't think it will be hard to get used to.
These is a bit of an adjustment, but after only a few minutes I'm basically fully adjusted. There are only two things that I am still adjusting to: the C key and V key being straight down and not diagonal, and the backspace key being in the top right instead of middle left like it usually is on Colemak.
Anyway, I took a quick video of the Jumps feature when I was first setting up the Textblade. In the video you can see me jumping back and forth between my 6P and my iPhone. I pressed the buttons for the first switch to the iPhone a couple times so you all could see the lights showing which device it was connecting to. It also switches much faster than I allowed it in the video. I'll record another video later when I have a better setup and am more adjusted to the keyboard.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3SMNt_6h1WmSXFvTEFVbEFwSjQ/view?usp=docslist_api
So, the moral of the story is that I absolutely love it. I really think this thing is going to revolutionize typing.
Key feel and travel is excellent - I actually like it better than my Macbook Pro.
So far no issues that seem hardware related.
Some things, like backspace, and especially cursoring around (!) are already faster.
Jump, at least for now, works by having the device switch bluetooth id for each press. so switch to jump one, it goes into pairing mode, you connect on the machine you want, and done. To setup a second connection, hit a new jump combo, the textblade starts pairing as the second id, connect to that with your second device, and done. Really slick. Its pairing just fine with my iPhone 6s and MBP.
My speed on a normal keyboard is ~70wpm and ~376cpm.
My speed on the textblade, using my normal typing hunt-and-peckishness: ~35wpm and ~176cpm
My speed on the textblade, trying to use true typing position: ~20wpm, 98cpm
Initial impression: Nice. Good build quality, good behaviors, good key feel. It will take some time to learn this, but a very positive right out of the box experience.
Imagine borrowing a bicycle, or acclimating to a different car--it isn't quite alien, but with symbols elsewhere, it is certainly different. Quite a compact layout without feeling cramped--very much less finger travel required. Yes, I can get used to this. My desktop computer's keyboard platform is a simple wooden panel and despite TextBlade's elastomer base, right now my typing sounds like a softly muted, oddly slow game of ping pong. As far as the car analogy, for those of you old enough, imagine transitioning from an old truck with a huge steering wheel and monstrously heavy manual steering to a massive luxury automobile of the 70s and its small, over-boosted power steering wheel. For me, an older guy who learned to hunt and peck on portable manual typewriters, then electric typewriters, then a bunch of different computer keyboards, this initially felt confining, but I'm getting better...
The magnetic over-center feel of the butterflies makes bottoming out the keys pretty natural and difficult to avoid.
Latest post summaries:
So, already up to 59 WPM on the Textblade. It already feels completely natural to type on.
My normal speed is somewhere between 80 and 90 wpm, so there is still some room for improvement, though I can confidently say that this is a much more comfortable experience than typing on my Macbook keyboard.
My initial impression of the TextBlade overall is that it was definitely worth the wait. I can already use it at almost normal speed. It will take a while to get used to it, but it really is nice right out of the box!
