The first part of my career was in academia, where I undertook postgraduate research in cognitive psychology for many years at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and worked in various research positions at UWA and Curtin University. Before that, I was part of the first generation of school students to start using microcomputers (at first, informally with the Commodore PET and Commodore VIC-20, then formally with the Commodore 64). All of this is to say that I have been typing on keyboards for a long time; more than 40 years now.
To this day, I remember visiting one of my uncles in the mid-1980s at UWA (where he was studying engineering), and being allowed to type on an IBM Model F keyboard in one of the computer laboratories. Having already typed on a range of typewriter and computer keyboards by that stage, the tactile responsiveness and precise ‘click’ sound of that IBM keyboard left an indelible impression. Many years later, in 2009, I would manage to obtain an IBM Model M keyboard of similar quality.
After almost 16 years of solid service, that Model M keyboard seems to have developed a problem with one of its keys. I searched for an affordable mechanical keyboard as a smaller, quieter replacement while I looked into cleaning and repairs for the IBM keyboard. (A brief cleaning of the mechanism under the problem key did not resolve the issue, so it looks like an electronic rather than a mechanical issue.)
Based on on-line research and some in-person sampling I did with keyboards on display at PLE Computers, I settled on the Keychron C3 Pro tenkeyless (TKL) brown-switched (medium tactile) keyboard. The sample I typed on had a precise-feeling mechanism that came close to the Model M, a much quieter sound than the Model M, and of course is significantly smaller. All of this for less than $60 (AUD; around $40 in USD). This is an incredibly low price for a mechanical keyboard, even if it is a TKL version without the numeric keypad at the right-hand side.
The Keychron keyboard came in a small, neat package which included a keycap/switch pulling tool alongside all the expected parts. I will say that the packaging was flawless, as far as I could see; I would have expected this standard from something costing twice as much as it actually did.
One nice feature of this keyboard is that the keycaps show both Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows captions, and there is a built-in keyboard shortcit (FN-CAPS) that switches between the two keyboard layouts on demand. This is an excellent feature for someone, such as myself, who frequently moves between the two operating systems at the same desk. (I have two computers connected to my monitor, with my keyboard and mouse connected to the monitor; the monitor’s built-in USB hub means that the keyboard and mouse work with whichever computer the monitor is currently taking the display signal from.)
The C3 Pro has triple-level adjustable feet, going from flat (similar to a laptop computer’s keyboard) through a slight incline and then a steep incline (which is still very mild in magnitude). Subjectively, you would clearly need to use the greatest incline to come close to what the Model M provides. This is something that people who have typed on typewriters and older computer keyboards would be used to, but perhaps a bit too steep for anyone more used to a laptop computer keyboard.
The keys feel precisely-machined, and a bit lighter to type on than the Model M. Overall, there is a more ‘plastic’ feeling to Keychron’s keys, compared to the more ‘metallic’ feeling of the Model M’s keys. I am not just referring to the texture of the keycaps, but the overall feeling of weight and solidiity to the keys when typing on them. The keycaps light up with red LEDs when power is on, but I believe the lighting can be turned off completely, if desired.
As I had sampled the keyboard in-person a few times before buying, I was already confident that I knew what I would be getting in terms of a typing experience. From that perspective, in actual use, the keyboard has held up well and met my expectations. It has been a quick and relatively easy adjustment to go from the Model M to the C3 Pro. The keycaps themselves feel slightly smaller in area at the crown, compared to the Model M, but this has not led to any significant accuracy problems; it is more a case of getting used to the overall feeling of typing on the new keyboard.
I had never heard of Keychron before. The company’s website indicates it was founded in 2017 by Will Ye and Sven Zhu (although an independent website seems to indicate differently). Having now typed on the C3 Pro for a few weeks, I am impressed that such a young company has managed to produce what seems like an excellent quality mechanical keyboard.