Any recommendations for a high-quality compact (no number pad) keyboard, preferably $50 or less?
Criteria:
- $50 or less
- Preferably with laptop-style keys (scissor switches instead of rubber membranes ala cheap desktop keyboards)
- Quiet (I’m a Model-M kind of guy, but this isn’t a good environment for a noisy keyboard)
- Don’t care too much about media keys, USB ports, etc
I like the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and have heard the Happy Hacking keyboards recommended by others, but they’re both a bit outside our budget.
There have been several questions about keyboards (check the ‘peripherals’ tag) but none about compact keyboards as far as I can tell. Nobody demands more from their keyboards than programmers, so while it’s a somewhat subjective question, I figured this is the best place to ask.
I bought the logitech newtouch keyboard which has a smaller footprint than a regular keyboard and it’s great. Nice and quiet, no ‘multimedia keys’ and has a nice feel. It’s also great as a programming keyboard because the function keys aren’t hijacked by those ridiculous ‘shortcuts’ that are so common on other keyboards. You hit F5 and you get a build in visual studio. I bought it after buying the ultra flat which had a good feel to it, but the key layout was just awful.