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The story
+ Show Spoiler +I currently have a Apple wireless keyboard and i have recently been looking to replace it with a wired keyboard. As such i figured i might aswell invest time and money in finding a keyboard i would really enjoy typing/playing on.
So after reading alot of posts on forums like this one, i managed to reduce my options to mechanical at first, then further down to Cherry MX browns or blacks. The browns are supposedly better for typing while the blacks are better for gaming, personally when i play i tend to bottom out the keys and as such was leaning toward the Cherry MX blacks which reportedly was more pleasurable to operate if you bottomed out during gaming.
That was my conclusion until i came across the Topre Realforce 87u which is supposedly the best mix of the things i described above, good for typing but a soft landing when you bottom out your keys during gaming. The best of the topre keyboards for gaming are supposedly uniform 55g actuation pressure.
So now i'm looking for the Topre Realforce 87u 55g.
(TL;DR)The problem
None of the retailers i have found in europe/US carry the tenkeyless 87u with 55g actuation pressure and/or nordic language layout. The best i could do is:
-The standard 86u UK(white)/US(black) version from either elitekeyboards or keyboardco.
-Standard fullsize 105key Nordic version from keyboardco.
-55g fullsize US version from elitekeyboards.
Korea
Since i will have to compromise either way, i found a Korean webshop that carries the 55g Realforce87 black and ship internationally. So i was wondering if anyone on here with Korean language skills could help me make a purchase from said shop.
(http://www.leopold.co.kr/?doc=cart/item.php&it_id=1259715970)
As far as i have figured they don't accept international payments but they'll ship it internationally if you can arrange for someone in Korea to pay on your behalf.
Anyone happen to be in a position to help a brother out or know a better solution to all of this?
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I see good things happening.
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Hehe, meaning what?
I doubt i'd get swindled by any english speaking Koreans that frequent these forums, or any english speaking foreigners living in Korea
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It's listed for 360000 krw, thats like $330
Are you really going to buy a $330 keyboard without ever using it before
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On January 25 2011 03:56 floor exercise wrote:
It's listed for 360000 krw, thats like $330
Are you really going to buy a $330 keyboard without ever using it before
That was my plan. I live in Norway as you can see, the only keyboards i'd perhaps get to test before buying are the cheap membrane keyboards (we are not exactly blessed with retail stores and diversity over here).
I have owned many of the keyboards people use as their reference when they review the topres etc.
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A major finnish hardware retailer just listed a Topre Realforce 88UB black with variable actuation based on key positioning on their site. They have a finnish/swedish layout, so no æ- key and such, but it is supposed to have åäö.
They're currently listed to have 0 units in stock and the importer is also listed as having 0 units in stock, but it is a new addition to their site and seems to be available for order granted that you're willing to wait for the 4-6 weeks it would take to ship it to Finland and then the additional shipping to Norway.
Link to the retailer's main site
Link to the product info of the keyboard in question There doesn't seem to be a picture, which is a shame.
Link to Topre's site where verkkokauppa.com is listed as a valid distributor
That site also sells the basic Topre Realforce 105UFW and 105UFB with variable actuation for 170€, which is slightly cheaper than the £160 they are listed for on The Keyboard Company. Granted, they don't sell anything except the FIN/SWE variants, and completing the transaction may be pretty damn hard unless you know someone who speaks Finnish and is willing to order the keyboard for you.
I know this isn't exactly what you were looking for, but it's the best I could do on a short notice.
EDIT: Finnish prices include VAT, which makes the standard Realforce significantly cheaper at Verkkokauppa.
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Also, if you want to look at the standard Realforce boards they have on stock, follow these instructions (Site design sucks, can't link you to them):
On the left hand side, click Oheislaitteet. Then click näppäimistöt, still on the left. Under "Näppäimistöt merkeittäin" (Keyboards by brand) you will find Topre, click that. If you want to see more information about a product, click the "näytä" link next to it. Information tends to be in Finnish, which is a real bummer, but at least most of the products have pictures.
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Wow, thanks alot FrozenSolid! I will send them an e-mail and check if i can order the 55g version or even a Norwegian layout through them;)
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Anyone happen to know their sales e-mail (http://www.verkkokauppa.com/), was about to grab it off their site and it seems google translate stopped working.
I'll btw update the post with their response, might be usefull to other aswell since Realforce keyboards are hard to get by^^
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why would you ever get a keyboard for like 50$+ or whatever.. even 330$ srsly wtf?
cheap 10$ Black keyboards 4tw.
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On January 25 2011 17:02 rasers wrote:
why would you ever get a keyboard for like 50$+ or whatever.. even 330$ srsly wtf?
cheap 10$ Black keyboards 4tw.
Because cheap keyboards are horrible and proper keyboards are a real joy to work with?
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On January 25 2011 16:31 explicit wrote:
Anyone happen to know their sales e-mail (http://www.verkkokauppa.com/), was about to grab it off their site and it seems google translate stopped working.
myynti@verkkokauppa.com
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On January 25 2011 18:48 Jago wrote:Show nested quote +On January 25 2011 16:31 explicit wrote:
Anyone happen to know their sales e-mail (http://www.verkkokauppa.com/), was about to grab it off their site and it seems google translate stopped working. myynti@verkkokauppa.com
Thanks mate. Sent an e-mail, just awaiting the answer now i suppose!
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You might want to think about the Steel Series 7g which uses Cherry MX blacks or the Razer Black widow which uses blues. They are perfectly affordable "gaming" oriented solutions and very durable. The black widow is also getting stellar reviews.
I went through 4 or 5 cheap 10$ keyboards a year till I started using an old mechanical IBM keyboard from my dads work (Found it while moving a crapload of stuff out of the office) I then switched to a DT35. Once you go mechanical you will never enjoy typing on a membrane keyboard again.
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On January 25 2011 21:46 Phayze wrote:
You might want to think about the Steel Series 7g which uses Cherry MX blacks or the Razer Black widow which uses blues. They are perfectly affordable "gaming" oriented solutions and very durable. The black widow is also getting stellar reviews.
Thanks for the tip man. Out of the two i would probably go with the black widow in retrospect, and if i was going to get a Steel series i would probably just go for the g6v2.
A little update on Filco:
-Keyboardco apparently is out of all the Filco tenkeyless, with new arrivals in a month(Nordic included).
-Elitekeyboards gets a new brand with Cherry MX's and esentially the same make as filcos, will include tenkeyless and cheap pricepoint. Probably won't have a nordic version. Due in about a month.
Topre Realforce:
-Keyboardco would maybe have tenkeyless 55g in 2-3 months but could not promise anything.
-Finnish retailer can offer the 105U(fullsize) nordic right now, and 88u (don't know if thats a typo because i have never seen mention of a 88 key board elsewhere) tenkeyless in 4-6weeks.
-Elitekeyboards have the 103U fullsize keyboard with all 55g switches right now, no nordic layout.
Right now im still waiting for an email from the Finnish retailer, hopefully they have some good feedback. If not i might have to change the title of the tread cuz its not looking like ill get my keyboard from Korea and i might not even get my grubby paws on a Topre Realforce;)
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if you dont mind buying outside of eu maybe try armygroup ? they have filcos and topres, fast shipping. feedback is good. im also thinking about the 87u to replace my ss 7g (too stiff for my taste, prefer to game with the crappy rubber dt-35).
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=13111
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On January 25 2011 22:53 panzer wrote:if you dont mind buying outside of eu maybe try armygroup ? they have filcos and topres, fast shipping. feedback is good. im also thinking about the 87u to replace my ss 7g (too stiff for my taste, prefer to game with the crappy rubber dt-35). http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=13111
Wouldnt mind that at all, but armygroup is out of Topre Realforce 87U and there is a 0% chance of landing a nordic version^^ In that case i might aswell just get the 86U from elitekeyboards, filcos would be my consideration. But it would make more sense to get the Topre 105U with Nordic language for 170 euros as opposed to a Filco tenkeyless for 200 dollars with shipping, since the topres are usually alot more expensive
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Ok, an update from verkkokauppa.com:
The 88 was not a typo, which i presume means it's actually a 87U but for the european market. After checking the majestouch tenkeyless variations it seems the european versions have 88 keys instead of 87 aswell. Thats the good news, the 87 has some nice features.
Bad news is, delivery time is very long and it could be more then the 6 weeks their webstore lists.
Seems i picked the wrong time to make a switch to mechanical keyboards, since every retailer has over 4 weeks deliverytime on anything worth the investment. Life would be alot easier if english was my native tongue:p
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EPT
