Reaction to Topre’s Realforce RGB announcement

At this time, most of the Internet’s focus is probably elsewhere by now that Computex has come and gone.  E3, Apple WWDC and a few other things like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are the talk of computer and video game folks.  So, I don’t want this one slip past me.

Now, just looking at the brochure, one of the first thing that jumps out is the LED lights are taking over Realforce.  So, I guess the 70s is back….  Another thing that is of great interest is the adjustable actuation distance, from the standard 2.2mm.  One can now select 3mm or even 1.5mm.  That is a cool feature that Topre switches can do easily, but difficult to say the least for a Cherry MX switch design.  One can make this change on the fly apparently.  So, this is probably either going through some sort of utility or press likely one of the extra keys on the upper right will do the trick.  I know that Topre has experimented with pressure sensitive switch; I am guessing that this is one way to put that coolness to good use.  Short travel keys are the rage these days….  However, then one is typing, a nice deep travel distance will decrease mistypes.

Also, Topre has changed the case design and the key caps too.  Because PBT doesn’t do transparent colors, I am guessing these are double shot ABS key caps.  I could be wrong tho.  The cap design also changed to a more flat shape Topre called step sculpture.  In any case, perhaps to cater to the more popular key cap shape than for the more recessed design that are more targeted to typist and developers.  One thing that is not covered by the PDF, but was uncovered by other blogs and commentators is that the keycap does not use the traditional Topre switch stem.  Instead, it uses Cherry MX stem.  Many folks have said that Topre just made Novatouch 104 RGB and that’s probably a good way to describe it.  This opens up a whole world of key cap options.  This should clear out a major weakness Topre suffered from.  On the other hand, Topre stems are very stable and sturdy and is a sound design for the intent and purpose.  Cherry MX key caps are pretty much industry standard now.  So, Topre will play along I guess if it wants to play in the gamer's market.

One more thing.  It appears that this is a uniform weight design, but it’s hard to tell from the brochure since it lists key weight as 45g+/-15g.  Topre likes to highlight the variable force aspect of the keyboard.  So, it would say so if that’s the case.  However, Topre lists the uniform key weight keyboard such as 104UG the same way.  So, I am going to go with consistency and put my bet on the uniform weighted side.  Besides, that’s probably cheaper to make…

Now, granted that all this is a prototype and Topre is just feeling out the market to see if there’s an interest from the gaming community.  They have some really cool technology sitting on the shelf waiting to be put to good use.  I think the biggest takeaway is the variable actuation distance.  There’s nothing in the market right now that is like it.  If Topre plays its card right, this could become the next standard keyboard at e-sports events.  Given how pricey it likely will be, I am going to say that this one is going to be an expansive toy.