Matias Secured Pro Keyboard Image Gallery

Somehow this one didn't make it till now.  So, without further due, here is Matias' Secure Pro Keyboard.  This is basically Matias's Laptop Pro keyboard where the wireless signal is AES encrypted.  It does not use Bluetooth.  So, it can be used in a secured environment....  Oh, don't lose that USB transceiver!

Front view with the USB transceiver

Left view

Right view

Switch and key cap view

Key cap view

Back side of the key cap

Matias quiet click switch (light gray color)

Back side view

Keyboard foot retracted

Keyboard foot extended

USB ports on the top side of the keyboard

Power button on the right (white color)

USB transceiver

Comparing my experience with Matias quiet click and Topre switches

versus

Matias quiet click switch is probably one of the most searched topic on this blog for some reason.  I can understand why because it is a pretty good switch, but opinions about how it behaves compared to other switches are relatively hard to come by.  One of the reasons that I started this blog is to share and to hear from the community about their experiences with various keyboard switches and the keyboard themselves.  Anyhow, this time, I want to take a deeper look comparing the Matias and Topre switches.

As long time readers would know that I am a fan of Topre switches after a tortuous journey.  I really disliked the varying key weights format because I am so not used to such configuration.  I am sure that someone else would have a fabulous experience with these, but it just wasn’t for me.  Let’s be honest, there’s a reason that Topre keep making these boards and they must sell quite well.  Otherwise, they probably would be cranking out other stuff.  However, when I reluctantly tried out a uniformed version, I was far more impressed.

My experience with Matias switch is relatively similar.  I tried the clicky tactile switch first and it was driving me bananas for some reason.  The switch mechanic makes me very nervous while typing.  Just thinking about sometimes make me nervous.  Yeah, a keyboard can have a powerful effect, believe it or not.  Anyhow, I tried the quiet tactile switch because I really want to give Matias a fair shake.  This version is basically a dampened version of the clicky tactile.  The complex tactile behavior remains, but just in a much more subdued fashion.  So, it isn’t making me as nervous as much as I thought it might.  However, there’s still a hint of hesitancy from me while typing on the quiet tactile.  So, I think in the back of my mind, I am not used to the complicated force distance curve with multiple clicks and subtle signals that let the user know exactly where they are.  This would be an excellent switch for touch typists who doesn’t bottom out much because the secondary click let a person know that they are about to bottom out.  That subtlety is lost one someone like me because I tend to bottom out more often than not.

Like the Cherry MX brown with a deceiving subtle click to the bombastic buckling spring, the tactile feedback of a Topre switch is relatively simple when compared to the ALPS/Matias one.  In the end, I am a simple guy.  So, the straightforward approach works best of me.  However, Matias is such a sublime switch that one at least should try it out.  It’s not my absolute favorite, but it’s a pretty unique experience.  Comparing the two, I think that Topre won out at the end with simpler, more familiar feel.  Topre has a more straightforward and gentle response, while Matias has that whimsical and complicated vibe going for it.  So, it’s up to the user’s preference and familiarity.  Since I am a pretty simple guy, I think Topre is more my cup of tea.  That’s all.

Not to be left out in the cold, Matias is going for a 60% keyboard

It’s a little amusing to see this actually.  After all, Edgar Matias is one of the pioneers in the minimal keys keyboard business.  Some of Matias’ claim to fame includes a single handed keyboard for instance.  Yet, such device is so specialized that mainstream users don’t ever even take a second look.  So, for Matias to continue to innovate in the keyboard layout front, they are coming out with a few designs, some radical, some more calibrated to the market trends.  The 60% keyboard Matias is their interpretation of yet another keyboard layout to accommodate the necessary keys within the alphanumeric block.  Matias has chosen to change the shape of some keys by either halving the width or close to doubling it.  Thus the result is a new and interesting look for the bottom row housing an out sized space bar.  This way, the arrow navigation keys are not too small like those suffering on some laptop keyboards. 

I will be closely watching this development since Matias has elected to use this layout for their ergo keyboard as well.  So, it’s pretty much doubling down on the design.  Now, Matias knows a thing or two about keyboard layout and ergonomic designs, after all he is one of the experts in the area.  So, I am interested to see how this impacts this ever shifting place in the mechanical keyboard world.

Opinions, changed, or as they say, evolved

It’s interesting to read back on my own writing to see how my views of certain things has changed or how it stubbornly stayed the same.  For example, my love for the Cherry MX brown has been relatively stable.  And, no matter how hard I tried, I still can’t get used to the Matias tactile clicky switch.  On the other hand, it took me a while to begin to like the Cherry MX blue and eventually come to enjoy the switch personality on its own merit.  I mostly softened up my view of the Matias family after a good encounter with the Matias quiet tactile.  It was really a revelation that how little things can change the characteristics of switch and at this level, every little things count.  The buckling spring mechanism was something that was just as how I remembered it.  Using it some more confirms that it really is an acquired taste.  It’s likely not my cup of tea since my fingers are not strong enough yet to type on that board all day long still.

The thing that swings around the most surrounds the Topre switches.  Initially, it was love at first sight.  However, upon closer examination, I simply cannot abide by some of its behaviors.  Coming from my experience with the Matias, I decided to try another switch type within the same family and see how it goes.  Indeed, it was hard to get used to, like the Cherry MX blue had been.  However, my persistence paid off and now, I also think very highly of the Topre switches, within a certain configuration parameters of course.  :)  Oh, the other thing is that I am beginning to bottom out with less fury now as my fingers are adapting to the force needed to just push the buttons till it touches the bottom.  I still bottom out quite a bit, but in somewhat less frequency as well.  I seems to know when to stop as time goes on.  This is good development as the impact can slowly damage the joints.

What about the Matias quiet switch again?

So, another good comparison for the Topre switches are the Matias quiet ones.  I had trouble with the clicky tactile version, but I enjoyed using the Matias quiet version quite a bit after I get used to the slight wobble and jitters.  It’s almost unfair actually, since the Topre is so smooth and the Matias just a hair too jumpy or bouncy for me.  So, the decision is simple in this case.  However, again viewed from a more practical stand point of view, the whole picture changes.

The Topre is just too expansive, but Matias are priced just a little higher than the Cherry MX family.  So, it’s a reasonable option.  Against the vast aftermarket options that Cherry MX family line has amassed, Matias doesn’t stand a chance to compete.  So, the switch must be superior to compensate.  At this level of the game, the switch superiority is more or less a personal preference.  Like the Topre or Cherry MX, the switches are built to last.  So, there’s no mechanical issues that’s holding it back.  The questions boils down to, do you like ALPS switch in general versus the more common Cherry MX family?

Like the Cherry MX family, ALPS switches comes with a wide variety with varying different personality and specifications.  However, most of that is lost now because ALPS is out of the keyboard switch market.  So, like the buckling spring, we have a small company left to pick up the mantle and run with it.

I believe Matias has done an admirable job reviving the ALPS legacy, especially with the Mac community.  Like Unicomp, it’s sort stuck in the shadow of the large gaming community that prefers the Cherry MX linear switches.  Matias has wisely began to make and market a linear switch that’s popular with the gaming community, but I haven’t seen it gaining any traction yet beyond an experimental stage.  I will keep an eye at this as it develops.

Cherry MX Brown switch revisited….

After exploring the Topre switches, it’s kind of nice to come back to a switch that’s familiar and comfortable to use.  I have grown to appreciate the Topre switch, but also time for me to reflect on some of the other types that I have liked thus far and help me reexamine why I like them more than others that are around.  Brown is simply the champion right now.  However, the Topre and Matias quiet click have given me sufficient reasons to take another look.

The Matias quiet is really complex tactile switch that reached back to the heydays of ALPS switch.  The ALPS switches were really popular with Mac crowd.  I didn’t have the privilege of using the Apple Extended Keyboard as much as I should have, just like the Model M, but I have heard they are great.  Different from the classic Model M, but shined in its own way.

So, how does the MX brown stand up to those challengers.  I think it stood up pretty well.  For one thing, there’s really not much I dislike about the switch and lot for me to like.  Topre’s smoothness is legendary and Brown’s a little scratchy tactile feedback is just fine for someone like me.  It doesn’t bother me at all.  It’s not too loud, but has enough auditory cue for me to know what’s going on with the switch operation.  It doesn’t have the melodic songs ringing out from Model M.  Instead it’s kind of chirpy rather than out right songs.  It doesn’t have a complex tactile sensation like the Matias, but enough to let me know what’s going on.  I do appreciate these little things.  It’s one of the most popular switches, and Cherry is definitely doing something right.  Yes, it’s not for everyone, but it’s a generalist that’s good enough for most use cases.  Topre, Model M and Matias are specialists that cater to certain groups.  I would like to examine that concept a bit more closely later on.  For now, the Das Keyboard with Cherry MX brown switches is here to stay because it really does offer a really good overall package.

So, what's my favorite thus far after testing a few different kind of switches?

So far with the mechanical keyboards tryout, I have been privileged to test quite a few different kind of mechanical switches based keyboards plus a few other non-mechanical types as well.  So, what's my favorite thus far?  After all this time, the Cherry MX brown is still my favorite thus far.  It has gotten a lot of different things right and very few weaknesses.  So, I would say that it's a pretty good overall package.

I have come around concerning the blue switches.  At first, I was kind of disappointed with it because of its unusually high chatter pitch.  That came as a shock to the system as I mentioned numerous times.  However, I am a sucker for clicky switches and so I stuck around long enough to come to really enjoy typing on Cherry MX blue switches.  Opposite of the blue, I was initially smitten by Topre switches, but that starstruck feeling dissipated rather quickly.  I struggled mightily with its heightened sensitivity and the ergonomic weighted keys just didn't click with me, no pun intended.  I do intend to retest Topre keyboards in the future because I really want to give it a fair shake like I have with the blue.  However, for now, I should say that Topre has been knocked down a few pegs because of my difficulty with its sensitivity and the blue has ascended along with the Matias quiet switches up a few notches.

My journey with Matias switches has been the most interesting thus far.  I want to love the Matias tactile switches, but the wobble and jitters simply kicked me to the curb with me sobbing.  It's like you want things to work out, but just can't.  On the other hand, my second round test with the Matias quiet switch was a revelation.  The switch has just about everything I love about the Matias tactile, but just does it in a gentler, quieter and more stable way.  If the wobble and jitters are even more under control, I will say that it will supplant the Cherry MX brown as my top switch choice today.  Close, but no cigar....  Sorry, but that's how the cookie crumble.

So, MX brown's still on top, but the lead isn't exactly big since the Matias quiet is within shouting distance.  Also, I intend to test an Unicomp keyboard with the classic buckling spring mechanism.  So, who knows what that will bring.  I will keep you posted.  :)

Matias quiet switch versus Cherry MX brown switch, round 1

Vs.

So, I have compared the Matias tactile switch to the Cherry MX blue.  Neither switch was perfect.  I thought that Matias one was too shaky for my taste while the MX blue just had too much of a chatter.  However, I got used to the chatter, but never did I get used to the wobble.  So, MX blue came out on top and earned a spot in my everyday use gears.

So, now that I go my little hands on the Matias quiet switches based keyboard, how does it compare my favorite thus far, the Cherry MX brown?  Both are fairly quiet switches.  The brown is more clicky or scratchy depending on who you ask, while the Matias has a slightly higher pitch clicking.  The Matias places the initial tactile resistance up front where as the Cherry, the tactile resistance is a little bit more into the downward keystroke.  Thus, the Matias switch has a closer feeling to a scissor switch or a Topre one.  Matias does have another tactile resistance somewhere in the middle of a keystroke, but it's rather subtle.  Some people calls it a ghost click.  I usually missed it, but I do notice it if I press the key slowly.  Speaking of which, I just noticed that the travel distance is a bit more shallow for the Matias switch than the Cherry, but not by much.  If I don't check them side by side, I probably won't even notice it.  Matias switches are also a bit more stiff.  So, it doesn't feel as light as say a Topre or a Cherry MX brown.  Typing on the Matias Laptop Pro is straight forward and retain many of the more whimsical characteristics of the Tactile Pro, except everything is taken down a notch or two.  It's an enjoyable experience typing and the noise will likely not bother anyone unless they are looking for total silence.

Would this be enough to dethrone the Cherry MX brown for me?  I don't think so.  However, I can now say that Matias quiet switch is in my recommended pile for those who like the ALPS switches or the old Apple extended keyboards and need quiet keyboards.  It's just about as quiet as some of the rubber dome or scissor switches keyboard such as the MS Sculpted Ergonomic Keyboard that I have tried.  I have a very positive outlook for the Matias quiet switch, unlike my previous encounter with the Matias tactile switch.  This makes me want to try the tactile pro and give it one more run and see what I missed the first time around.  The Matias quiet switch is a winner in my book.

Matias quiet switch keyboard, round 2

So far, the keyboard is really quiet.  I really do think that this is one of the quietest keyboard I have used.  Most of the sounds are coming from the finger and key cap interaction.  There are some clicking sound coming out, but relatively minor.  It’s like a muted version of the brown switches.  Bottoming out makes very little sound as well.  When bottoming out, it’s a bit more like the Topre with a slight clack.  The Topre sounds is pretty unique tho and I don't think there will be anything that comes close to it.  I don’t think I will have a problem with this keyboard as long as I focus on typing.  If I start thinking about the keys actions, then the wobble and jitters will become more obvious.  However, it really is not as in my face as the tactile type.  The wobble and jitters are much more controlled this round.

So do I like this keyboard thus far?  Yup.  Let's see how it compares to the Cherry MX brown next time around.

Matias quiet switch keyboard first impression

After some searches, I found a used Matias laptop quiet switch keyboard for sale.  I figure I will give the Matias switch family one more shake.  Although I think I have settled upon the Cherry MX switches family, I still want to experience other types of switches.  This is becoming a hobby of mine....

Let’s see how this keyboard behaves.  I don’t think I will have much problems with this keyboard at all.  It’s still a little less wobbly, a little smoother than the tactile one I tried.  I think the dampening bone like pad is working to reduce the jitters a little bit.  It’s still there, but not as severe that I have experienced with the tactile version.  Because the board is a laptop type, the layout is a little different.  For example, the arrow keys and the other navigation keys such as page up and down are moved and integrated to the main block.  Home and Page Up shares the same button, Fn key is needed to activate Home key.  I do use the Home key, but not as much as Page Up.  So, I am OK with this compromise.  It also has media control keys via Fn.  Not bad.  It also shares the shiny plastic covering like the Tactile one.  So, the pros and con is the same.  Now, let me spend a little more time with this keyboard and see how I like it.