15 reviews

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Back in the days when ADB ruled the land, Apple made one of the best keyboards in the known universe - the Apple Extended Keyboard. It was a large, solid keyboard with a great tactile feel provided by mechanical switches under each key. But good keyboards cost money, and over time Apple traded the desire to provide the best keyboard with the Mac for the desire to spend less money per Mac by skimping on the keyboard. Thanks to moving away from Alps mechanical keyswitches, Apple's keyboards became mushy, and those of us who appreciate a good keyboard muttered darkly and clung to our old keyboards.

But if things were looking bad then, they were to get worse (and I promise not to dwell on the abomination that is the location of the Fn key on PowerBook and iBook keyboards). When Apple introduced the iMac, it included a cute little keyboard with a non-standard layout and a truly awful tactile feel, accompanied by a round mouse that was even worse. Almost everyone hated this keyboard (I'm being kind here, since in fact, I don't know anyone who liked it, but it's a big world out there and Apple sold a lot of iMacs, so I'm sure someone must have liked it). Worse, since the iMac dropped ADB in favor of USB, it became difficult to use an old ADB keyboard, since USB-to-ADB adapters tended to be a bit flaky with keyboards, which need to work in unusual situations such as when the Mac is powered down, sleeping, or crashed.

Having fallen to previously unexplored depths, Apple pulled itself out of the fetid mire with the Apple Pro Keyboard, a full-size keyboard with a standard layout and a decent tactile feel. The Apple Pro Keyboard was so much better than the original iMac keyboard that everyone breathed a sigh of relief and with a few exceptions, forgot that even the Apple Pro Keyboard couldn't hold a candle to the Apple Extended Keyboard.

On a Mission -- I, and the other members of the TidBITS staff, do a lot of typing. Our keyboards are in constant use all day long, as we write and edit articles, create and reply to email, and who knows what else. In fact, the main serious use for keyboards that we don't have is gaming, where fast and accurate response are essential.

Over the last few years, we've tried a number of keyboards. Note that we don't want anything fancy, like split keyboards, or keyboards with lots of extra specialty keys. All we want is a real Macintosh keyboard (with Command and Option keys, rather than Windows and Alt keys) that's basically the same as the Apple Extended Keyboard.

None of the keyboards we've tried, including some from Macally, Kensington, and MicroConnectors, have garnered entirely positive comments, and more problematic, a number of them have failed in some important way (who needs an N key anyway!).

Enter the Tactile Pro -- We're inundated by press releases every day, and it's uncommon for one to generate comment on our internal staff mailing list. However, when we received the initial press release for Matias's Tactile Pro keyboard, which led with "Matias recreates 'the best keyboard Apple ever made'" and went on to promise that the Tactile Pro Keyboard used the same mechanical switch technology as the original Apple Extended Keyboard, there was very nearly an online battle over who would get to try a review unit first. Ever the voice of calm and reason, I settled the question by announcing that I would take first crack at it. To quote Tom Petty, it's good to be king.

<http://tactilepro.com/>

On the face of it, the Tactile Pro Keyboard looks very much like the Apple Pro Keyboard (at least the one that came with my Power Mac G4), with a clear plastic shell backed by white plastic and solid white keys. It's slightly less wide (from Caps Lock to the edge of the numeric keypad) than the Apple Pro Keyboard, but deeper (from the spacebar to the top of the keyboard above the function keys). Like the Apple Pro Keyboard, it sports a hard-wired cable and a pair of USB ports on either side of the top. A pair of feet flip out from the bottom if you prefer your keyboard angled up (so your fingers are higher than your wrists, a position I usually recommend against because of the unnatural hand position it enforces).

The keyboard layout is standard (no Fn or other boutique keys anywhere in sight!) and for the most part very similar to the Apple Pro Keyboard. There are a few differences, though. The top row of keys (Escape, the function keys, and the volume and Eject keys) are somewhat more separated from the rest of the keyboard than on the Apple Pro Keyboard, which is fine, since you don't want to press them accidentally. The Tactile Pro Keyboard also has a power key above the function keys, a welcome addition if you can't easily reach one of the power keys on your Mac or if you don't have Apple monitors (which can power the machine on). Through no fault of Matias's, the power key can only power on older Macs with the necessary hardware support; Apple's current Macs no longer support power on signals via USB (but the power key still brings up the Restart/Sleep/Shut Down dialog when the Mac is turned on).

At a quick glance, the keycaps on the Tactile Pro Keyboard look slightly unusual. When you look more closely, you realize that Matias has done something that would seem obvious except for the fact that no one has done it before: they printed the Option- and Shift-Option-characters on every keycap. It's a brilliant move; no longer do you need a software utility to look up the degree character when you can just glance at the keyboard and see that it's Shift-Option-8. And before this I could never keep the keystrokes straight for single and double curly quotes (hold Option- or Shift-Option and press the bracket keys).

<http://tactilepro.com/viewer/tp_mainpic.html>

On the downside, the Tactile Pro Keyboard's Option keys are slightly smaller than on the Apple Pro Keyboard, making them harder to hit accurately. The Apple Pro Keyboard's Caps Lock key has an unusual keycap that separates it slightly from the A key; the Tactile Pro Keyboard lacks that special keycap, so I find myself accidentally turning Caps Lock on more frequently than before. Speaking of special keys, the volume and Eject keys require a special driver that Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar users must install; a CD-ROM contains the necessary installer.

Where the Tactile Pro Keyboard really shines, though, is in its feel. The keys are decidedly "clickier" and more mechanical, and they have a slightly longer key travel when you push them. The end result is a much less mushy feel than on the Apple Pro Keyboard, but accompanied by much louder typing noises. When I'm typing fast, the Tactile Pro Keyboard almost clatters, and I can say with assurance that I don't mind one bit. The new feel took a little getting used to, but within a day, it felt quite wonderful.

It's entirely possible that some people may not appreciate the extra noise; there's no question that the Tactile Pro Keyboard is much louder than the Apple Pro Keyboard and other keyboards that use rubber membrane switches. I could imagine situations where a quiet keyboard would be important, but for most people, the important aspect of a keyboard is how it feels when you type. I had to switch back to the Apple Pro Keyboard briefly because the first Tactile Pro Keyboard Matias sent me developed a spotty A key after a few weeks of use; Edgar Matias told me that although the Alps keyswitches generally last for many years, if one is going to fail, it will fail almost immediately (which is why Matias offers a 5-year "few questions asked" warranty).

The return to the Apple Pro Keyboard was revealing. My typing accuracy dropped immediately, and my hands ached after a long day. Although I probably would have re-acclimated to it after another week or two, switching back to the replacement Tactile Pro Keyboard when it arrived was a huge relief.

I can't speak for anyone else, but if you consider yourself a keyboard aficionado, or if you've been bothered by the slide in quality for Apple's keyboards, you owe it to yourself to give the Tactile Pro Keyboard a try. It costs $100 plus $20 shipping if you buy direct from Matias; it probably makes more sense to buy from a reseller like TidBITS sponsor Small Dog Electronics, where the price is $80 before shipping.

Protecting the Alps -- There's an interesting little side story that played itself out while I was reviewing the keyboard and communicating back and forth with Edgar Matias. The Tactile Pro Keyboard had been out for only a short while when Alps, the makers of the mechanical keyswitches, announced that they were going to stop making these particular keyswitches altogether.

Most vendors have moved to a lower-cost clone of the keyswitch, but when Edgar tried a sample keyboard they sent him, he thought it felt awful, with a touch so light it was tricky to avoid typing a character if he so much as touched a keycap. Although a light touch might seem like a good thing, it's common to rest your fingers gently on the keycaps when you're not typing, and if the switch doesn't provide a certain amount of resistance, you end up entering characters accidentally. Most users respond to a too-light keyboard by holding their fingers just above the keyboard, but that subconscious action can make you even more tired by the end of the day. Despite this light touch, the sample keyboard was even louder than the Tactile Pro Keyboard. Needless to say, he was shocked that this could happen, both because he feared for the Tactile Pro Keyboard's future and because he didn't want see the famed Alps keyswitch disappear for good. Since Alps would have mothballed the tooling used to build this particular keyswitch, it might never have been produced again, particularly if the tooling deteriorated in the warehouse from lack of use and maintenance.

Luckily, Edgar was able to convince the Alps factory in Taiwan to keep the tooling active for him by committing to buy a million keyswitches. There are 110 keys (and thus presumably keyswitches) on a Tactile Pro Keyboard, so Matias needs to sell just over 9,000 keyboards to use up the promised million keyswitches. That's confidence, but after trying the Tactile Pro Keyboard, I think it's justified. It costs only a bit more than an Apple Pro Keyboard; it includes all the Option- and Shift-Option characters on the keycaps; and at least to my mind, it feels so much better that I type faster, more accurately, and more comfortably. Everyone's hands are different, but if you live and die by your keyboard as I do, Matias's Tactile Pro Keyboard is absolutely worth a try.

I bought the Matias Tactile Pro Keyboard, and I am very happy with my purchase. I am not a very good typist. In fact I am rather poor. This keyboard has actually made me better! I am not faster but when I hit a key it is hit and only one letter per touch appears so I am not constantly going back and correcting myself.

The reason for the firm feel of the keys is the mechanical key switches. Mac users who crave the feel of Apple's quality keyboards of old will love this keyboard. The Tactile Pro Keyboard uses high-quality Alps mechanical keyswitches, with enhanced tactile feedback for greater comfort and faster typing speeds.

I also like the special characters and symbols on each key. There is no need to launch another application to find that special symbol. For quick and easy reference, the Tactile Pro's key caps are clearly labeled with the international characters, accents, punctuation, and currency symbols that are available by holding down the Option or Shift+Option keys.

The Tactile Pro Keyboard has a 2-port USB hub. This can be used for quickly attaching USB peripherals, nothing beats the convenience of an in-keyboard USB hub. No more reaching through the tangle of wires behind your computer to download photos from your digital camera. Just plug it into the keyboard and you're ready to go. Works great with MP3 players, flash hard drives, joysticks, and mice too.

This keyboard also has standard Eject and Volume control keys. I really like the power button to turn my computer on and off "if needed" The Tactile Pro keyboard has the look and features of Apple's Pro Keyboard. It will look as good on your desk as your Mac does.

So... if you are tired of "mushy" keys do not mind a little clicking noise when typing I can recommend this keyboard for all computing/typing needs. The Tactile Pro Keyboard is built to last, and comes with a 5 year warranty.

My father owned a typewriter store. I could type before I could write. In high school, I routinely clocked myself at 110 words per minute on an IBM Selectric. (Remember those?) Given that background, I am very picky about computer keyboards. Almost all of them suck.

This one Doesn't Suck. (With apologies to Bare Bones Software, who has trademarked that phrase.)

I get the audible feedback that 99% of computer keyboards lack. I type faster and more accurately. I can find those fiddling little option characters, since they're printed on the keycaps. Basically, Matias got everything right.

The ONLY drawback is that I can't compose emails while on a boring conference call, since the keys are loud enough that the person on the other end of the speakerphone can hear me type. That's a pretty minor drawback.

Buy this keyboard!

It took two days to get used to this keyboard, which has a much different feel from Apple's mushy standard offering. Now typos are down and speed is up. Best of all, the "didn't hit the shift key at exactly the right time so the letter wasn't capitalized" problem has disappeared. (Other folks I know have complained about that as well.)

Curiously, on OS 9.2.2 the power key works but the volume and eject keys don't. On OS X 10.3.4 the opposite is true. And, yes, it is too loud to type while on the phone. (Bad for boring, long winded clients!)

Nice heavy keyboard, solid feel, the option and shift option characters are printed on the keys, which saves me time every day. This keyboard (and the Kensington Expert Mouse Pro) should come standard with every Mac.

People just rave about the "feedback" from this keyboard as they type. The "click-clacking" of the keys gives an aural confirmation that a key has been typed. You can even begin to sense when a keying error has been made because you can hear it occur. Great product!

Wow. I've finally found a keyboard that can keep up.

Perhaps because I learned on typewriters or because I use a keyboard up to 12-14 hours a day, I've never been happy with newer, "membrane" keyboards. Even on my otherwise gorgeous Powerbooks, I get a lot of "double" letters unless I slow my typing to a crawl. Of perhaps a dozen keyboards around my home office, I can really only use one unknown third-party model that has "heavy" keys but at least the right travel to eliminate this problem.

I bought the Matias Tactile after examining it and another "mechanical" keyboard. I opted for the Matias because the other has a non-standard delete key. I'd be curious how it compares but for about $80 a pop, I'll wait.

Anyway, the Matias is excellent. I can probably clip along at 140 wpm with ease and have very few typos from the keyboard. The "touch" is almost perfect. The only drawback is it is noisy compared to membrane keyboards. On those mornings when I start work at 3 a.m. I may have to use a "newer" keyboard to keep from waking my wife!

Otherwise, this is great.

I've been using the Tactile Pro keyboard for the mac. It's quite loud, but otherwise it's the quickest and most comfortable keyboard I've used in many years.

I noticed today that the Matias Tactile Pro 2.0 (much loved by some here) has been discontinued with a new model promised this Autumn.

I'll stick to this Extended II for now but it's nice to know there may be an alternative.

My Tactile Pro 2 is still my favourite keyboard.

Damn right. Mine too- and I have a Nimitz that I tried recently on the same iG5. The Matias was crisper, more definite, generally superior all round. Compared to the TactilePro, all other keyboards feel like they're made of blancmange.

I noticed today that the Matias Tactile Pro 2.0 (much loved by some here) has been discontinued with a new model promised this Autumn.

I'll stick to this Extended II for now but it's nice to know there may be an alternative.

My Tactile Pro 2 is still my favourite keyboard. For writing work [1] when I may be pounding the keyboard for 12 hours a day or more it's perfect. If Matias do make another model I really hope they make it easier to buy them in the UK - I eventually bought mine direct from Matias in Canada and had to pay for shipping.

Ian.

I love my Tactile Pro 2.0 (and its easily accessible USB 2.0 port), except for one pain in the proverbial glutes that you didn't mention: Its lack of any indication - light or otherwise - that the Caps Lock key is engaged or not.

I anxiously waited for this keyboard to arrive, after having pre-ordered it. I had borrowed a friend's Tactile Pro (first version) and loved the mechanical keys. Unfortunately, this keyboard has way too many "ghost" or "shadow" letters when I type. What happens is that you get an extra letter in your word if you type to fast.

It's too bad b/c this is one of the better feeling keyboards out there.

Hopefully version 3.0 will solve this.

The Mtias USB2 keyboard I have has three lights just to the right of the F15 key. The middle one lights up with the CapsLock is presses. a "more pressing" problem for me is that the space bar does not always create a space, and I wish there were some way to improve its function. The good news is that, unlike the recent iMac keyboards, which are sealed so as to trap dirt and moisture but cannot be cleaned readily, the Matias can be popped open underneath by removing three screws and debris blown air with a pressurized can of air. It's a huge improvemnt over the cramped Microsoft "Mac-Compatible" keyboards, which have small-pitch keys that make operation uncomfortable, and the boards by Mac Ally, which are very cheap "Clunkers. Having the foreign accent keys-combos marked is a bonus, as I use them frequently. I'm glad I bought it after having had two original iMac keyboards become so gummed up after 4-5 months that I refused to to use another one, even under warranty. $30 was well spent!

I strongly disagree with the snide comment about giving up two USB2 ports. The trade-off is well worth it. The dock is handily located for thumb drives and transfering photo images. There are two USB1 docks to the rear of the keyboard, as with the iMac board.

Contrary to this reviewer, I didn't like the TTP 2, particularly compared to the TTP 1.

Was the review unit provided by Matias? I ask because many of the keyboards described in the wild seem to have problems like the ones I describe.

I wrote an unfavorable review of the MTP 2.0, saying it "combined a fat price ($150) with poor build quality (loose keys, a malformed edge, and a continuing shadow key problem)."

I consider the clicky sound a benefit; it's the rest of the package that is bothersome.