This is a day-one review. Having owned a Matias tactile pro for some time, I decided to try one of their quiet key keyboards. The 'board came to me in perfect condition, with no damage to the box nor to the device itself. This 'board has a detachable cord that employs a USB micro plug. The cord is shorter than average, so if you have a very long reach to your USB hub/port, you may want to consider getting longer cable in the aftermarket. Being styled just as the full sized Matias 'boards are, these smaller form factor devices are an inch or two shorter than a standard tenkey-less layout. This is accomplished by moving the arrow keys inboard and abbreviating the word processing navigation buttons. I have not found this layout to be a problem for general typing thus far.
The keyboard is fairly robust in weight and heft, but it isn't as sturdy in feel as something like an old IBM M keyboard, or a Realforce 87U. That said, once it is on the table, it feels well planted and there is no deck flex when typing, even with vigorous intensity.
The sound level is quite low, on par with a normal rubber dome, full stroke keyboard, or a Topre-key 'board. Probably vaguely quieter than a Cherry MX brown keyboard with O-rings. The quality of the sound, too, is quite nice. It's a low frequency mutter, with very little high frequency sound component. The switches have no "ring" or "ping" sound to them that I can detect in my environment. There is no reason to assume that this keyboard will annoy anyone if you're in an open office area. They will likely have no awareness of your keyboard being different from the norm, other than the glossy black case (which I would prefer to be matte, but you can't have everything).
To the key feel: I would say that these switches are not quite the same tactile feel as the clicky switches on the tactile pro, but they still have many of the good elements therein. The tactile bump is not quite so pronounced, but there is plenty of tactility to assist in feeling what you're doing while typing quickly. Because the switches have a small silicone pad at the bottom of their travel, the cushy feeling is present. Still, it's not a "squish" by any stretch of the imagination. There's still a sense of solidity, there's just a very slight give there at bottom-out. All keys feel equally weighted and uniform, and typing is pleasant. Worlds and worlds above an O-ring equipped MX switch. Different than a Topre switch, but I can't say whether you'd like them better or not as well. For half what a Realforce 'board would cost you, though, this might be the answer. Does it feel quite as good as the loud tactile switch? For me, not quite, but it's still a really good typing machine if you don't have the ability to use a louder 'board.
Final thoughts: A good, sturdy keyboard, excellent typing feel, and reasonable value for money. Keep in mind that these Matias 'boards use ALPS mount key caps, so you'll have fewer choices if you want to dress up the device. It may be a bit of a challenge to get the right key caps for this one, since it's not exactly a standard layout.
Compare with similar items
 | Matias Quiet Pro Keyboard for Mac US | Old Model Mini Quiet Pro Keyboard for PC | Matias Tactile Pro Keyboard for Mac | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | (4) | (19) | (51) | (240) |
| Price | Unavailable | $612.37 | $137.93 | $139.95 |
| Sold By | — | K's Trade | Deal Targets | Alpine Peaks |
| Are batteries included? | No | No | No | No |
| Are batteries required? | No | No | No | No |
| Connectivity Technology | USB | — | USB | USB |
| Hardware Interface | USB | USB | USB | USB 2.0, USB |
| Item Weight | 3.02 lbs | 2.75 lbs | 2.06 lbs | 2.75 lbs |
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