Elecom’s Wired Mini USB Pantograph Keyboard makes a pleasant journey companion to your Mac, though it’s a bit heavy.
Fashionable Japanese electronics maker Elecom affords a small, intelligent, high-quality USB 2 keyboard – mannequin TK-FCP096WH – which works with Macs and most PCs.
Elecom is a reasonably well-liked model in Japan and is thought for its high quality. Dozens of high electronics shops, corresponding to Bic Digital camera, and others throughout Tokyo carry Elecom’s merchandise.
As with most issues Japanese, the keyboard retains with Japan’s aesthetic beliefs of smallness and understated magnificence.
Options
It’s a small transportable keyboard barely bigger than Apple’s personal present mannequin wi-fi aluminum Bluetooth keyboard. It makes use of a wired USB 2 connection, however the lack of USB 3 should not be an issue because the quantity of knowledge utilized by keyboards is tiny.
The rear of the keyboard has six massive rubber toes, and a barely raised space on the high with a weight inside to supply the keyboard with each a slope and a little bit heft. Together with retaining it from sliding round in your desk, the interior inert weight additionally offers the keys a extra strong really feel when typing.
The added weight, nevertheless, does make it barely heavy for journey – weighing in at slightly below a pound versus 9 ounces for Apple’s wi-fi compact keyboard.
The keyboard’s non-removable USB cable is roughly 4 and a half toes in size and makes use of a typical USB-A connector.
The underside spherical edges have a singular form and curve to them, by some means making the keyboard simpler to select up than most pc keyboards. It is a curve that’s simply sufficient to slide your hand below, however hardly noticeable while you have a look at it.
Keys and Pantographs
Total the system has a strong really feel – with high quality plastics all through, and particular key mechanisms known as Pantographs. These units had been initially used to hint small pictures by hand to create bigger copies on paper, and had two inverted movable “V”-shaped sides linked within the heart with two spherical joints.
Pantographs slide open and closed vertically, and their use as key switches is ingenious as they offer the keys a easy however strong click on.
Key faces embrace each English and customary Hiragana characters for English and Japanese use. The usage of a language key lets you swap between both of the languages.
There are additionally a number of special-use keys for computer systems discovered solely in Japan.
Though the TK-FCP096WH is not a full-sized keyboard and thus lacks devoted PC keys and a numeric keypad, Elecom has considered an answer anyway: Web page keys are positioned on the arrow keys, and are accessible utilizing the perform key.
Likewise, most different PC and Mac perform keys are discovered on different keys by way of the usage of the perform key:
- Eject and Mac media keys are discovered throughout the highest on the Esc, quantity, and Delete keys accessed by way of the perform key.
- PC Scan Lock, Print Display, and Insert keys are discovered on F12, Delete, and Backspace keys, respectively, additionally accessed by way of the perform key.
- There are each bodily Mac and PC (Backspace) Delete keys.
- There are Mac Command and Choice keys on the bodily Home windows and Alt keys.
- There are two bodily management keys on both aspect of the spacebar.
These key combos imply you get practically the total vary of each Mac and PC/Home windows keys on a compact keyboard for each platforms. The one main key lacking is Apple’s Contact ID key discovered on Apple keyboards.
There may be additionally a tiny inexperienced Caps Lock LED on the high proper nook which lights when the Caps Lock secret’s engaged.
The TK-FCP096WH is available in each white and black, though the black model is extraordinarily tough to search out each on-line and in retail outlets in Japan itself.
Total Elecom has created a tremendous, high quality keyboard, with easy, clear design and nice keys – however you’ll really feel the little additional weight should you carry it in your journey bag. It isn’t grossly heavy, however the additional weight is noticeable.
Contemplating the low price – lower than half of Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard – it makes a pleasant addition to your journey package.
- Small, with high quality supplies.
- Smooth design.
- Lengthy USB cable.
- Multilingual.
- Customized keys for each Mac and Home windows.
- Low price.
- A bit heavy for journey.
- No numeric keypad.
Ranking: 4 out of 5
The place to purchase
You should buy the TK-FCP096WH on Amazon US and different western websites, though the system is imported from Japan so extra transport might or might not apply.
You can too discover it at a number of massive Japanese electronics outlets on-line, corresponding to Bic Digital camera, if you could find one which ships to different international locations.
Elecom additionally makes small transportable drives, mice, Ethernet switches, and different small computing units.
