
Penna – Vintage Typewriter-Inspired Bluetooth Keyboard - tortilla
https://www.elretron.com/penna
======
ConSeannery
This is literally a qwerkywriter with a different case. The key spacing is
_exactly_ the same, as are the features aside from new square-ish keycaps.

Interesting that the domain name is elretron.com...someone with username
"elretron" posted a youtube video to a review of the qwerkywriter on Jan 10,
2017 (
[https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86879.0](https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86879.0)
, [http://i.imgur.com/hecpAgx.png](http://i.imgur.com/hecpAgx.png))

Is the qwerkywriter creator behind this second upcoming kickstarter campaign,
or is "elretron" just ripping off the entire thing and selling for cheaper
with a cheaper case? Or is the original creator just hoping for another round
of kickstarter funding and making no mention of qwerkywriter on their website
(which has prominent spelling errors, as if it had been thrown together
quickly)?

Either way, pretty shady

~~~
ConSeannery
Well I remarked to them that it was remarkably similar to the qwertywriter and
got this response:

"Hello.

We are different company. It is our prototype model. You can see our key
layout on our Kickstarter Page. www.elretron.net

Regards, Elretron"

My Response: "I noticed that you posted a review to the qwerkywriter on
geekhack in January
([https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86879.0](https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86879.0)).
Are you using qwerkywriters with a different case in your prototype videos and
photos?"

No response yet. I expect that they have no product, and will manufacture a
cheaper qwertywriter clone should their kickstarter go through (or just take
your money, who knows!)

On the plus side, I like the squared-off keycaps, and the price is right for a
knockoff version.

------
vitovito
I bought a similar Qwerkywriter after their successful Kickstarter in 2014:
[https://www.qwerkywriter.com](https://www.qwerkywriter.com)

​It makes a lot of noise, although obviously not as much as a typewriter
would. It has an enormous amount of key travel, and the spacing between keys
is huge compared to modern keyboards. The aluminum body makes it solid and
heavy, although metal keycaps would have been nicer than plastic ones.

If you like enjoy typing on a typewriter, it's a related experience. If you
have extensive mechanical typewriter experience and really want the full throw
and noise, you probably want conversion kit instead:
[https://www.usbtypewriter.com/#gs.9tDxQ0Q](https://www.usbtypewriter.com/#gs.9tDxQ0Q)

------
ptx
"Red type switch with actuating force of 40 g (+/\- 20 g) specially designed
for fast and quick typing."

The red switch is the one with linear force and no tactile feedback and is
usually considered more appropriate for gaming[1], not "specially designed for
fast and quick typing".

Wouldn't the brown switch be more appropriate? Blue and brown are the ones
that actually have been designed for typing and provide tactile feedback. (The
difference between them being that the brown doesn't have the audible click.)

[1]
[http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Red](http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Red)

~~~
falcolas
I agree that a brown switch would be better for a keyboard focused on typing.
Reds do work, but it's surprisingly easy to trigger keys while resting your
fingers on the keyboard.

However, browns and blues do have other differences in how they operate - the
sound is due to a mechanical piece moving independently of the key itself,
which means that the activation behavior is different from that of browns.
Also, the deactivation point is higher (relative to the keyboard's baseplate)
than the activation point on the keystroke. Not a big deal for most people,
but it is noticeable.

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ChuckMcM
Nice, my favorite is still this one : [http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard-
shtml/](http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard-shtml/)

It has the brass edges. I think the round key caps might be a bit difficult to
get used to.

~~~
Animats
There's also Datamancer's version.[1]

As someone who restores old Teletype machines, I'm used to typing on _real_
mechanical keyboards, where pressing a key releases a clutch and a shaft makes
one turn as the encoding takes place. You can't press a second key until the
first has been processed, which takes about 200ms. You have to type at the
machine's speed, or slower.

Probably the best computer keyboard - the original Xerox Alto.

Worst keyboard ever - the Enigma crypto machine. Huge key travel, more than
half an inch. Huge key force, because you're advancing the code wheels, and
the friction of the 26 contacts on each wheel is huge. That's why they didn't
add more code wheels; beyond three, it's too hard to push the keys. Bigger
machines used motor drive but were not portable.

[1] [https://datamancer.com/product/the-sojourner-
keyboarddisplay...](https://datamancer.com/product/the-sojourner-
keyboarddisplay-set/)

~~~
ChuckMcM
That is awesome looking. I imagine the effect is completely spoiled when you
have some bright color wall paper on the screen :-)

------
smartmic
It looks very nice, for sure. However, for all the typists or extensive
writers and programmers, I recommend an ergonomic keyboard. The funny thing is
that those look mostly terrible but when it comes to your health, better go
for it. Like so often in life, choose between comfort and style.

~~~
pkamb
Or, make any keyboard ergonomic by using the finger line "WSZ" rather than
"WSX". "EDX" rather than "EDC".

The right hand is angled and ergonomic by default, but for some reason the
standard left-hand layout that everyone learns uses a terrible wrist and
finger position. Angle both hands toward the middle of the keyboard and you're
much better off.

~~~
smartmic
I use both, an ergonomic (programmable) keyboard and an ergonomic, customized
layout (German Neo2 [https://neo-layout.org/](https://neo-layout.org/)). The
effect on my hands and arms was really perceptible, I do not want to change
back.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
This looks interesting. Is there an English version. Sorry if it's obvious,
I'm tired after a long day on my feet.

~~~
NoGravitas
For English, you probably want to check out Colemak. It does well on a very
wide variety of measures of ergonomics (there is actually not a lot of
agreement on what makes a layout good, so take with a grain of salt), while
also not being too different from QWERTY, and keeping the XCV keys in the same
place.

------
goblin89
If anyone’s looking for just a good Bluetooth keyboard, I can strongly
recommend Logitech K480 ([http://amzn.to/2mPBQws](http://amzn.to/2mPBQws)).
It’s basic and reasonably cheap with simple rounded buttons, but it’s both
portable and large enough to type comfortably, has device dock like the
keyboard in the post, and as a bonus remembers three devices (communications
and writing I might just do on the phone without bringing the laptop at all).

Honestly, laptop’s built-in keyboard is probably the worst choice to type on
with, it wears out fast and is terrible for posture. I often use K480 with my
laptop just to have the screen at eye level and keyboard at elbow level, huge
win ergonomics-wise.

------
oneeyedpigeon
The product looks nice, the website less so, unfortunately. I had a bad
feeling about it when I first loaded the page and saw a black screen with
content slowly fading in; often a sign that content is being loaded by
javascript and the resulting experience will be sub-par.

------
macintux
Similarly, lofree: [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/lofree-typewriter-
inspire...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/lofree-typewriter-inspired-
mechanical-keyboard-design-technology)

------
millerm
Ugh, the OCD part of me can't over the fact that the Q key is upside down in
the video. Otherwise, it's cool looking. It still doesn't help me get over it.

Edit: Now I think the S is wrong too.

------
NoGravitas
I always like the looks of these things, but the prices always turn out to be
outrageous, for various reasons.

------
xupybd
They may want to fix the sites title "Elretron - PENNA Wireless bluethooth
keybaord"

~~~
Toenex
The irony.

------
unwind
In case anyone wondered, "penna" is Swedish for "pen" (or "pencil", we're not
picky).

No idea if the people behind the product are from the Nordics, sometimes using
words from Swedish seems popular in general.

------
jlebrech
wow this and a cheap tablet (or an ipad with skrivener) would make for a great
alternative to Freewrite
[https://getfreewrite.com/](https://getfreewrite.com/)

~~~
72deluxe
I was amazed this thing even existed - clicking on the link and I am presented
with a 1960s style Telex machine with what appears to be a bakelite casing and
1981 keyboard. All for just £499.

Perhaps it is just me, but couldn't you use a normal laptop (even a cheap
one!) and turn Wifi off if you don't want distractions?

Am I missing the market?

~~~
jlebrech
yes maybe a laptop with a distraction free desktop would be cheaper and just
as good. the mechanical keys make a big difference tho.

~~~
72deluxe
Do the keys make a difference to the output that you produce? Or is it just
that some people like the feel of full key travel as opposed to laptop keys?

I have got used to using laptop keys after using them for so long that my main
keyboard at work is a laptop-sized one, even for a desktop machine (much to
the chagrin of my colleagues). Stops them using it though!

------
tutuca
I've been looking a lot for a nice 84 keys mechanical keyboard, but it seems
to be a not so popular layout. This looks exactly the layout I'm using on my
cheap genius luxemate. But a little bit over the top :)

~~~
fizixer
I'm in the market for a full size mech but I'm disgusted by what I'm finding.

Either all kinds of fancy nonsense like backlights, shitty fonts, shitty
ergonomic shapes, shitty colors. Or. Insanely outrageous prices (and the
accompanying hipster elitism).

An amazon basics non-mech costs under $15. A mech shouldn't cost more than
$30, and yet you can't find one even at $70. (Mayby Amazon basics should offer
one, I'll buy it right away).

~~~
ChuckMcM
The market is working against you. Since the market for mechanical keyboards
is small, the number of mechanical switches that are sold less, so
manufacturing overhead is spread over fewer switches and you end up paying
more for them.

In the US at least you can still find the older IBM PC and IBM PC/AT keyboards
at thrift shops and swap meets. They range in price from $1 to $100. And
you'll want to find a way of adapting the interface to your computer (easy if
its PS/2, a bit harder if its the old AT round connector).

I'm typing this on the Cooler Master Masterkeys Pro S, its a full size
mechanical but it leaves off the number pad (which I don't use) but keeps the
arrow keys and edit cluster (which I do). It is backlit but generally I just
leave it on a low backlight. I've got a hack that blinks the F11 key when a
meeting is coming up. Like you said it was $125 but I expect to use it for at
least 5 years so $25/year isn't particularly bad given that non-mechanical
keyboards last me 18 months if I'm lucky. My previous daily driver was a full
sized Thinkpad mechanical from the 90's with a track pad in it. After 20 years
it started missing keys, and its huge, and I started losing keystrokes.

~~~
fizixer
I sat on your response for a while but it just occurred to me, as I responded
to the other commenter, I'm perfectly fine with the price points of chinese
knockoffs on ebay, alibaba, ali-express, etc.

But they put on too much fancy bells and whistles. Removing them doesn't cost
them a dime (probably will save them on the cost per keyboard).

------
pkstn
I haven't seen that many typos for a long time. Wonder if the website is
written with that keyboard :D

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qq66
Seems like an early April Fool, but it would be hilarious if this is actually
real.

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miguelrochefort
Why would anyone purchase that?

