Current status of V2 keyboard

First, we would like to thank everyone for their support, feedback and patience during our development of the V2 keyboard. The release date was delayed several times, but the keyboard is now ready and mass production is underway. That being said, we still cannot give a firm release date of the keyboard. All we can say is that we are pushing the factory to finish mass production as soon possible. We will ship a limited number of keyboards over by air freight to minimize the transit time. We are not going to give any time frame for this at the moment as we don't want to keep dragging the release date if something were to go wrong. However, as of today, we can definitely say that it will not be here by May as previously expected. We will only announce a release date once we can confirm an actual ship date from the factory.

However, the good news is that we will have the full selection of switches for this production and we are adding Cherry MX Clear switches to our lineup.

Many people have been asking to preorder the V2 keyboard. Since it's still too far out to give a firm release date, we will not take any preorders until we have that. Once we have confirmation of a ship date, we will announce a day and time that we will start accepting pre-orders. We will only accept pre-orders for the quantity that we are shipping in by air. Once pre-orders sell out, everyone will need to wait until the following shipment arrives a few weeks later.

Some thoughts behind the V2 design

Our goal was to create something clean and simple, but improve on various things that we weren't quite happy with on the V1 keyboard.

The first thing we wanted to change was the overall look, feel, and size of the exterior case. The V1 sat a little taller than we would have liked, so made sure to make the V2 sit as low as possible so typing without a wrist rest is more comfortable. The V2 sits 3mm lower than the V1. Doesn't sound like a lot, but you can definitely feel the difference. We also added a bit of texture to the case to help reduce unwanted finger prints and hairline scratches.

The biggest complaint about the V1 was the brightness of the LEDs. We switched over to a lower intensity red LED and made the LED holes only 1.5mm wide. The LED is recessed so the light is very subtle.

The detachable cable system is very similar to other keyboards on the market, but with a few key differences. We are the first ones to use a Micro USB which has a much better connect/disconnect cycle rating. The routing channels on the back of the case also provides the user with 5 different routing options so it can better adapt to different computing setups.

The DIP switch system allows us to pre-program several operation modes into the firmware so it can be adjusted based on the individual person's needs. QWERTY, Dvorak, or Colemak input layouts are embedded into the keyboard.

Multimedia keys were frequently requested, but we didn't like the way this was implemented on other keyboards. The hotkeys were generally set up in a way that either required two hands or required you bend and twist your hand around in unnatural ways. We positioned our hotkeys in the Ins, Del, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn cluster. It's designed for you to press the Fn/Menu Key with your right thumb so you use your middle and ring fingers to comfortably access the multimedia hotkeys.

Unfortunately, we will not have the mod friendly backplates for this keyboard.

Code - the backlight variant

With the release of the V2 keyboard, a version with LED backlighting will be available under a new line called "Code." The Code keyboards will use the same case as our V2 keyboards but will feature slightly different internal components. A new site will be launch to give the full details on why the keyboards were made the way they were.

The Code keyboard only be available with a standard US layout in 104-key and 87-key variants. LED backlighting is white with a white backplate. It will only only be available with Cherry MX Clear switches.

More teaser pics

V2 Keyboard Updates

Unfortunately, we must announce another delay with the release of the V2 keyboard line. Some small details this time around were not up to par and our tooling must go into another round of adjustments. Currently, we expect the first batch to be completed around mid-May. Again, this is only an estimate as we really want to take our time to make sure all the details are fine tuned to perfection.

TL;DR: New estimate release date of V2 keyboards: May 2013

Upcoming Website Changes

We have a new website in the works right now and we have some pretty big changes coming. The biggest change is, of course, going to be our Custom Keyboard Designer. The original idea of the Custom Keyboard Designer was to give people full control over their legends and keycap color selections. While the designer was able to provide this to some extent, the application itself is nowhere near as fluid and easy to use as we hoped it would be. We feel that, in a way, it has become a nuisance instead of a helpful tool that we envisioned it to be. Also, we noticed that many customers do not require such a detailed level of customization. With the success of our Semi-Custom model, we've decided to combine the best of both products into one for our next Custom Keyboard Designer.

The next Custom Keyboard Designer will remove the ability to change the legends through the online application, but greatly simplify the process of selecting keycap colors. We will expand and improve our pre-made layout selection and add a comprehensive and easy to use interface to preview and select different pre-made layouts. Traditional options such as O-rings and other possible accessories will still be available.

Fully custom layouts will still be supported, but only through the use of our template files. We are also working on making tutorials to help users create their layouts. We will also be adding templates and support for Inkscape (a free vector graphics program). Layout design services will also be offered for a small fee.

We believe these changes will provide a better shopping experience for our customers while still enabling the more advanced users the ability to create something truly unique.

Inventory Updates

If a keyboard model is no longer listed in our options, it means we are now out of stock of that model. Out of stock V1 keyboards will not be restocked at this time.

We know many people have been waiting and asking for more information on our much anticipated V2 keyboard. At this point, we would like to share more details and, finally, a few pictures of the 87-key variant of the V2.

Features:
- Available in 104, 105, 87, and 88 key variants.
- Newly designed case
- Detachable cable using a reinforced Micro USB port
- Multi-channel cable routing system
- Red LED indicators with smaller LED holes
- Multimedia key layer (can be disabled)
- DIP switch function (see below)
- Additional angled rubber pads for improved grip when using flip out feet
- Rubber pads on flip out feet

DIP Switch Settings:
- Switch between QWERTY, Dvorak, Colemak, and Mac operation modes.
- Change Caps Lock to Ctrl
- Change Scroll Lock to Windows Key Lock
- Disable Windows Keys
- Disable Fn key

All V2 keyboards will have the same level of customization as our current keyboards.

Backlighting will also be available as a separate product line. These versions, however, cannot be customized, and will be available with select MX switches. More details on this line will be announced later. V2 keyboards are expected to be available by Mar 2013. Pricing has not yet available.

Many people have been asking about our upcoming V2 keyboard. Our original plan was to have the keyboard released in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, we had to make some last minute changes to the case. The target release date is now Feb/Mar of 2013.

On a side note, there is currently a shortage of MX Brown switches. We have heard that Cherry is gearing up to keep up with demand, but inventory is going to be scarce over the next 4-6 months. If you have been thinking about picking up a MX Brown, you may want to do it sooner than later. Once we run out, it could be months until we get more in stock. It could also be possible that the V2 will be released without a MX Brown variant if no switches are available at that time.

New keycap colors

We have finally settled on three new colors to add to our keycap selection: light blue, pink, and lavender. They are already in production and we expect these to be available sometime in September. We know some people were asking for darker versions of grey and red keycaps, but we had to stick with lighter colors for better contrast when the keys are laser etched. Our blue keys, for example, are very dark and provide very little contrast when laser etched. We've tested several shades of each color and found these to be the most suitable for laser etching.

Current stock status

First, we'd like to thank everyone who has backordered keys that have been patiently waiting for their orders. We just received news today that both our shipments have arrived in the US and are awaiting customs clearance. We hope to have everything delivered to our facilities by the end of the week.

These shipments contain all the backordered keys we've been waiting for along with a large supply of additional keycaps in various colors to keep up with the ever increasing demand. All mechanical keyboard variants are also coming in which mean 104-Key MX Reds and 105-Key MX Blues will be available again.

Other updates

Many people are still inquiring about PBT keys. As we've mentioned before, this project has been put hold indefinitely. The manufacturer we were working with weren't able to provide the keys as promised. During that time, we decided to invest our resources into other projects such as new key cap colors for our ABS keys and to develop our new, V2 mechanical keyboards.

As some people may have heard, we are developing two new mechanical keyboards that we plan on releasing by the end of the year. The V2 mechanical keyboard will be available in both 104, 105, 87, and 88 key variants. We will also be releasing two models with white LED back lighting. The illuminated models, however, will not not have keycap customization options. We will release more information in the coming months with more details about the features.