Truly Ergonomic Computer Keyboard Review: One Month with the TECK
by Jarred Walton on March 7, 2013 12:35 AM ESTSubjective Evaluation: TECK It to the Limit (One More Time!)
Bad puns aside, let me be very clear at this point: the layout and arrangement of the keys on the TECK is very different, more so than you might imagine just by looking at the pictures. Logically and to my eyes, the TECK layout makes a lot of sense, but when you first sit down to use it you’re going to be in for a rude awakening. Truly Ergonomic recommends giving yourself at least a few days, maybe a week or two, or perhaps as long as a month to adapt to the changes in the layout. While there’s a huge difference between a few days and a month, some people adjust more quickly than others and there’s still going to be improvement past the one week mark.
Personally, the first day (and in particular the first hour) using the TECK was a nightmare, with my typing speed going from around 65-70WPM on “normal” keyboards to less than 10 WPM with the TECK. Yeah, it’s that different! I had a friend come by who can type around 80 WPM and told her to just sit down and try a one minute typing speed test (with no warm up) on the TECK. She managed 5 WPM on her first go, but with an average number of errors of 6 WPM, for an adjusted speed of… zero. That’s likely where everyone will start, and you’ll have to dedicate at least an hour or two to the TECK before you become anywhere near proficient. As I mentioned in my First Impressions piece, the initial learning curve can be extremely frustrating, so you should plan for that. If I could have accurately captured my typing speed every few minutes over the course of learning the TECK, I imagine the plot would look something like this:
I can’t say whether the ramp in typing speed will happen in minutes, hours, or days, but it will happen if you stick with it (and preferably don’t swap back and forth between keyboards). After a couple days of typing, I was able to reach about 90-95% of my normal typing speed, and by the time two weeks had passed I was at 100% and perhaps a bit faster. Now, I just took the same typing tests as I used in the initial article, and I’m clearly faster with the TECK than with my previous keyboard. My scores, if you’re interested, are 76WPM on test 1 (0 errors), 78 WPM (1 error = 77 WPM) on test 2, and 70 (1 error = 69 WPM) on test 3. All three scores are up 3-5 WPM compared to my initial results, presumably thanks to the improvement in the ergonomics and the reduced range of motion required for typing. I also recorded the following video, after I was acclimated to the TECK, to see if I could notice a difference in the way I type.
Obviously there are some major differences in the number of mistakes I make on the Rosewill, but more noticeable to me is how my hands just look a lot more natural and don't appear to work as hard on the TECK. I’m by no means an expert typist, but objectively my typing speed is up slightly while subjectively I also feel as though my hands manage better with extended typing than on a regular keyboard. That's enough reason for me to give serious consideration to using the TECK on an extended basis.
While my typing experience is improved in many ways, there are some aspects of the TECK that I still haven’t quite adjusted to, and still other areas where I definitely feel I’m missing something I’d rather like to have. The lack of a dedicated 10-key is one such complaint that I've already touched on; I understand the idea behind making the TECK narrower than a traditional keyboard and bringing your mouse in closer, but I just don’t find it particularly necessary (for me; others might feel differently). The times when I’m using a mouse, I’m often not using the keyboard much—or else I’m playing a game. The placement of the cursor keys and document navigation keys already would reduce the width by a couple inches, and while the 10-key would still add three inches that’s a compromise I’d prefer to make. The reason is simple: I can’t reach normal 10-key speed with the TECK, not even close, and I make far more errors than I’d like. To illustrate, here’s another set of typing results, without any real warm up on either keyboard:
Regular 10-key: 7036 keystrokes per hour with 0 mistakes
TECK 10-key: 2914 keystrokes per hour with 0 mistakes
Now, part of the speed reduction is because I intentionally worked hard to not make any mistakes; there were plenty of errors and I had to go back and correct them. If I were doing dedicated 10-key input looking at a sheet of paper rather than the display, I would have had numerous errors and it would take a significant amount of time to improve. Errors in numeric input tend to be a lot more alarming than errors in text (hello accounting!), so I simply wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending the TECK to someone who does that sort of work without also recommending a separate 10-key—which not only eliminates the space saving benefit of the TECK but actually ends up being worse as you now have a second device cluttering up your desk.
I have a couple of other stories that I also want to relate, one illustrating the potential for problems with a revamped keyboard layout and the second that may be more about how I type (or perhaps my review keyboard). The first comes from my typing up of a review, the Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook if you’re curious. I normally type a significant portion of each laptop review on the laptop, in order to evaluate the keyboard, but since I was in the middle of working on the TECK review I didn’t want to “corrupt” my adjustment and so I was using the TECK (though previously I had done a decent amount of typing on the XPS 12 so I knew I liked it compared to many other Ultrabook keyboards).
During the course of the review, I had written about two thirds of the text (around 3000-4000 words, including the specs table), and for whatever reason I simply hadn’t saved most of that content. One evening I sat down to write some of my thoughts on Windows 8; unfortunately, while typing I pressed the left Control key instead of the Shift key out of habit (remember that the Shift on the TECK is on home row instead of adjacent to the Z). Instead of “Windows”, that became: CTRL+W, “Do you want to save the changes to ‘XPS 12 Review.docx’?” No. I was typing fast, so the “n” in Windows came along right around the same time that the dialog asking if I wanted to save popped up. Poof! The document was gone without being saved, and the scream of agony that escaped my mouth caused my wife and children to jump in alarm. Sadly, despite using several undelete utilities to see if I could find the auto-recovery file I failed and ended up having to rewrite most of that content. Blame me, blame Word 2007 (I’m old school, unlike Vivek), blame the TECK, whatever. The fact is, stuff like this can potentially happen, so you’ve been warned (again). It’s like a game: remember to save your progress regularly.
The second item that’s on my annoyance list might be more from the way I use the TECK than anything, but try as I might I still encounter the problem on occasion. When I first started using the TECK, I didn’t notice this, so either I adapted in some incorrect fashion to the MX Brown keys, or I got a flaky unit—but I’m more inclined to think it’s the former than the latter. With certain keys, I now get a periodic doubling of the character. Initially, this was happening with the “E” key, and at one point it was happening about 25% of the time. That’s a problem when you’re dealing with the “most common letter in the English language”, and I even went so far as to remove the key cap to see if something looked wrong with the switch (it looked perfectly fine, though it did seem to work better afterwards so maybe there was some grit in the switch). One key out of 86 having a bad switch would be possible, but then I started getting the problem with the “I” key as well. In both cases, it’s my middle finger reaching up to hit the respective key, and at this point it probably only occurs about 1-3% of the time (depending on what I’m doing), but it can be irritating and it often comes in spurts. If the problem is actually with the switch, Truly Ergonomic would be happy to replace it, but I'm actually not sure that's the case.
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Finally, just to comment on the TECK in general, the keys come with a slightly textured finish. This in itself isn’t particularly noteworthy, but after just one month of typing I’ve found that many of the keys are starting to get a glossy sheen—the right spacebar in particular has a noticeable glossy mark, which you can see in the picture above, and I expect other keys will develop the same wear markings over time. I wouldn’t necessarily want them to change the keys, and I’ve had the same thing happen on pretty much every keyboard I can think of in recent years, but if that sort of thing bothers you it will be a concern with the TECK.
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NeoReaper - Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - link
something i dont quite understand about your review is that you seem to be pitting a non-ergonomic keyboard against a ergonomic one. why arent u comparing the MS Natural Keyboard to the TECK? ive been using MS Natural Keyboards since the first one launched and i used that one until the Natural 4000 came out. the reason why is because i felt the elite was too small, i felt like i was scrunched up whenever i tried to type on it. something i find odd about ur depiction on keyboard layouts is that you seem to dislike the fact that your right arm comes in at an angle with the MS keyboard. i always found that to be an ergonomic advantages especially since i have to move my arm over to the mouse. my arm ends up be perfectly straight when operating the mouse because of this. another thing is that i feel that the TECK keyboard would give me that crammed feeling i had from trying the MS Elite. i actually like having my arms fairly spread apart which is something the large MS Natural Keyboards have enabled for me. another interesting parallel would be going from playing games on a standard control pad to switching over to the wii remote and nunchuk. it was a very liberating experience.araczynski - Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - link
i've loved the split/ergo keyboards from microsoft since they've been released ages ago, its all i use for work. several years back i've also switched to the Evoluent vertical mice, that has made a TON of difference in how my wrist feels now.mike_obrien - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Jarred -Thanks for the great article. Similar to a watch, keyboard choice reveals a lot about a computer user. You provided a lot of very useful insight that will help thoughtful users to evaluate TECK, and I look forward to your Kinesis review, since I haven't tried their devices in years.
As former Unix admin, my struggles with CTS/RSA began in my early '20s. The combination of Dvorak and an ergonomic keyboard (the MS Natural Pro, which I stockpiled and am still using a dozen years later) has not only given me years of nearly pain-free computing, but delivered an unexpected ~50% increase in typing speed.
If your ergonomic keyboard of choice does not address your CTS/RSI, I highly recommend making the switch to Dvorak. Unlike an ergonomic keyboard, the benefits of Dvorak are available when using a laptop - a use case that is growing rapidly over time. (Having used literally hundreds of laptops over the past decade, it's hard to beat the Lenovo T series for size and feel.)
I wish you the best of luck finding a strategy that works, and look forward to reading your upcoming reviews.
-Mike O'Brien
KinesisAreBad - Saturday, June 1, 2013 - link
It would be nice if people would stop recommending Kinesis as some kind of innovator. In my view Kinesis STOLE the Maltron design because of a technicality in their patent (the number pad). They aren't champions of ergonomics or designers. They're thieves in my book.As a side note, or more on-topic even. While I too like the TECK design, it's actually a combination of many design elements that others have implemented in their own genuinely innovative creations. You can find information about this on GeekHack but in summary nothing about the TECK is theirs - not even the placement of the editing keys. It's all borrowed, but combined very well. Except the awful function key area which they did themselves. A reflection of their design skills I think.
The lesson is: thieves win. Just look at Apple.
Maryon Jeane - Monday, July 8, 2013 - link
I'm very torn about this: on the one hand this company (Truly Ergonomic) is dreadful when it comes to customer service, even taking days to reply to e-mails, but on the other hand this keyboard is not far off being the best I've ever used. (To give an idea of my background in this respect, I'm a trained touch-typist (on manual typewriters!) and very fast, I'm self-employed and communicate with my clients through the computer, and I'm on the keyboard day and night; I've tried virtually every type of keyboard going, from the IBM Model M to the Cherry Click in its various manifestations through to the Goldtouch and as far as the Maltron.)I’ve now been using the Truly Ergonomic keyboard (English International Model 105) for over a year (since February 2012), day in, day out. When it first arrived, it was bizarre - not because of the different layout (I’ve accustomed myself to myriad different layouts over the years) but because the keyboard was acting very strangely. Some keys simply didn’t type at all, some keys typed multiple keystrokes, some keys typed something different entirely to what was on their keycaps - and none of it was consistent. TE’s customer service being so dreadful, and the problems with returning (or obtaining) things from Canada being time-consuming and difficult to overcome, I sent the keyboard to my trusty and excellent keyboard people here in the UK (The Keyboard Company) to see what they could do. Their verdict was that there was nothing physically wrong with the keyboard, that it was well made and built to last, and that they would be happy to replace any keys I chose (it’s fitted with Cherry MX Blues); they further said that all the soldering on the keys was fine (poor soldering can often be the source of problems with mechanical keyboards). So I had the keyboard back and tore my hair out trying to find the source of its bizarre behaviour.
I soon noticed that if I hadn’t been using the keyboard (because I had to revert to another keyboard just to get my work done), then when I used it again the problems were worse; on the other hand if I had been persevering for an hour or so the keyboard was better. So I did an hour of online typing games continuously - and the keyboard improved. From then on I simply did hour after hour of typing games (with breaks of course...) over a couple of days - and suddenly the keyboard was usable. Once it was actually usable I used it for work, and gradually the problems disappeared. Strangely, I found, I wasn’t the only person to have had a TE keyboard act like this. (Whether or not problems would reappear if I didn’t use the keyboard for a long while I don’t know, because I use it extensively every day.)
I found exactly the same thing with the second keyboard I ordered from Truly Ergonomic - also with Cherry MX Blues, which they now no longer supply - but at least this time I knew what the problem was and how to solve it.
My hands, arms, wrists, neck and shoulders hardly suffer at all now from my prolonged and extensive use of the keyboard - which has certainly never been the case with any other keyboard. I am extremely happy with the ‘feedback’ from the keyboard as I type and I have the experience I’ve always wanted: I’m unaware of the keyboard between myself and whatever I’m doing on the computer. My typing speed is the highest it has ever been and my error count is tiny.
I have remapped some of the keys (I always do anyway, for example remapping the AltGr key to be the same as the ordinary left-hand Alt key - highly necessary for touch typists using the keyboard rather than the mouse to access menus, implement font attributes such as bold, italic, etc. to avoid hand strain), and I also use a macro facility (KeyboardExpress) to automate such things as double and single inverted commas, brackets and the like (so one key combination types both symbols and places the cursor between them), and ShortKeys for boilerplate text and the like. All this not only ensures that there really are no awkward reaches in typing, but also increases speed and accuracy to beyond-human, as it were.
If only Truly Ergonomic the company were of the same calibre as Truly Ergonomic the keyboard!
chadwickboggs - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
As a computer programmer on a Mac I have to say that I am comforted and relaxed by this keyboard, model 209. My tendon pains have reduced, my speed increased and I personally learned it in one day. I might have placed the function keys lower, but other than that it sure seems to be well worth its price to me. Thank you TrulyErgonomic, sincerely!avav - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
I like the keyboard - but find it hard to take the company seriously. I had trouble with their online checkout (form seems to stay stuck on 'processing payment'). And there is no telephone number anywhere on the website that one can call. Very strange - and very unprofessional.avav - Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - link
Based on this review, I decided to try this keyboard (TECK 207). Here is my feedback.1. The mechanical keys on this keyboard are the least mechanical ones I have ever seen. Having worked on various mech keyboards, I find it hard to believe that this keyboard has truly mechanical keys. There is just no comparison.
2. For me, the keyboard was DOA - in that the space bar did not work. I thought this would be a simple matter of returning/replacing this item. Was I ever wrong. This leads me to my main point about this company:
3. This company operates like a scam/ripoff company. They do not have a telephone number that you can call. They do not respond to online queries (you can a message saying - you will hear from someone in a FEW days - due to their busy volume. You never do hear back).
Also, I originally thought this was accidental - but no longer think so. The credit card payment option does not work on their website. Only paying directly (paypal or bank account) works. This way, you cannot dispute your transaction as easily as you could with a CC payment.
There is already a ripoff report (ripoffreport.com) filed by someone who had a similar experience to mine.
I don't have a problem with your review - but believe you need to include the company's unethical practices along with the keyboard review. Had I known any of this , I would never have made the purchase.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
I am sure they're not a scam/ripoff, but that doesn't mean their tech support or quality control are up to speed. Your first point however is silly; of COURSE this keyboard has mechanical keys -- you merely have to pop the keys off to see the Cherry MX Brown switches.For the second point, DOA does happen and if you had a bad experience getting your product repaired, that's unfortunate. Send me an email (with order number, real name, etc.) and I'd be happy to talk with Truly Ergonomic and hear their side of the story. Not having a telephone number listed isn't a big deal for an online company -- we don't list our numbers on AnandTech either, you'll notice -- so email is usually the proper way of contact.
Anyway, I don't really have the ability to do reviews of all the extra stuff like customer service, as that would entail purchasing products anonymously with our own money, and we simply don't get paid enough as hardware reviewers to do that. There are places that try to track such things, but resellerratings doesn't list Truly Ergonomic, and the only filing on RipoffReport (which you mentioned) is clearly your own complaint.
Is this a bad company? I don't think so; did you get a defective keyboard? Possibly. Why haven't they fixed the problem? Tough to say, but like I said: email me and I'll see what they have to say. Sadly, the Internet gets more negative complaints than people praising good companies, so your single bad experience doesn't really tell us much other than one person had problems.
maestrofjp - Thursday, November 28, 2013 - link
I've had very similar issues as the poster "avav". Sometimes the keyboard works and other times key presses register as double or none at all. And dealing with tech support with them is like a broken record, please "exercise your keys to break them in" -- like a few more key presses is going to suddenly break them in -- even though I've been using the keyboard for two months+ (and as a programmer so I'm typing all day). Please flash the firmware with the latest update. Like flashing it for the 20th time with the SAME firmware (no key mappings) is suddenly going to fix the issue.Tech support has suggested things like... maybe you have X turned on in Windows (i.e. move mouse cursor via keyboard) after I repeatedly remind that I'm on Ubuntu or other Debian derivative. Then suggesting maybe I should try it on Windows because it could be an OS issue. Tried that and the same story with the keyboard's behavior. Its not an OS issue...
The only conclusion I can think of is there is either an engineering problem with the hardware (like their choice of MegaWin for the microcontroller) or something with the custom HID firmware they wrote. It clear that the product was designed to last with high quality components (never have had issues with other products with Cherry switches before) however the firmware issues in which what I type doesn't really come out right makes this keyboard no longer a functional item but purely a point of annoyance that is getting in the way of actual work. For a piece of kit that is $250+, I have expectations that it should function as an accurate keyboard first. We'll see if they respond to my pending RMA (in which they agreed to in a tech support message)...it's been a few days of waiting (which is the typical turn around time from this vendor).