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I like a great re-skin or recent coat of paint, and I is usually a sucker for slightly nostalgia bait identical to anybody else. However let’s not mince phrases right here: there’s no manner 8BitDo’s upcoming $100 M Version of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard will stand as much as the legendary IBM Mannequin M keyboards of yore — not in sound, typing really feel, or relative chonkiness. Nevertheless, it actually seems the enterprise, particularly with the slick new wi-fi numpad / calculator combo pad 8BitDo will promote alongside it for an additional $44.99.
The M Version has the identical precise specs as 8BitDo’s earlier Retro Keyboards, proper all the way down to the top-mount inner design, hot-swap PCB, twin wi-fi / USB-C wired connectivity, and the included Kailh Field White V2 clicky switches. It’s even obtained the identical huge, customizable A and B macro buttons because the NES, Famicom, and Commodore 64 variations (albeit in additional subdued colours) — the joyously outsized buttons my former colleague Jon Porter stated “stole the present” from the keyboard when he featured them in our ongoing Button of the Month sequence.
What made the unique Mannequin M keyboards so particular was their distinctive buckling spring mechanism, which made a loud and chunky sound with each keypress that was oh-so-pleasing to the ear (and the bane of many co-workers, roommates, and spouses). Any commonplace clicky Cherry-style swap, whereas nonetheless loud and enjoyable, pales compared. 8BitDo demos this itself in its promo video for the M Version, exhibiting transient typing clips of an authentic Mannequin M adopted by the M Version. I can recognize that 8BitDo has no qualms with telling on itself right here or making an attempt to faux the M Version is something greater than a enjoyable retro vibe.
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