Got a tip for us? Share it...
• • RSS

Das Keyboard Releases Model S Professional for Mac

Monday January 16, 2012 10:19 am PST by Jordan Golson

Das Keyboard, a popular keyboard manufacturer that specializes in "clicky" mechanical keyboards like the Apple Extended Keyboard or the IBM Model M, has announced a Macintosh-edition of its Model S Professional keyboard.

Das's keyboards are a favorite of many computer users, including MacRumors chief Arnold Kim. The Model S Professional for Mac is the same keyboard as the Model S that Das Keyboard has been selling, but with the appropriate "control", "option", and "command" keys for the Macintosh, plus function keys for sleep, brightness +/-, mute, volume +/-, eject, play/pause, next and previous track.

CNET gave the Model S Professional 4/5 stars, praising its "tactile feel and satisfying clack" and noting that "power typists will find comfort, utility, and nostalgia in the Model S Professional's sleek design and springboard performance." The keyboard "brings back the same mechanical key switches and provides tactical and audible feedback that might even improve your typing speed and accuracy." The mechanical key switches of the 2.6 lb. Model S are designed to withstand more than 50 million strokes.

The Model S Professional for Mac will be priced at $133 when it's released, but is available for pre-order for $113. Das Keyboard says it has a limited quantity available for immediate shipping, but the keyboard will be shipped in volume on April 16, 2012.
[ 79 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
rolfsf
8 weeks ago
I never understood the allure of the clicky keyboards - I just assumed it was for people who wanted to sound busier than they actually were.
Rating: 15 Positives / 8 Negatives
Avatar
george-brooks
8 weeks ago
I don't know about you guys but I have tested myself on an old style clicky keyboard and the new style apple keyboards and I type much faster on the new style. It feels much more comfortable to me too. I can hardly type on old style keyboards anymore!!
Rating: 6 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
arn
8 weeks ago

I never understood the allure of the clicky keyboards - I just assumed it was for people who wanted to sound busier than they actually were.


It's less about the "click" as much as it is about the feel of it. The mechanical keys feel very different than standard non-mechanical keys.

arn
Rating: 7 Positives / 1 Negatives
Avatar
wordoflife
8 weeks ago

Das Keyboard, a popular keyboard manufacturer that specializes in "clicky" keyboards like the Apple Extended Keyboard or the IBM Model M, has announced a Macintosh-edition of its Model S Professional keyboard.


Specifically it's a mechanical keyboard. One that uses mechanical switches to operate the keys.
Rating: 5 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
twitter
8 weeks ago
to hear this clicky sound all day in the office is so annoying!!! i nearly bought my windows colleagues some nice quiet mac keyboards
Rating: 4 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
blackburn
8 weeks ago
I would pay for a silent keyboard not for a noisy one. My apple keyboard and my macbook keyboard are great. I had an ibm keyboard, one of those heavy clickers, and I hated it.
Rating: 4 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
jtara
8 weeks ago
I use a Unicomp Model M and love it!

However, I was asked to take it home when I worked at the Sony San Diego Studio. I was told that there were "several complaints" about the noise!

The Model M is not actually a mechanical keyboard. The contact mechanism is, in fact, a dome in newer models. (In the very earliest IBM models, it was hall-effect, I beleive). No IBM Model M has true mechanical switch contacts. (e.g. wiping action).

The magic of the Model M is the patented buckling spring mechanism. It is designed to give positive feedback as to switch actuation. When you hear and feel the "click", the switch has been operated. It is designed to always click AFTER the contact has been made. You know you can then lift your finger.

It is also designed such that this occurs prior to the key bottoming-out. When you type "correctly" on a model M, you are releasing the keys before they bottom-out, minimizing stress on your fingers.
Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
biziclop
8 weeks ago

Several years ago, I was at the bank watching the teller type on an IBM keyboard. Out of interest, I asked if it was a Model M keyboard. After flipping the keyboard over, it proved to be a Model M, even though I wasn't sure if it was or not. The clickiness of that keyboard reminded me of my current keyboard, the Matias Tactile Pro, which is easily my favorite keyboard I've used. This Model S looks like it is in similar territory. Not quite sure why they have that "lip" on the top edge of the keyboard, that seems pretty out of place on the keyboard.


Now it is possible to buy an Unicomp-made buckling-spring Model M made for :

http://pckeyboard.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=PCK&Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SpacesaverM

I use a plain pc version, and while it is a bit loud, it is a pleasure to use.
Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
nagromme
8 weeks ago
Not a clicky fan either, but a gloss black keyboard would almost match an iMac better than Apple’s own.

(Why are Apple’s keyboard and mouse still white?? White is gone from the Mac line! I kind of like Apple’s white cables, but lose the white keys! Apple’s keyboards should all look share MacBook Pro/Air colors.)
Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
arn
8 weeks ago
for the record, I'm not using the Das anymore. After going through some keyboard addiction issues, I'm on the Filco Ninja Brown Tenkeyless



key indicators are on the side:
Rating: 3 Positives / 1 Negatives

[ Read All Comments ]