Mechanical keyboards get a dose of typewriter nostalgia

How much nostalgia is too much? Recent trends in keyboards have shown increasing popularity in mechanical keyboards. This trend has largely been seen among gamers, who swear by the superior key-smashing experience they get from the satisfying click of each switch. Another more subtle trend has been the longing for the old typewriter aesthetic. To cash in on the trend, companies are making typewriter-style mechanical keyboards that work across devices.

Companies have actually been turning the iPad into a typewriter for about as long as the iPad has existed. The $400 USBTypewriter was adapted for the iPad in 2010. The Qwerkywriter was a more practical keyboard that launched on Kickstarter in 2015 and now costs $280. It has Bluetooth and works across operating systems and devices, but that is still a steep price to pay for a keyboard. The latest entrant to this market brings the price down dramatically, although it lacks some of the old-time aesthetic of previous products.

Lofree currently has an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign going, during which buyers can pick up a keyboard for $74. The keyboard connects via Bluetooth and works with all major OS. It has a relatively small footprint, however, making it clear mobility was a primary concern. This makes the device a good mechanical keyboard for smartphones and tablets, which often have keyboard accessories that offer poor typing experiences.

Lofree is being positioned as the anti-gamer mechanical keyboard. The promotional video shows people using it on Apple computers and the company said the model has the same layout as Apple's Magic Keyboard. It can also connect to three different devices at once, allowing the user to quickly toggle between different computers or mobile gadgets.

Another addition to this market is the Ncore Retro Mechanical Keyboard. The Ncore keyboard's style looks much more like a classic typewriter. However, it has the complete layout of a modern PC keyboard, including a number pad on the right side. This is the main perk of the $130 keyboard. It is not wireless, so people would not be using it across devices. It does not even list macOS as a supported OS. This is yet another mechanical keyboard for the WindowsPC crowd, but it makes a direct appeal to those longing for the days when typewriters were cool.