I got my new keyboard about three weeks ago now, and absolutely love it. I can't say much to compare it with other mechanical keyboards since this is my first, but this is by far the best keyboard I've ever used.

The keys are blank, which is pretty cool; but also a bit of a pain as I'm sure you could imagine. I like to think that I know where all the symbols and numbers are, but I still find myself counting from the left to figure out where keys are for sure when typing in a password or something like that.

The keyboard itself is awesome quality. The keys and base are all metal, which makes it fairly heavy but also very sturdy. Apparently the keys are rated for 50 million presses before you'll start running into problems. Even if that ever happens, the keyboard is highly customizable, which makes it easy to replace keys and switches.

I decided to go with brown switches. After reading about other people's preference, and considering the environment I'll likely be using the keyboard, brown seemed like the way to go. They're very quiet compared to blue or even red, but still have a nice tactile click and bouncy-ness. I really enjoy not having to press the keys down all the way to have the keystroke register.

It takes a bit to get used to, but once you have it makes typing much more enjoyable. Less force, in conjunction with the nicely spaced layout makes typing for longer stints comfortable. It comes with two USB 2.0 ports too, which is great for a USB drive and my mouse. It's easy to switch the keyboard between computers, and the mouse comes along with it without any extra work.

The 10 keyless keyboard felt like the better choice. I don't spend a lot of time just inputing numbers, so the advantage of having the full number pad was small. The smaller layout makes it easier to pack around too; it would actually fit in my backpack. The keyboard is fairly tall, as in the keys' height above the desk, so I'd highly recommend getting a wrist rest. The edges are just bare metal, and not particularly rounded, making it uncomfortable to type against without a wrist rest.

alt text Image from www.daskeyboard.com