So what exactly is a membrane keyboard?Basically a membrane keyboard has no switch, meaning the keys and the keyboard itself are not separate. Here's a simple diagram.
As shown in the diagram, if they key is pressed then the key registers. Simple right? The feel of the key when pressed is not too tactile. The feel of the key is pretty mushy to mechanical keyboard users and this is quite true. To those who have never used a mechanical keyboard before, the keyboard will feel standard to most people.
Where are they found?
Membrane Keyboards have flooded the market. They are found in every computing hardware store or online store. They come extremely cheap. A quick search on newegg displays this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010290063+4024&name=%241+-+%2410
The prices are ridiculous low, with most being between the price ranges of 2 - 10 dollars.
Who should use these?These keyboards would be ideal for those on a budget and by BUDGET, I mean you are a stingy Asian. These keyboards in my personal opinion are disgusting. They feel terrible to type on compared to a mechanical keyboard, the build quality is terrible (may explain the price) and most of the time they sound horrendous when on Skype.
Mechanical keyboards.
To start off, what is a mechanical keyboard?A mechanical keyboard is like any other keyboard. There are keys on them, and most of the time look like a board. The most basic definition of a mechanical keyboard is a keyboard that utilizes REAL SWITCHES underneath the the key caps. Here's a picture to clarify any misconceptions.
( The switch shown in the picture is cherry mx blue. )
Mechanical keyboards offer many sensations that are far superior to those of membrane keyboards. NO ARGUMENT THERE.
Who should use these?
EVERYONE. These keyboards are extremely versatile. There are switches for gaming, typing and whatever criteria there is for a keyboard. They have unbeatable build quality. ( I mean I've seen the Steel series 6gv2. It matches its description "built like a tank") The keyboards are quite costly however, in the price ranges of 50-250$, but are well worth the money invested.
Where do I find them?In Australia, where I live, its extremely hard to find a mechanical keyboard in store. I've searched dozen of computer stores and gaming stores, but I've seen none. Well actually I've seen on, but it was the Tt challenger with had a plunger switch. ( Will go into further detail later ). The availability of mechanical keyboards may vary in different countries, so go and shop around. But, if you are not willing to go shop around, there is always a 100% chance there will be mechanical keyboards in online stores.
So now that we have discussed briefly on what a mechanical keyboard is and how it is different to a membrane keyboard. Let's go into further detail.
Types of membrane keyboardsThere is really only one type of membrane keyboard. The notorious rubber dome.
This is the virus that has infected the world. These bad boys are inexpensive. Their build quality is also terrible, probably dying at 10 million keystrokes. (Not very much if you are playing games, or a student ). There everywhere. They can be found on laptop keyboards. The thing that annoys me the most, is the general public does not care about the keyboard feel, because well, they've probably never heard of a mechanical keyboard in their life.
Here are some example of membrane keyboards you've already seen in your life.
The Microsoft natural ergonomic 4000
Microsoft Keyboard 600
But the most common one may be
The Laptop keyboard
.All these feature the key feature of a membrane keyboard. They all possess a rubber dome underneath each key. They are non tactile and are disgusting to listen to. I really do feel sorry for those who work in an office place and are forced to listen to this. As a former membrane user, now mechanical keyboard user, the difference is immense. Its the difference between Usain Bolt and Flash.
FeaturesThese keyboards features aren't too impressive. At first glance, the letters printed onto the keys will faded quickly. ( From past experience ) The keys themselves are prone to damage. I mean I could press down too hard on one key and just like that, the key no longer works. But the thing that annoys me most is the keys are FLAT. Oh lordy, call the 911. The keys being flat hinder my typing speed immensely, I mean no one should have to put up with it. They are flat and cannot be pressed easily. I mean when I go to press a key on one of these keyboards, I not even sure if I pressed it or not and so most of the time, there are typos in my work. Not too impressed.
But here comes the savoir the computing world needs and it may be the last hope for the membrane keyboard, if you could call it that.
The plunger switch
These are a hybrid between mechanical and rubber dome. They are basically the border line. They give a tactile feel, but only slightly. They make no distinct sound when pressed. The build quality is the same for what was said about the membrane. The plunger switches offer a sweet little taste of what a mechanical keyboard is like. These things are relatively cheap just like their membrane counterparts, but cost a little bit more. It floats around the 30-60 dollar range. Most of these keyboards aren't really found in many stores. Not many people even know of these. The only plunger keyboard I've been able to find in stock, from a big company is the Tt Knucker.
The Tt Knucker features these switches, if you could call them that. Another example that I found, in my own house actually, was the iRocks KR-6260
Why did I have it? Well false advertising, as well as a cheap price pretty much sealed my fate. Not to mention I had a custom plaint of the keyboard to the theme of Team WE. From personal experience, the plunger switches get the job done, but it still has similar feel to the membrane. Though the difference is distinguishable.
The Mechanical Keyboards.Here we go, we've hit the jackpot. The mechanical keyboard is the ULTIMATE typing and gaming sensation. There are switches for all your needs. Typing, gaming and overall anything, is what mechanical keyboards offer.
Lets go into different switch types. First off we have a German company called Cherry. They manufacture all the MX switches commonly used in mechanical keyboards. These switches include.
The Cherry MX Blue ( Far left ). They Cherry MX Brown ( next to the blues ) The Cherry MX Reds. ( Next to the browns) and of course The cherry MX black. ( Far right)
These switches are commonly used in different mechanical keyboards and have distinct characteristics.
The next switch type is the the ALP switches. There are many times of ALP switches but most are uncommon. The four most common ones are White, Black, Cream and Blue.
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCL/SKCM_Series
Here's a Wikipedia page, the list of ALP switches is pretty extensive.
And lastly, the last kind of switch there is. The buckling spring.
The old school, retro keyboard mechanism
So what do each do?
Lets start off which the Cherry MX Switches, that can be found in almost any mechanical keyboard.
They are in 4 colours, which indicate their characteristics.
The Cherry MX Blue. These are tactile key switches, which have feedback to the user with a click whenever the key is pressed. The force required for one of these to register is about 40-50G which is completely idea for typists or gamers. These ones are the most popular and sought after key switches. But be warned, they are very loud.
The cherry MX Red. The Cherry MX Red has a very low resistance. Keys will register much more easily than all the other switches. They are tactile, but provide no feedback. The force required for a keystroke to be registered is about 40G and is ideal for gaming. Not so much for typing however, because there has no feed back.
The Cherry MX Brown. The Cherry MX Brown has about a medium resistance to many of the other switches. It requires about 50-60G force and provides feedback, with a small bump. The Cherry MX brown switches are ideal for typing because of the resistance needed for one to be pressed.
The Cherry MX black. The Cherry MX Black switches has a very strong resitance and requires about 60-70G of force to be pressed down. The key switches provide no feedback. The main purpose of these keyboards were originally for RTS games, because of the force required. This was so no accidental key was pressed. The black works similar to the Cherry MX Red, but the only difference is it requires more force.
The Cherry MX switches are used for all purpose computing, mainly typing and gaming. The are the most enjoyable to do any computing action on, because of the feed back and the characteristics they possess, and with this, when considering a mechanical keyboard be sure to get Cherry MX.
The ALP switchesThe ALP switches are similar to the Cherry MX switches with their characteristics. However, the two I can actually comment on, due to there not being enough information for me to utilize to make a post about then, are the ALP black and the ALP white.
The ALP black. The ALP black is very similar to that of the Cherry MX Black. It has the same force requirement 60-70G. The ALP black switches also are tactile, making them different from their Cherry MX counterpart. These switches are not very popular, and I agree with this. The switches tend to bottom out really hard, the switches are really really REALLY stiff and that the switches create friction in the travel path, making them wear out faster.
The ALP white. The ALP White is also relatively similar to the Cherry MX Blue. They are both clicky and tactile with the only difference being that the white requires more force. The down side to this switch is it tends to bottom out hard just like its ALP Black counterpart. None the less it can perform the actions just like the Cherry MX keyboards.
Overall, the ALP switches are relatively unpopular with the community, mainly due to the switches being easily bottomed out. If you are feeling a bit hipster or want to stir away from the Cherry MX for whatever reason, then ALPs may be for you.
.
Lastly, the buckling spring.
The buckling spring was major popularized by IBM's keyboards for the PC.The name refers to the fact that the coil spring tensed between the keycap and a pivoting hammer buckles, i.e. kinks or collapses, at a certain point in its downward traverse, providing auditory and tactile feedback to the keyboard operator. Upon buckling, the hammer is pivoted forward by the spring and strikes an electrical contact which registers the key press. In a Model M, the electrical contact is a membrane sheet similar to that of a modern dome switch keyboard. On the older Model F design, a capacitive contact was used instead.
Typing on a keyboard that features these switches is a different experience. The response given is not of a click but of the spring working. The force required for them feels about 60-70G and is more for typing, and I doubt at that time any of these keyboards for designed for gaming.
So there we have it, the switch types what a mechanical keyboard is, what is a membrane keyboard, and what does a key switch do.
For those maybe interested in a mechanical keyboard here's a list based on what key switch they have.
Keyboards By Switch Type
----Common Switch Types----
- Buckling Spring
- IBM Model M - All Pre-1994, Some Post-1994
- Most Unicomp Keyboards
- Topre
- Happy Hacking Pro 2
- Realforce
- Epson InterKX IKXFKB
- Cherry MX Blue
- iOne Scorpius M10
- iOne Scorpius M10 BL
- Leopold FC200R
- Ducky DK-9008
- Ducky DK-9000
- Ducky DK-1008
- Ducky DK-1087
- Ducky DK-9008-G2
- Cherry G80-3000 LSCRC-2
- iOne Scorpius 35
- Das Model S
- Cherry MX Brown
- Filco FKBN104M/EB
- Filco FKBN87M/EB
- Leopold FC200R
- Ducky DK-9008
- Ducky DK-9000
- Ducky DK-1008
- Ducky DK-1087
- Ducky DK-9008-G2
- Filco FKB104M/EB
- FKB22MB
- Compaq MX 11800
- Compaq 11802
- Cherry G80-3000
- Cherry MX Red
- Cherry G80-3600LYCEU-0
- Cherry MX Black
- Deck Keyboards
- Leopold FC200R
- Ducky DK-9008-G2
- Ducky DK-9008
- Ducky DK-9000
- Ducky DK-1008
- Ducky DK-1087
- Steelseries 7G
- Cherry MX 11900
- Cherry G80-3000LPCEU-0
- Simplified ALPS Black
- ABS M1
- Simplified ALPS White
- Matias Tactile Pro 2.0
- Solidtek ASK-6600U
- Solidtek KB-6600ABU
- SIIG Minitouch
- Kinesis Evolution
- Original ALPS Black
- Dell AT101W
- Original ALPS White
- Focus 2000
- Focus 2001
- Focus FK-5001
- Unitek K-258
- Nan Tan KB-6551
