The all-screen keyboard is finally here... - DS Pixel Keyboard

Quick Overview

The reviewer finds both the standard capacitive touch DS Pixel Key Pro and the newer Hall effect Erggo version to be incredibly cool novelties that they love despite acknowledging they are not necessarily good keyboards, concluding that while they want one for its historical significance, they cannot recommend purchasing them due to high cost and functional compromises.

Key Points: The capacitive DS Pixel Key Pro felt "honestly worse than like your regular membrane keyboard" and resulted in a typing speed of 22 WPM with 83% accuracy on the first test. The Erggo version, which uses Hall effect switches instead of capacitive touch, provided a significantly better typing experience, achieving 106 WPM with 97% accuracy. The standard version requires two cables—one for data and one for power—because it lacks a single cable solution, and it exhibits around 30 milliseconds of latency on the 8 kHz model. The standard version has a significant flaw where resting fingers between words registers as an input, causing errors, and the capacitive typing mode is tedious to set up by slotting in nubbins. The Erggo version comes in a much nicer package, including a case and cloth, features QMK/VIA compatibility, and achieved a much more reasonable 1 millisecond latency on the 8 kHz model. A major functional drawback is that the keyboard cannot be used for typing when displaying external video via HDMI, as the keyboard functionality is disabled. The standard DS Pixel Key Pro is expensive, retailing at $659 on sale from a previous price near $1,000, while the Erggo version is currently only on Kickstarter with no set price.

Context: The video reviews two versions of the DS Pixel Key product line: the DS Pixel Key Pro, which features an all-screen capacitive touch surface allowing direct typing on the display, and the newer DS Pixel Key Erggo version, which utilizes a split Alice layout and Hall effect switches instead of capacitive touch. The reviewer focuses on testing the typing experience, build quality, connectivity options (including using the keyboard as a secondary display via HDMI), and overall novelty value of these expensive, unique input devices.