Qwerkywriter Review

I write most of my reviews on my iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard. It’s very freeing to be able to put my tablet down anywhere and start typing. I’m also a bit of a keyboard snob, and I prefer mechanical keys to laptop-style scissor switches or membrane switches whenever possible. I also want my keyboard to look and feel cool. Qwerkywriter fulfills all of my keyboard requirements, and then some. It’s a Bluetooth mechanical keyboard with clicky key switches, as well as key caps and other design elements that are modeled after an old-fashioned typewriter. It’s fantastic on sheer concept alone. Unfortunately, it’s also $349 at launch this holiday season, with a planned $399 retail price. That’s about as much sticker shock as you can possibly get from a keyboard that isn’t literally built to order (and there are companies that do that too, down to repurposing actual antique typewriters as USB keyboards(Opens in a new window)).

If you can get past the price, however, the Qwerkywriter ($249.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window)  is a very unique keyboard that might seriously appeal to you, or be the perfect gift for a loved one who lives with their hands glued to their keyboard and pores over IBM Type M “clicky” mods and other enthusiast lunacy. Bluetooth keyboards with mechanical key switches are almost impossible to find in the first place; the last one I looked at was over two years ago, the Matias Laptop Pro ($89.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) . It felt good to type on, but looked quite plain.

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Design
The Qwerkywriter is a beefy, aluminum-bodied monster of a keyboard. It’s Bluetooth and battery-powered, and I can easily stuff it into a messenger bag, but it isn’t designed to be particularly portable. At 2.74 pounds and 1.7 by 11.9 by 7 inches (HWD), it dwarfs my Apple iPad Air 2 ($445.00 at eBay)(Opens in a new window)  significantly. On the bright side, this large size means the Qwerkywriter can offer a full-size keyboard layout with Function keys (but no number pad), and can fit almost any tablet in its built-in holder.

The keys are all mechanical, and while the Kailh key switches don’t have quite as deep a throw as the Cherry MX key switches found in many mechanical keyboards, they’re still satisfyingly clicky and very sturdy. The key caps are circular, typewriter-style buttons, with the characters shown as white paint on black-matte plastic, ringed in chrome. They both feel comfortable under the fingers and look very striking, particularly with the bright-red Del and Tab keys standing out on the layout. The space bar is slightly convex and rectangular.

Qwerky With Qwerkywriter
Qwerkywriter takes the typewriter conceit to a downright unnecessary extent. Besides the keys, the entire keyboard is designed to evoke the look and feel of a typewriter. The tablet holder sits on the back of a cylindrical chunk on the back of the keyboard, similar to the paper-feeding drum on many typewriters and capped with nonfunctional knobs. The drum holds three tiny lights to indicate Caps Lock, Bluetooth connection, and battery status on the right edge, and the micro USB port for charging sits next to the pairing button on the back, behind the tablet holder. A separate power switch sits under the keyboard’s right knob. Qwerkywriter says the keyboard can last up to three months on a charge, and I have’t seen it slow down since I first charged it.

All of this would be perfectly fine and, well, quirky, but then Qwerkywriter added an extra design element that is both interesting and irritating. A chrome carriage return lever sits on the left side of the drum, further hammering home the typewriter look. This is a functional switch that serves as a carriage return by default, but can easily be programmed with any combination of keys. However, the lever juts out above and just to the left of the Esc and Tilde keys. During testing, I found myself accidentally hitting Enter on occasion by tapping the lever when I was typing quickly.

The tablet tray on the drum might be inconvenient, depending on your height and where you sit with the keyboard. It holds nearly any tablet in place loosely  (unless it’s in a bulky case), with a rubber pad to keep it secure with friction. However, the angle at which the Qwerkywriter holds a tablet is nearly vertical. If you’re tall, this can feel very awkward. It would have been nice if the tray could either be tilted back to a gentler angle. I ended up using the Qwerkywriter separate from my iPad, with my iPad’s case’s stand holding at a more comfortable viewing angle. Of course, most keyboards of this size are purely wireless models and not designed to be tablet stands; the Logitech K811 (updated version of the K810 ) that I previously used has no tray at all, so I used it with my iPad’s case as a stand anyway. The Qwerkywriter also lacks the K810/K811’s very useful quick-select keys for switching between three different paired devices; using multiple devices with the Qwerkywriter can require the occasional pairing juggling and manual connecting.

Ideal for a Very Specific Few
The Qwerkywriter is the oddest duck in the keyboard field, but that makes it a nearly perfect gift or tool for a very specific type of user. It’s $400 price tag is hard to swallow, but considering the extreme rarity of mechanical Bluetooth keyboards to begin with, and the absurdly expensive cottage industry of custom keycaps for mechanical keyboards (a very deep hole to explore), it’s actually reasonably priced for what it is. This is for obsessive writers or coders who love mechanical keys, but prefer to work wirelessly, and who long for a unique keyboard that both stands out and feels great. The Qwerkywriter is just that keyboard, and for that it earns our Editors’ Choice. This is the definition of a boutique computer or tablet accessory designed very well for a small and select audience. If you want a much more affordable and easy-to-find keyboard and aren’t quite obsessed with mechanical switches or particular about keyboard style, the Editors’ Choice Belkin Qode Ultimate Pro ($39.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window)  is excellent for tablet users, and the Logitech K810/K811 is still great for multiple devices.