Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional2 (White)

Right now is the best time to buy one of these If you've always lusted over one. I got mine right at $200 but i'm sure you could find it even cheaper if you look through some of the other sellers/buy used.I wish I had purchased one of these years ago. The only two things that were keeping me away was the average $250-$320 price and the really strange layout. But let me say that this layout makes so much sense when you actually use this keyboard. I love the CTRL key placement so much. My pinky reaches the FN key very naturally, I just adore this keyboard so much. It is such a joy to type on. Topre switches are heaven. Having used buckling spring, ALPS, and MX switches this is my very first board with the Topre switch. Hands down this is my new favorite switch. I could never use an MX switch again (except maybe green or clears). Bucking spring and Alps are alright but Topre is just so RIGHT. Topre is life. The hype is completely justified. The hype for this board is justified.This is the first review where I really mean this is a STRONG FIVE STARS. Even with my one problem. But it means nothing to me but I feel like it is important to mention anyway.The USB hub on the back is useless. It does not have enough power to read any of my flash drives. This doesn't bother me at all because I never intended to even use the hub. I just really don't understand why it's so useless coming from the people who make such a beautiful keyboard. You would think they would figured something out to provide the hub to have enough power to read a flash drive. Why even bother including the hub? I'm just really confused about it. Please dont let this steer you away though. The HHKB is WORTH EVERY PENNY. It feels so good to be so satisfied with a purchase. I don't think there will be anything to top this for awhile to me.

BACKGROUND:I'm a mechanical keyboard enthusiast- I own several keyboards with switches ranging from Cherry to Gateron to Alps, as well as some rubber dome and scissor switch keyboards that most people wouldn't quite consider mechanical. So that's where my opinions about this keyboard are coming from.I've been hunting for the 'perfect switch' for a long time, and thought I'd found it when I bought a Vortex Poker 3 with Cherry MX Clear switches, and then again when I bought a used Dell AT101W with Black Alps switches (modified to eliminate tactility). Well, I do think I've found it again. And these are going to be hard to beat. Anyway, on to the formal review:PROS:-The SWITCHES are unbelievable- despite what some say about them, I find them to be incomparable to Cherry or other mechanical switches, and much closer to rubber domes. For those who would scoff at such as thing, just trust me and imagine what heaven feels like. Then condense that feeling into each of your individual fingertips. That is what pressing down on this keyboard is like.-The KEYCAPS are what you would expect from PBT caps, but with the addition of remarkably crisp and well-colored design. It's not a particularly retro-looking keyboard, in case that's what you're into (especially if you're considering the black version), but the white one is high visibility, simple and clean, and just looks cool.-The USB PORTS on the back of the keyboard are extremely useful, but while they don't usually carry enough power to, say, run a device off of or charge a phone, they are useful for a mouse dongle, or headset dongle (that's what I use one of mine for) or possibly a flash drive.-The NOISE that this keyboard makes is extremely muted out of the box, and doesn't 'clack' the way you might expect it would. It 'thunks' or 'thocks' rather, a sound I personally find to be infinitely more calming and relaxing. The sound is NOT like a mech board with O-Rings, but more like a Dell Quiet Key or something of that nature.-The LITTLE FEATURES like the DIP switches, convenient switching between Mac and PC modes, and easy customization (although not as complex as the Pok3r or CODE) The default layout can be changed in many ways that I suspect everyone will want to do before using.CONS:-After some thought, it is important to say that the *DEFAULT* LAYOUT OF THE KEYS is a bit of a problem. It's not terrible, but those of you who will be using other keyboards during your day will find the location of the Delete and Tilde keys to be absolutely infuriating. You can change the Delete into Backspace, which is great, but that doesn't change the weird row location. Most of us are used to pressing the Del key at the very corner of the board, but it has been pushed down one row, making it extremely hard to use without looking. The other key locations have been fine for me, and in some cases even more convenient (The CTRL key is in a perfect spot), but I highly urge everyone to take a close look at the keyboard layout before buying.-The WEIGHT. I was absolutely astonished at the lightness of this product. This is NOTHING like the Pok3r, which many may compare it to due to the layout and size similarities. When I lifted it off my desk earlier today I nearly threw it, thinking I was going to be handling the heft of an aluminum base like I would with my Pok3r. My Dell AT101W from 1991 can be used as a weapon, it's so heavy. This was genuinely disappointing in my own opinion, due to two factors. One, the premium feel of the board is lost slightly, and second, because of the final Con, below. I would like to emphasize one thing, however. This board's lightness is GREAT if you are going to be consistently carrying it around, which I am assuming you are given the size. I am personally using it for work, but not carrying it around often. That's why I have it listed as a Con, and focused on the lack of premium feel.-The PRICE. I know I bought it, but the price is just ludicrous. I can't think of many reasons to justify spending 225 bucks on a keyboard this light. For nearly a hundred dollars less, you can buy a NovaTouch with comparable switches (kind of comparable, anyway), or a Topre Type Heaven, with what some people consider better switches. And both of those keyboards are built with a heavier base. Essentially, what you're spending your money on is the following: the keycaps, which are uniquely well-made, the switches, which are not unique but expensive, and the extra little features like the DIP switch. This board should absolutely not be anywhere more than $150. Not for any reason.CONCLUSION:A fantastic board that makes your typing experience as positive, light, and pleasant as possible, while retaining a small form factor for mobility, premium keycaps, a DIP switch for customization, USB ports for convenience, and a fantastic, high visibility color way for aesthetics. Unfortunately, none of that seems to justify the ridiculous price point, especially when the board itself feels so weightless and plasticky. If you have some extra cash and want to enhance your work typing, coding, or are just a collector, go for it at its current high price point- you won't regret it. If you are not any of those people, wait. Buy it used. Buy it on sale. But after using this keyboard, it will be very difficult to go back to an ordinary rubber dome or even a mech.

Prepare to be disappointed at first! When I got my package, the hype had admittedly gotten to me. People talk about this keyboard like the second coming and I was pretty excited to find out what I was missing. Upon first inspection I felt like the board itself left a lot of be desired. Some of the key combinations for basic functions seemed annoyingly inefficient and I wasn't really even sold on the feel of the Topre switches that are inside of it. But alas, I hooked it up and began to use it. Over the course of the past few days I can feel a definite difference between the keyboard and the many Cherry MX boards that I've used before it. The keys are far snappier and as a result I've been able to increase my typing speed a little based on the tactile response and the small time it takes for each of the keys to return to it's original position. I've gotten used to the key combinations and honestly I feel that it's a small price to pay for the 60% format of the board which I feel is AWESOME. I love not having to continuously adjust my hands while typing since any function is within reach of the home row.Two gripes: The USB hub is barely enough to run a flash drive. Don't anticipate being able to charge your phone or power anything more demanding than small LEDS, it just doesn't have the juice. Secondarily the arrow key configuration is awkward. No matter how long you use it, the lack of dedicated arrow keys in the configuration that most of are used to is definitely not as efficient. With time I feel that I'll get BETTER at it, but I seriously doubt that it'll ever match the speed of a true arrow cluster.So in overview, the switches are amazing, the sound is awesome, the feel is great, the hub sucks and the arrow keys suck. Despite the two drawbacks, I HIGHLY recommend this keyboard.

Much as I love this keyboard, and its something I won't be switching from anytime soon, I will have to say there are some differences that new users will have to adjust to. For instance: there are no arrow keys, and it you're avid user of them you'll have to learn to press FN before hand. Or the fact that Control is now where the caps lock key is, so you'll become used to the new key placement after a while that you'll hop over to a regular keyboard only to find yourself accidentally turning on Caps Lock instead.Its good overall tho, the key feel is nice, and the sounds of them as you're typing along is grand. Just know that there is quite a bit of irritation at first when you're first using this keyboard.

最高のクオリティのキーボード。ずっと使い続けていく価値がある。

At first you might be a bit underwhelmed with the look of it but it absolutely grows on you. The feeling of typing on this thing makes you just want to find things type instead of playing games only pressing the same 6 keys. Its just buttery smooth and sounds amazing. The only issue with going with topre switches is the fact that you might have a hard time finding different coloured keys, artisans and things like that (they do exist if you look hard enough), so if you want to heavily customise the look of this keyboard be prepared to wait for custom runs of keys that meet your expectations. The keys that come with keyboard itself are of super high quality (you can actually dye them crazy colours and it doesn't affect the legends on them) so you might be keen on staying with them anyway. There is loads of options with the dipswitches round the back of it that lets you choose different functions for certain keys which is really cool as well. And for gaming itself this keyboard is super nice because of how small it is. You can have both of your hands super close to each other so that it is really comfortable rather than having them spread out with a full size keyboard. You may miss having a numb pad or arrow keys so make sure you're ready for abandoning that. I especially miss the arrow keys for moving back and forth through text to correct mistakes but I guess it's not really an issue at the moment because it gives me an excuse to delete it all and type it all out again with this amazing keyboard.

Kurz zusammengefasst: Einfach die beste Tastatur auf dem Markt.Wer sich zur Elite der Coder zaehlt, kann einfach nicht um dieses Keyboard herum. Die Topre Switches machen diese Tastatur zu einem einzigartigen Tipperlebnis und der elitaere UNIX-Formfaktor ohne nervige und unnoetige Zusatztasten wie F1-F12 oder Cursor macht die Arbeit mit dieser Tastatur zum hochelitaeren Genuss.Wer ueber die neuerdings immer zahlenmaessiger werdenden Cherry MX-Hippster die Nase ruempfen will, kann es eigentlnich nur als HHKB Besitzer tun. Denn diese Tastatur ist eine der wenigen auf dem Markt, die jeden "Mechaboard"-Hippster vor Neid blass werden laesst. Verglichen mit den ueberlegenen Topre-Schalten fuehlen sich herkoemmliche MX Schalter an als ob sie Sand im Getriebe haetten. Auf den Topres hingegen tippt man wie auf Wolken.Achtung: Diese Tastatur ist aufgrund ihres gehobenen Standards nicht fuer die Programmierung mit "Sprachen" wie JavaScript, Python oder Haskell geeignet. Am besten laesst sie sich mit C und C++ benutzen. Als Editor ist VIM oder Emacs zu benutzen, da herkoemmliche Editoren oder sogenannte IDEs unbrauchbar sind.Achtung: Zum sogenannten "Gaming" ist diese Tastatur natuerlich auch nicht geeignet, da sie fuer schaffende Menschen (Programmierer, Wissenschaftler, Autoren) konzipiert wurde und nicht fuer die Benutzung durch die breite Konsumentenmasse.Fazit: Eine Top-Tastatur mit superber Verarbeitung fuer die Elite der digitalen Gesellschaft! Unbedingte Kaufempfehlung!

one of the best minimal 75% keyboard you can buy out there, the keys are a bit lighter in weight than topre keyboards