It will come to no surprise to folks who have read my previous review of Matias’s excellent Aluminum Wired Backlit Keyboard (https://www.sknr.net/2018/03/28/matias-pc-keyboard/) how much I absolutely love that keyboard. In fact, it has been my external work laptop keyboard ever since and has held up to the 60+ hours a week I spend typing on it (even during the stressful days when I pound a bit harder on it than I should). Needless to say, I was stoked to see what offerings they were bringing to CES 2019 and in particular the Showstopper experience and I certainly was not disappointed!
Matias graciously provided me with their new wired black aluminum Tenkeyless Keyboard to review and I must say, it packs a ton in its small form factor. Much like its larger brother, the matte black aluminum finish is elegant and sophisticated. It still retains the same smooth keystrokes and responsive clickiness in the keys. It is still ultra-thin, measuring only ¾” thin and still maintains a fixed non-adjustable angle that is just the right height for me. Some may question the removal of the numpad, but in my experience most laptops these days forgo it on their internal keyboards to maintain a sleek formfactor. Obviously if you want a full keyboard Matias has you covered there as well.
Aside from the removal of the tenkey numpad, there are some other important changes to the previous model that I reviewed. Another USB 2.0 port has been added to the underside of the keyboard on the opposite end. This allows you to have a mouse and a USB stick attached at the same time (or whatever USB devices suit your needs). While many will use this keyboard with a laptop which already has a fair share of USB port, its inclusion is welcome none-the-less. The tenkeyless version is not backlit so for those who tend to work in the dark, you might need to invest in a small lamp. It does however include a precision volume control knob on the top edge of the keyboard. This knob is far more precise in adjusting the volume then the keyboard short-cuts are, but those are included as well for those who prefer.
It’s available in Black aluminum with black keycaps for PC and Space Grey Aluminum with black keycaps for Apple for the wired version. Matias also offers the Space Grey as well as a Silver with white keycaps in a wireless Bluetooth version. The wireless version is currently only available for apple users.
For a retail price of only $55 USD for the wired version it would be difficult to find a keyboard that packs this much function, into such an elegant package. It’s small form-factor is great to stuff in your backpack to take to class and will sit neatly on a small desk. It’s light, but still has the same sturdiness and should hold up to years’ worth of work. Matias has another winner on its hands with this new keyboard. Check it out on their website https://matias.store/collections/slim-aluminum-keyboards-1/wired+tenkeyless.
