Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad • Hacker News Board

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#11

Post by Polylactic_acid » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 5:50 AM UTC

teach wrote: post #10

tetrisgm wrote: post #7

I’ve always wanted one of these kinds of devices for gaming. Unfortunately they’re never made for left handed people. I understand how that’s the case for such niche accessories, but when I see a brand like Razer not having keypads, it just means ~15% of gamers can’t use the device.

Probably a bit fewer than 15%; I write left handed but comfortably game with my right hand.

I imagine it must be not too hard to learn to use either hand. I started a new job and got given a shit mouse which caused me wrist pain and I found I was able to use the left hand until I went and got my own mouse. It was a bit awkward at first but after a few hours I felt I was 90% as good as I was with the right hand.

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#12

Post by setr » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 6:09 AM UTC

altrum wrote: post #6

melling wrote: post #2

Saw this alternate entry device announced at CES: https://www.charachorder.com/ SelfieType, using a camera to watch your fingers, looks even more futuristic: https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-selfie-type-demo-vi...

Except that people want some kind of textile feedback for what they type—which is why SelfieType likely would only be just a “cool technology”

Like the feedback of smartphones? Especially those prior to the very recent vibrate on touch

People want to type, and they want to do it quickly. Tactile feedback is nice... but most people do not engage in typing for the fun of it. The primary concerns for this are input reliability, ease & speed of setup, and learning curve.

You aren't using such a thing to replace your desktop keyboard. You're using it to replace your smartphone keyboard, and probably primarily for typing emails without having to carry things around

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#13

Post by jagger27 » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 6:28 AM UTC

Nice use of Kailh's Choc switches. I wish there were other keycap options out there for them though. It's such a shame that injection moulding is so expensive to get off the ground.

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#14

Post by 112233 » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 6:32 AM UTC

tetrisgm wrote: post #7

I’ve always wanted one of these kinds of devices for gaming. Unfortunately they’re never made for left handed people. I understand how that’s the case for such niche accessories, but when I see a brand like Razer not having keypads, it just means ~15% of gamers can’t use the device.

Azeron is!

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#15

Post by zahrc » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 7:15 AM UTC

setr wrote: post #12

altrum wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that people want some kind of textile feedback for what they type—which is why SelfieType likely would only be just a “cool technology”

Like the feedback of smartphones? Especially those prior to the very recent vibrate on touch People want to type, and they want to do it quickly. Tactile feedback is nice... but most people do not engage in typing for the fun of it. The primary concerns for this are input reliability, ease & speed of setup, and learning curve. You aren't using such a thing to replace your desktop keyboard. You're using it to replace…

Very recent? I’ve joined the smartphone club with the Samsung galaxy S1 and every phone I had since than had haptic feedback. Except my iPhone XR now; which is my first edge to edge display smartphone

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#16

Post by elif » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 7:35 AM UTC

tetrisgm wrote: post #7

I’ve always wanted one of these kinds of devices for gaming. Unfortunately they’re never made for left handed people. I understand how that’s the case for such niche accessories, but when I see a brand like Razer not having keypads, it just means ~15% of gamers can’t use the device.

They are also missing the 0.01% of gamers like me that want to use two gamepads at once :(

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#17

Post by thaumasiotes » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 7:57 AM UTC

setr wrote: post #12

altrum wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that people want some kind of textile feedback for what they type—which is why SelfieType likely would only be just a “cool technology”

Like the feedback of smartphones? Especially those prior to the very recent vibrate on touch People want to type, and they want to do it quickly. Tactile feedback is nice... but most people do not engage in typing for the fun of it. The primary concerns for this are input reliability, ease & speed of setup, and learning curve. You aren't using such a thing to replace your desktop keyboard. You're using it to replace…

> most people do not engage in typing for the fun of it. The primary concerns for this are input reliability, ease & speed of setup, and learning curve.

Swipe-style input on phones seems more popular than keypresses, despite having lower input reliability, more difficult setup, and an inability to enter certain words.

It's faster than typing, though, as long as the word you want to enter is part of the swipe input method's dictionary.

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#18

Post by petriw » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 8:01 AM UTC

alasdair_ wrote: post #8

DEADBEEFC0FFEE wrote: post #5

My g13 has recently started playing up. I'm just switching to keyboard. :/

I used to use a Belkin N52 then an N52TE. My current gaming keyboard is a Razer Orbweaver Chroma ( https://www.razer.com/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-orbweav... ) which I’m pretty happy with - the mechanical switches are good, although the extra row of buttons seems a bit superfluous.

After my G13 started acting up I got myself a Razer Tartarus V2 and honestly I'm disappointed to the point I feel like I need to warn people. If you buy Razer, make sure you can return it if you're disappointed.

First the Tartarus V2 has issues with several MMOs where keys will get "stuck" and based on googling this has been an issue with other Razer products for 5+ years. While some may have been fixed Tartarus V2 still has the issue 2 years after release.

Second, the Razer Synapse software pack suffers from gamer marketing bloat and requires you to have a razer account to even allow configuring your device.

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#19

Post by reportgunner » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 8:21 AM UTC

melling wrote: post #2

Saw this alternate entry device announced at CES: https://www.charachorder.com/ SelfieType, using a camera to watch your fingers, looks even more futuristic: https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-selfie-type-demo-vi...

I would prefer to have camera read my lips rather than read my fingers as I type on nothing.

Re: Sherbet: An Ergonomic Gaming Keypad

#20

Post by carlob » Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 8:25 AM UTC

altrum wrote: post #6

melling wrote: post #2

Saw this alternate entry device announced at CES: https://www.charachorder.com/ SelfieType, using a camera to watch your fingers, looks even more futuristic: https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-selfie-type-demo-vi...

Except that people want some kind of textile feedback for what they type—which is why SelfieType likely would only be just a “cool technology”

Product idea: Selfie Type + disconnected keyboard.

Tactile feedback + no need to mess around with bluetooth configurations (or to even support bluetooth). Actually this could be used to revive dead keyboards...