Although electric typewriters have been made almost entirely obsolete, there's still something to be said for the satisfying "clickety-clack" of their keys. Well, that sound and feel is back, in the all-aluminum Fineday 3.0 Bluetooth Mechanical Keyboard.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Korean-designed Fineday can be wirelessly paired via Bluetooth 5.0 to a Windows or Mac computer, or to an iOS or Android tablet or smartphone. It's possible to prop the mobile devices up in a slot on the keyboard, so they sit where the paper would go on a typewriter.
The keyboard can also be hardwired, if users don't want to go wireless. If they do go with Bluetooth, the device will require two AA batteries as a power source – there's no word on battery life.
Both the Fineday's main body and the faces of all its keys are made of anodized 6063 aircraft-grade aluminum. The characters are actually engraved into the keys, so they shouldn't wear away nearly as fast as those on a regular keyboard. Each key is actually a German-made Cherry MX Blue keyswitch, and is backlit by an LED.
Along with those keys, the Fineday also has left- and right-hand paper-roller-like knobs, along with a carriage-return lever. These aren't just ornamental, as the left knob adjusts the brightness of the LEDs, the right one adjusts the volume of the paired device, and the lever serves as a secondary enter/return "key."
Assuming the Fineday 3.0 reaches production, a pledge of US$655 will get you one in your color choice of black, navy or dark green. The planned retail price is $1,100.
You can see and hear the keyboard in action, in the video below.
Sources: Kickstarter, Fineday