8BitDo’s latest mechanical keyboard riffs on the design of a 1980s computer with one of the most iconic-looking keyboards of all time: the Commodore 64. 8BitDo’s Commodore 64 edition of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard series is available to preorder starting today for $109.99, with plans to ship it on May 26th.
Underneath its beautifully chunky brown keycaps (ABS plastic with double-shot legends) and Commodore-style rainbow logo, this is basically the same peripheral as 8BitDo’s previous NES keyboard. It comes with clicky Kailh Box White V2 switches as standard, but they’re hot-swappable if you want to swap them out for something a little less loud down the line. It can connect to devices via a choice of USB, Bluetooth, or with a 2.4GHz USB dongle; and there’s also a built-in volume dial at the top left of the keyboard.
Returning from the NES keyboard are the programmable “Super Buttons,” which still look like the Nintendo Entertainment System controller’s A and B buttons. This time, they’re joined by a small joystick called the “Super Stick.” If the construction of this keyboard is the same as the last, expect both of these accessories to be wired and to plug into the top of the keyboard via 3.5mm jacks. The whole keyboard uses a tenkeyless form factor that omits the numpad but otherwise maintains a relatively traditional layout, and there’s no RGB lighting to speak of.
Interestingly, while the original Commodore 64 has that chunky look I’d normally associate with clacky mechanical keyboards, it was actually equipped with Mitsumi hybrid switches, which are a cross between a rubber dome and mechanical switch. Retro keyboard YouTuber Chyrosran22 did a review of the Commodore 64C (a variant of the Commodore 64 with a lighter color scheme), if you’d like a closer look at the insides of the original.
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