MMMay 2019i91a2snoh1socker, May 2019 LXF249 19
hen you’re sitting at a computer
terminal for most of your day,
the primary input becomes
reallyquite vital. So it didn’t come much
of a surprise to discover Japanese PFU,
a part of Fujitsu, is targeting the hacking
community with its ever-so Asian sounding
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2. That’s
something of a mouthful for what is designed to be a
diminutive, 60% portable keyboard for any self-
proclaimed hacking type. In reality, it’s slightly annoying.
Both myself and Jonni agree the key movement
and feel is lovely. This isn’t a Cherry-style mechanical
keyboard; it uses Torpe rubber domes, which offer
a softer, less clicky action than the popular gaming
keyboards that abound. The sound and action is good
and offers fast (for us) typing speed. We also really
appreciatedthetexturedfinishofthekeys,whichfelt
likeithelpedourfingerslandonthekeys.Lesshelpful
wastheblackprintonblackkeys,butweguessthat’s
partofthecharm.
Youmightbeawareofthestandardkeyboardsizes:
full,tenkey-lessandcompact.Thefull104-keyincludes
anumberpad,tenkey-lessdoesawaywiththatnumber
padandcompactdescribesanythingsmallerthanthat.
TheHHKBfallsintothatlatterrangeandisalsoknown
asa60%–whilemanycompactkeyboardsinclude
dedicatedcursorkeys,theHHKBdoesnot.
A‘function’keyhelpsmitigatemissingadditional
keyssuchasthecursorkeys,butwecan’thelpfeelwe’d
alwayspreferasetoftheusefularrowstohand,
perhapsjustwherethatHHKBlogoisplanted.
It’sreassuringtoseeagenuineSuperkeyrather
thanaWindowsorMackey.Apanelattherearof
keyboardhidesasetofDIPswitches–crudely
integratedbehindacheap-feelingclip–thatenables
youtoenablevariousoptionssuchasselectingMac
modeandenablingthesingleDeletekeytodouble
asaBackspace.
Thebuildqualityalsoleavessomethingtobe
desired,especiallytheDIPswitchpanelandthefinishThere’san
awful lot of
competition at
this end of the
market for both
full-sized and
compact
keyboards,
so anything
pushing
premium
pricingis going
to need to be
slick in every
department.reviews
W
If youhave£200tosplashona keyboardwe’dsuggestthere
arebetterplacestolook– thissimplylackspolish.Features 7/
PerFormance 8/easeoFuse 7/
value 5/Rating 7/
DevelopeR:PFU
Web:www.hhkeyboard.com
pRice:£verDict
Happy Hacking Keyboard
Professional 2
in brieF
Neil Mohr is no hacker, but he does type a lot...
Can you see what’s
on each key? No,
we can’t either.We consider the
finishing to be
lacking on a
£200 keyboard.around the USB ports – two USB ports offer a low-
power hub. The seam around the edge seems
unnecessary, and the whole thing feels light and cheap
like a budget keyboard. We find it odd there’s no
backlight; while we’re no fans of RGB lighting, a backlit
keyboard is useful in the dark rooms we like to hide in.
When you look at the asking price, the sales pitch
for the HHKB just falls on its face. Surely this is a £
keyboard, not a £185 one? The price makes some sense
in regards to the high-end custom keyboard market,
where 60% keyboards, replaceable keycaps and £
prices are the norm – but we’re certainly not in that
market and we’re not even sure this is really polished
enough to compete there.