An unassuming, standard Lenovo pack-in keyboard.

The Best Silent Tactile Keyboard Is…

… not what you expect

Just recently I made a good deal on one of those tiny ThinkCentre computers ( I just couldn’t resist) to use as my Linux box. I’ll come up with an in-depth article about that one (and why it is a valid alternative for everyone who needs a fast, tiny computer) really soon. But unexpectedly there was a keyboard and a mouse bundled with my purchase. Both of which were not shyte.

Since I’m quite the keyboard nerd (no use denying it at this point) I was of course trying it out. At first glance it was a full sized, cheap, office keyboard by Lenovo. Obviously it was a rubber dome keyboard and I don’t like full sized keyboards. Still, it was “free” with my purchase so to speak, so why not try it out for a week or two, right?

Well. It has been a long time since I’ve tried a rubberdome keyboard, I didn’t have any expections going into this but…

The Lenovo KBBH21 Professional rubberdome office keyboard might just be the best silent, tactile keyboard I have tried so far. And I’ve tried a lot.

Okay, okay. I know. Blasphemy. But hear me out.

The professional, understated looks of the Lenovo KBBH21.

Despite a model name that sounds like just another wild virus variant (yep, we’ve all had enough of that crap), this thing has some unexpected qualities. The plastic haptics of it all is nothing to write home about (pun intended). But the keys themselves are sweetly textured, nicely shaped and weighted well enough to be enjoyable. My accuracy while typing was spot on and I could easily hit my standard 120 wpm typing speed on it. Still, I hate the numblock, as it forces me in an awkward position, my mouse-hand too far away from center position. But the actual typing sensation was… great. And unexpected.

Here’s the features of this KBBH21 thing:

• no backlight, media control or other fancy stuff
• no removable cord
• sweet, soft but tactile rubberdome experience
• very silent