Tuesday, June 4th 2019

VORTEXGEAR Joins the Low Profile Keyboard Party at Computex 2019

VORTEXGEAR, or simply Vortex for convenience, is another keyboard company that goes the path of atypical form factors, similar to Mistel Keyboard whom the company often collaborates with. Vortex especially gained popularity with the enthusiast keyboard market thanks to their 60% form factor Poker keyboard lineup, with the current iteration being the Poker 3, or Pok3r. At Computex, Vortex showed off a low profile Pok3r using the relatively new Cherry MX Low Profile switches, and the Red RGB variant in particular.

The Pok3r Ultra Slim will come with different keycap options to choose from, with some colors seen in the images below. As with the standard Pok3r, it features near-complete programmability with onboard macro support and three layers to work with. The keyboard will use an anodized CNC-machined aluminium case, with a detachable USB Type-C cable as well. Expect pricing to be similar to the standard Pok3r when this comes out later this year. Read past the break for more new keyboards from Vortex!
Next up was the NEW75 v.2 which is, as the name suggests, a 75% form factor keyboard. It shares a lot with the Pok3r Ultra Slim in that it uses the same Cherry MX Low Profile RGB Red switch, an anodized CNC-machined aluminium case with detachable USB Type-C connector, multiple different keycap options, and onboard programmability. The demo model at the booth used a DSA profile keycap set, although there may be an OEM profile option as well depending on interest.

With the Pok3r Ultra Slim a minor iteration on the existing Poker 3, news of the newer Poker 4 might well interest a larger subset of the Vortex customer base. The company has gone big here, literally, with a massive anodized and machined aluminium case that makes the Poker 4 a chunky little fella. Part of this increased thickness is due to the underglow lighting added, as seen in the images below, and the keycaps are also not floating in design with the updated case. There will not only be different keycap options, including front-printed keycaps, but also different case options via anodization colors. We were especially interested in the red case, which is extremely hard to get right and consistent across batches. The Poker 4 will use a detachable USB Type-C cable, and not a micro USB cable as the placard indicated next to the demo models.

But wait, there is more! Vortex took time to introduce a whole new keyboard series called the Tab, which comes in the form of the Tab60, Tab75, and Tab90. These are 60/75/90% form factor keyboards with Bluetooth connectivity options to add to the USB Type-C connection, use their PBT dye-sub keycaps in the DSA profile, offer macro support even in Bluetooth mode, and work with Vortex's new MPC configurator to help make keyboard programming easier. There is also the Tab75M using a lower profile design and only USB connection options to help round off the series.
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5 Comments on VORTEXGEAR Joins the Low Profile Keyboard Party at Computex 2019

#1
AltCapwn
Damn those are sexy. If it weren't that pricey, I'd have one already.
Posted on Reply
#2
Valantar
That low-profile one looks like a nice option for portability. Anyone know if it comes in ISO layouts?
Posted on Reply
#3
VSG
Editor, Reviews & News
ValantarThat low-profile one looks like a nice option for portability. Anyone know if it comes in ISO layouts?
There should be one, they usually do ANSI and ISO layouts.
Posted on Reply
#4
Valantar
VSGThere should be one, they usually do ANSI and ISO layouts.
Hope they do a Nordic keycap set in a nice style, though that might be optimistic of me. Still, I'll have to keep an eye out.
Posted on Reply
#5
pat-roner
ValantarHope they do a Nordic keycap set in a nice style, though that might be optimistic of me. Still, I'll have to keep an eye out.
The pain of being a mech enthusiast but also a nordic ISO user :mad:
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Jun 3rd, 2024 07:20 EDT change timezone

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