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TECHTHELEAD: Azio Mechanical Keyboard is a Stunning Retro-inspired Device

The 2019 Computex in Taiwan is the host of many beautiful tech devices this year and I’m pretty sure that Azio’s Retro Compact Keyboard is right up there, among the top ten. If not for the general public, then it definitely is for me.

Let me walk you through the why’s: this particular Bluetooth keyboard is made with genuine leather and features a copper brushed metal frame and can give you around nine months of use on a full charge of its mammoth 5,000mAh battery, or, according to the company, one to two months with the backlights on.

The keys are set a bit higher above the board than we’re normally used to nowadays, in a design choice that is clearly trying to emulate the feeling of a typewriter.

As someone who grew up typing on an old, 1970’s typewriter, I have to say I’d probably love the ‘click-clack‘ sound that most likely accompanies this keyboard but that might not be something everyone will enjoy.

It has both Windows and Mac support, features an USB Type-C Charging Port and measures 147 x 455 x 40 mm and weighs 3.5lbs (1,587g), so you can carry yours around quite easily.

It comes in four variants: the Artisan, which features a leather wrist rest, Elwood, which changes the leather for wood, Onyx, an all-black option and Posh, the all-white and rose copper variant.

The backlights are white LEDs for the Onyx, Artisan and Elwood options and Orange LEDs for the Posh variant. All of them feature hotkeys for the Web Browser, File Explorer, E-Mail, Media Player, Volume and everything else you can normally find on your regular keyboard.

azio-retro-wireless-keyboard
Every color option comes with its own companion wireless mouse to match, if you want to maintain the aesthetic.

They all arrive with a microfibre cloth in the box that will help you keep all that chrome clean and shiny.

All of them look amazing and fall somewhere between the Steampunk/Dieselpunk category that’s hard to pinpoint but that sparks up the same nostalgic sentiment for a time long-past while also keeping in tune with the times of now.

The keyboards cost A$343.00, and, if you want to add up the mouse to the mix, that will be an additional A$157.00, so the entire package is a bit on the pricey side once it all adds up, but you have to give it to them – they’re definitely gorgeous pieces of work.

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