A while ago I saw this on Ebay:
It looks to be based on the AppleDesign Keyboard, but with the distinct difference being that it was a board made by ALPS electronics themselves for AVID, a digital media company. Hence all the caps have media symbols!
My hopes were that this keyboard was either an SKCM Alps board (as if) or the keycaps would be Alps compatible. It was a risky decision to buy this board, as it was difficult task in itself to find an AppleDesign Keyboard that had Alps mounted keycaps in the first place. However, this thread suggests that AppleDesign Keyboards made in Ireland were more likely to have Alps mounted keycaps. Looking up the FCC ID, I found that this AVID keyboard model was produced in Ireland in 1996, which further confirms it will not have SKCM Alps but did get my hopes up for some really colourful Alps mounted keycaps. So I bid for and bought the board 😄.
My findings
The keycaps on this board were indeed Alps mounted. The profile seem to be Alps profile compared to this image.
Following is a typing demonstration on M0116:
The sound emitted, compared to Apple keycaps, are much more echo-y in my opinion, and doesn’t sound as clean. It has a deeper pitch, which I would have usually liked because it does give out a ‘thock’-ier sound compared to Apple keycaps. However, the reverb coming from the keycaps is not really hitting me in the right way.
The colours, of course, are more vibrant than anything I’ve seen in most other Alps keysets. And, if you work in the field, I’d imagine you’d appreciate the media control symbols a lot more than I would.
The materials used for the caps are PBT, they are 1.1–1.2mm thick (not measured with caliper). So they are pretty standard, PBT is nice though.
My opinion
I think these caps should really be in the hands of someone who can appreciate the aesthetics or the media control symbols. I, for one, care more about the sound and feel of the caps. As described in my findings, those two aspects are not too fitting to my taste. I’d imagine these will be put up on the market soon after this post to go to a deserving home.
