The LOFREE looks horrible. And what's with the PENNA? Wood (real or simulated) is not the first material that one thinks of when wanting to capture the look and feel of a typewriter keyboard. Regardless, aren't there a number of typewriter-inspired computer keyboards already out there? I'm sure we've documented some of them in the forum. A fellow collector in my area has one and it looks far better than these two offerings.

M. Höhne wrote:

I hope someone posts the asking prices, 'cause I'm not gonna click on the pics. Too much trouble.

Okay, you made me look. $129 USD for the Lofry and $180 USD for the Penne. To be fair they both have many more colour/material options than the photos in the first post might suggest, and some definitely look better than others. Also, there are many functions to these keyboards above and beyond the $15 plastic keyboard you would buy for a desktop computer. Still not for me though. If I want to feel like I'm using a typewriter, I'll just use the real thing.

Oh, and that whammy bar on the Penne-alla-vodka? It's a "macro bar" used for assigning macro functions to specific keys. Meh. 

Those kits have been around for years and they've been discussed here many times over. I've never understood the attraction of using a straight-to-digital interface (never mind that it's a demeaning contraption for a vintage typewriter to suffer). It seems a novelty to me, one that would wear itself out rather quickly, and as such targeted at the occasional typist.

Someone who types every day, and does so because a typewriter is the main component in a preferred writing process, is not going to want to stare at a tablet mounted on the carriage of their favorite machine. If I'm going to use a monitor of any kind then I'll just use a computer. I prefer to write my drafts and edit them using real paper, and preferably as far from a computer as I can get. And when the time comes to digitize things as they approach a final draft, I just scan the pages and use OCR software to turn it all into a Word file. 

Obviously this is just my opinion, but I consider all of these gadgets, the USB Typewriter Kit and those simulated typewriter keyboards, more of interest to those who aren't actually invested in using a typewriter as a writing tool. 

BrentMWiggins wrote:

... I would hope that this nostalgic callbacks make me people more curious about typewriters, even enough to go out and experience one for themselves.

I believe that the collector I mentioned in post #2 (who's a member here too) actually did start off with one of those high-end simulated keyboards, which peaked his interest in trying a real machine. So it is a good point, but something tells me he's the exception to the rule and that most buyers are just tech junkies who like unusual accessories.

I can testify to some of this. The USB typewriter was kind of my gateway drug into this world of typewriters. (Here's the link to mine). It was kind of a cool novelty, but I don't use it very much any more--only as an occasional break from the monotony of my laptop for my longer book- and article-length projects. But now I've got eight other machines here in my office, and another six at home in various states of repair, and three more in various locations across the east coast and upper midwest, just waiting for me to pick them up!