The complete guide
How to Choose a Retro Typewriter Bluetooth Keyboard
The problem with most keyboards on a nice desk
You spend a weekend getting a desk right. The lamp is warm, the plant is alive, the chair finally sits at the correct height. Then there it is in the middle of everything: a wide grey slab of plastic with a number pad you have used twice in three years.
That is the gap a retro typewriter Bluetooth keyboard fills. It takes the shape people associate with old writing machines, round keycaps laid out in neat rows, and puts it on top of a normal modern keyboard. You get the look without losing anything about how you type. No ribbon, no paper, no mechanical linkages to jam.
It also solves a second problem that has nothing to do with looks. Full-size keyboards are long. On a small desk, a narrow table, or a shelf in a bedroom, those extra centimetres are the difference between having room for a mouse and not. Dropping to 84 keys claws that space back.
What a typewriter-style keyboard actually is
Worth being clear, because the name confuses people. This is a computer keyboard. It connects over Bluetooth to a tablet, phone, laptop or desktop and sends keystrokes the same way any other keyboard does. It does not type onto paper and it is not a restored machine.
The typewriter part is the styling. Round keycaps instead of square ones, raised so each key has a clear edge, arranged in the stepped rows that old machines used. On this model the keycaps have a gradient colour running across them in the coffee colourway, which is softer than the bright pastels you often see on cute keyboards.
The maker lists the switch type as mechanical, which generally means each key has its own switch underneath rather than a shared rubber membrane, and says the keys use noise-reduction technology. It doesn't name the specific switch, so we won't pretend to know the actuation force.
How the Bluetooth side works
Pairing is the usual routine. You put the keyboard into pairing mode, open the Bluetooth menu on your device, and tap the keyboard in the list. After that first handshake, it generally reconnects by itself when you switch it on.
The maker lists tablets, iPad, iPhone, PCs, desktops and laptops, and names Windows, macOS, iOS and Android as supported systems. It runs Bluetooth 5.0 with a range of about 10 metres, stores three paired devices, and switches between them with Fn plus Q, W or E, which is handy if you move between a tablet and a laptop during the day.
No dongle is mentioned, which is good news. Dongles get lost, and they take up a USB port you probably need for something else.
Power comes from a battery. The maker doesn't state the battery type or capacity, so we have left that out rather than invent a figure. There is a sleep mode that kicks in after 15 minutes of inactivity, with any keypress waking the board back up, which helps stretch battery life.
Who it suits
Students come to mind first. A compact board fits in a backpack beside a tablet, and typing notes on a real keyboard in a lecture beats poking at glass. If you are shopping for a small desk, the 84-key footprint is the headline feature.
Writers and anyone who drafts long text on a tablet are the next group. There is a real difference between composing a paragraph on a screen keyboard and composing it on physical keys. Your hands settle into position and you stop looking down.
People setting up a home office that does not look like an office will like the colour and the round keys. So will anyone buying a gift for someone who has just moved into a first flat. The magnetic cat figurine is the sort of detail that makes a present feel chosen rather than ordered.
Who it suits less: heavy spreadsheet users who live on the number pad, and competitive gamers who want specific switch characteristics documented down to the gram. Neither of those needs is served well by a compact styled board.
Choosing between layouts and sizes
The main decision with any compact keyboard is how much you are willing to give up. A full-size board has around 104 keys. A tenkeyless board drops the number pad and sits near 87. This one sits at 84, which means the number pad is gone and the navigation cluster is tightened up, with arrows retained.
In practice that means:
- You keep every letter, the number row, and the function row.
- You keep arrow keys, which matters more than people expect when editing text.
- You lose the dedicated number pad.
- Some keys like page up and page down may live behind a function layer.
If you enter long columns of figures every day, that last point will annoy you. If you mostly write, message and browse, you will forget the number pad existed within a week.
The other consideration is key feel. Round keycaps have less surface area than standard square caps, so your fingers sit in slightly narrower landing zones. Most people adapt in a day or two. If you touch type fast and never look down, expect a short settling-in period before your accuracy returns to normal.
Noise, comfort and the desk around it
The maker builds in noise-reduction key technology aimed at quieter typing. Any keyboard sounds different depending on what is underneath it. A bare hard desk amplifies every keystroke. A felt or rubber desk mat absorbs a lot of it and also stops the board sliding around. If you share a room or type late, a mat is the cheapest improvement you can make.
Comfort comes down to height. The maker describes the layout as ergonomic and ambidextrous, so the shape does not favour one hand. What matters just as much is that your forearms sit roughly level when your fingers are on the keys. If your wrists bend upward, lower the desk or raise the chair before blaming the keyboard.
The maker doesn't publish dimensions or weight. If the exact footprint matters for a drawer or a particular bag, message us before ordering.
Looking after it
Keyboards collect crumbs. That is just life. A quick routine keeps it looking the way it did on day one.
Turn it off before cleaning. Wipe the case and keycap tops with a soft cloth that is barely damp, then dry immediately so no moisture sits in the gaps. For the spaces between keys, use a soft brush or a short puff of air rather than digging with anything hard. Never spray cleaner directly onto the board; put it on the cloth instead.
Keep drinks away from it, or at least behind it rather than beside it. If you are storing the keyboard for a long period, keep it somewhere dry and deal with the battery first, either charging it or removing it depending on how the board is built.
Transport it in a sleeve. Round keycaps sit a little proud of the case, and loose items in a bag can catch on them.
The short version
This is a modern Bluetooth keyboard wearing a typewriter's clothes. Eighty-four keys in a QWERTY layout, mechanical switches, coffee gradient round keycaps, a plastic case, media and function shortcuts, and a magnetic cat figurine you can stick wherever you fancy. It pairs with tablets, iPad, iPhone, laptops, PCs and desktops, and holds three devices at once.
Buy it if you want a desk that looks good, type mostly words rather than numbers, and are short on space. Think twice if you need a number pad every day or want published switch specifications.
The maker doesn't publish dimensions, weight or country of origin, and we have left those out rather than guess. Ask us if one of them matters to your decision.