INTRODUCTION

   I never was much into notebooks/laptops and one of the reasons has always been the very short and soft keys used in their keyboards (the other has always been the rather small screens) so when many people i know got swept of their feet by the unveiling of the Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard a while back i really paid almost no attention to it. However i do realize that such keyboards can come in handy since they require less space on your desks and in some cases can improve typing speed without the extra noise of most keyboards but in the end i guess i never felt these were ment for me. Still it seems that many PC users out there are looking for a similar alternative to the Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard and although not many quality solutions come to mind we did notice that Cherry (yes that Cherry) has been manufacturing a corded keyboard with low profile keys called the Strait so we thought it would be nice to take it for a spin.

   CHERRY, a registered brand of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, provides high-performance sensors, standard and custom electrical switches, and computer input devices for the worldwide automotive, computer and consumer/commercial OEM markets. Our enthusiasm for innovative products and processes and our uncompromising pursuit of zero defect quality assurance have made us a global leader in Computer Input Devices. We will strive to continue the 60+ year old CHERRY tradition for quality and reliability as we design, develop and manufacture mobile devices, keyboards, and other products, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies and the global resources of our parent company, ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

   Cherry may have made a name for themselves in the consumer market over the last decade largely thanks to their high quality MX mechanical switch line but the Strait keyboard has actually nothing to do with that since due to its low profile keys and very thin design it's based on the all-time classic membrane switches. That basically means that you're not getting the same tactile and audible feedback you get with mechanical switches nor are you getting the same durability since the switches used in the Strait have a lifetime of up to 10 million keystrokes (as opposed to the 50/60 million keystrokes of the Cherry MX switches). Needless to say that some consumers will most likely enjoy the "lack" of audible feedback (just the ones using the Apple wireless keyboard do) so for a specific target audience this isn't a drawback.