Does anyone use a keyboard protector?

As I ask this question, I am thinking of the pocket protectors. However, I was just wondering if anyone uses one. I bought a silicone keyboard protector for $7 which fits decently but not perfectly.

For those who use one, what is your rational? I wanted to protect the keys from wear and tear and dust. How well does your protector fit? I get so tired of dust and debris in the keyboard sometimes (where I had to use compressed air).

 

I've been using a silicone one from kbprotector.com and I'm pretty happy with it, and it's made in Taiwan.

There are 3 types on the market: silicone, polyurethane, and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). Plain polyurethane is the worst and it's pretty much useless, because it's hard and doesn't fit well. TPU and silicone are the only real usable ones. TPU has the best transparency and look, it also doesn't really attract dust, but it tends to move around and doesn't feel that great for typing. Silicone has the best fit and feeling while typing, the only downside is that it tends to attract some dust, which isn't always a bad thing, since it kinda keeps away the dust from falling into the keyboard itself. I just wash and rinse it every 2 weeks or something.

Anyway, both silicone and TPU have their ups and downs. I found this comparison chart a while ago. The left one is silicone, and the other is TPU.


(click on enlarge)

 

Thanks for the link to that site stewie, I think it's better then the other place I was looking at for a protector:

http://www.protectcovers.com/default.aspx

Their's are poly, not silicone, so I think I will be getting a silicone one from the site linked in your post.

 

Both silicone and TPU should be good, some people prefer silicone, and some prefer TPU.

By the way, buy it through kbprotector.com's eBay store, it's a lot cheaper. Just contact the seller if he didn't have the model you want listed.

 

My Vaio TZ with keyboard protector.

Using the Cocoro TPU keyboard protector. Its one with the highest transparency I've seen till date.

 

nice..that is looking sharp..i may look into one of these

 

Man you can't even see the protector! That is really cool! Where can you get a TPU protector from?

Thanks for the info on the ebay store Stewie!

 

I actually have it on my site...

 

Great site kuroten! Do you not have keyboard protectors for dell products though? I am most likely going with them for my first notebook and definitely want a good keyboard protector.

 

Thank you.

Hmm, what model is ur Dell notebook?

 

hey kuroten,
I see that the keyboard protector for the Z is out of stock. Any ideas when you will have it shipped by ?
Thanks

 

I don't have a keyboard protector and I don't think that I will use one in the future. I don't know what you guys do with your keyboard, but I write a lot on the keyboard, work with my computer the whole day and it gets not really dirty. The upper side of the keys can easily be cleaned with a display cleaner and if something falls between the keys then you can blow it out or use a forceps to remove the particle. Especially a keyboard like kuroten's notebook has should be easy to clean, and does not need a keyboard protector in my opinion.

That's why I have two questions:
Does your keyboard gets really so dirty that you need a protcter
How do you type. Isn't it much more difficult to touch type on a keyboard with such a protector, or don't you notice a difference at all, or do you just not touch type.


PS: I saw some keyboard protectors and most of them looked really ugly. But kuroten's protector looks nice, not really noticeable (but what's the yellow discoloration near the arrow keys?)

 

the reason people get protectors is because the matte finish on the keys wear off from the oils from your fingers after using it for a while

especially when the keys are black, so it'll look like some parts of the keyboard are shiny.. and in effect, looks horrible

if your keyboard is silver.. you won't notice it as much.. but on a friend's tz, it is VERY noticeable.. makes other people think you have very oily hands

 

I used to for my old powerbook, but the unibody macbook stays clean pretty much most of the time.

 

huh, no one has protector for MSI gt627...

 

Hi,

Another late reply from me but to correct your statement...

There is the TPU and Anti-Bacterial TPU keyboard protector available for the abovementioned notebook model.

^^ Cheers!

 

It's not always that easy to remove crumbs or dirt particles that get trapped beneath the keys at times.. It also keeps accidental spills at bay.. The TZ keyboard in mention does get dirtied too... The isolated key designed with the glossy space in between makes the glossy plastic easily susceptible to scratches as well, and the protector helps to prevent that

1-Sometimes, my hands are dirty but I just had to type.. lolz..
2-Nope, it isn't more difficult to type, in fact it muffles the sound produced during typing too which is really helpful when you are in a silent environment and you wanna prevent the noise from causing any disturbances. It also helps prevent any discoloration of the keys.

(Btw, the yellow discoloration you spotted was the reflection from my ceiling lamp when I took that picture)

*I'm typing this at 5AM over here, pardon me for any bad English*

 

I like that a lot! Do you have one for the Dell Studio 14z AKA 1440?

 

i used protector for my old dv6500t...
but remove it since i dont like the feel of slimy keyboard..

 

Hi Kuroten,

Do you have protector for Thinkpad X61? Tks!

 

i doubt you carry one for the alienware m17x, but if you do let me know

 

Check out: http://www.protectcovers.com/

If they don't have your model, they will make one custom.

 

BTW, Avast! triggers this link as a virus.

 

It's not a virus... weird that Avast says that. NBR even has a review of it from a while back:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2528

 

Keyboard cover for the new Sony Vaio W!

 

I didn't even know keyboard protectors existed! After seeing kuroten's picture I became interested in this. Seems really good to use one of these protectors because my old keyboard is full with crumbs and some other disgusting things.