With all this time that they’ve been in
the mechanical keyboard game, Vortex have
been the guys that have brought out the non-typical
layouts to the masses, especially in recent
times.
But today, this is probably one of their more
functional ones in their line up.
The Tab90.
Opening up the box we have a USB type C cable.
And then the keyboard itself.
So super barebones, just like the Vortex Cypher
I checked out.
Still would be nice to get a keycap puller
though.
This is part of their new Tab lineup.
So first of all, there’s the Tab 90M, which
is the metal version of this, and comes with
different keycaps.
It’s just like the Core, Race 3, and Vibe,
in regards to its enclosure design.
BUT, it is not wireless.
And then we have this, the Tab 90, and also
the Tab 75, and the Tab 60.
And those are more or less the same as this,
but different sizes.
Anyway it feels pretty good in the hands,
but I did get quite a plasticky vibe to it.
I don’t really know why, like most boards
are like this with a complete plastic enclosure,
but I just felt it didn’t feel that premium.
But there’s minimal flex to it, and it’s
packing some decent weight, at just under
a kilogram.
Perhaps it’s because of its simplicity,
in that there’s a healthy amount of plastic.
So we have just a rounded rectangular design,
with flat sides.
There’s no chamfering or tapering to make
it appear to be slimmer.
And even the bezels are decently thick, with
a chunkier chin as well.
But I do love how it looks.
It’s super clean as you can see, and what
makes it even moreso, are these DSA profile
keycaps.
The DSA profile refers to the shape of the
keycap, so these are uniform caps, and are
all the same height, and there’s no sculpting.
And they’ve done this with their Core, and
the Race 3.
But this time, they’ve gone with the super
simple monochromatic scheme.
The legends are clean and simple as well,
and from looking at it, they seem pretty straight
now.
Like with the Race 3 and Vibe, the legends
were a bit up and down and misaligned, but
here they’re pretty good.
What also contributes to its clean, yet unique
look is of course this layout.
So, this is the first of its kind for Vortex.
For the most part, they’ve stuck to smaller
layouts, and the Vibe was a real unique one.
But this is I think one that will be more
accessible to use for a lot of people, in
that it’s essentially a full sized keyboard,
and you won’t be relying as much on layers,
combos, and secondary functions.
The interesting thing, is that this actually
has 105 keys, which is 1 more than a typical
full sized at 104.
And I really do like this layout, because
the usual approach is the 96 key layout, like
the XD96.
So we have our dedicated arrow keys, and numpad
that people love.
But they’ve kept the numpad standard, but
slip in the nav keys here.
And it makes sense, that’s how it would
look like, if you squeezed a full sized board.
And I’ve thoroughly loved using it.
It’s about 2 columns shorter than a full
sized, and 2 wider than a tenkeyless.
It may not seem like much, but that bit more
space makes a difference in not taking up
so much room on your desk.
And as said before, there’s no real compromise,
since nothing is missing.
Often you’ll see the numpad cut out a bit,
but it’s all standard there, so for all
the heavy numpad users, it’ll be absolutely
fine.
However, being a Vortex keyboard, we get the
usual onboard programming.
Since there wasn’t any manual in the box,
we have to go to the Vortex website, and there’s
one for the Tab 90M, but it works out for
this as well.
So we can switch between operating systems,
and also between QWERTY, COLEMAK, and DVORAK.
And we have the programming, which is done
all onboard, as the Tab isn’t included in
the MPC interface.
So we have the default, and then 3 extra customisable
layers.
So I’ll pick layer 1, and the LED under
the spacebar lights up red.
Then to enter the programming mode, press
PN + left control.
And the caps lock key will start flashing.
Then pick your desired key, I’ll press Q.
And then put in what you want to be recorded,
which has a limit of 32 keystrokes.
Then press PN, which will steady the caps
lock LED.
If you want to program more keys, repeat that.
Otherwise, press PN + left control again to
exit the programming mode.
And that’s it, it’s pretty simple, and
somewhat limiting, but it’s what Vortex
have had on their boards for forever now,
but it’s always good to have the option.
Anyway, back to the keyboard.
On the rear there’s a USB type C port, so
yet another board with that which is cool.
And looking at the side profile, it does have
a natural inclination, which is a bit more
than usual.
Because if we look at the bottom, there are
no flip up feet.
Personally, it’s no issue at all for me
as I find it comfortable, and you don’t
want to angle it too much anyway because the
strain it causes on your wrists, but some
people do like a bit more of an incline.
And then we have our on and off switch, because
this is amazingly, wireless, which I think
is a first for Vortex.
So if we open this door, we reveal a spot
for 2 triple A batteries.
So this isn’t rechargeable like the majority
of other wireless boards.
I always have this problem when reviewing
wireless keyboards, in that I can’t really
test them properly, because I don’t have
bluetooth on my desktop, and my laptop’s
bluetooth is stuffed as well, so I just find
it really difficult to actually use it in
wireless mode for long periods.
I tested it on my phone with just simple typing
on Google Docs, and it felt absolutely fine.
I wasn’t feeling any noticeable lag or latency,
which I have felt on some boards before.
For gaming, I really don’t know, especially
since I’m not much of a gamer.
But from what I’ve tested, it only has 6
key rollover.
I didn’t see anything in the manual about
it, but yeh, that may be a problem for some.
It’s using Bluetooth 3.0, instead of 4.0,
so that mainly affects its power efficiency.
It works from a long distance, I think this
is about 20 metres away, and it was still
working.
But yeh, sorry, I just didn’t use it in
wireless mode enough to know its battery life,
and I guess it depends on your batteries.
I have Cherry MX Brown switches in mine, but
it does come in most of the other Cherry MX
variants.
So this is a light tactile switch, with a
small bump in the middle.
The positive is that the stabs are pretty
good.
There’s no rattle to them, as they do come
lubed.
But the overall typing experience, I personally
feel is slightly hollow and empty feeling
in a way.
Like it doesn’t feel particularly solid
or dense, and in turn, is quite loud for a
Cherry MX Brown keyboard.
To open up the keyboard, there’s a heap
of Philips head screws on the plate, in which
made me take off majority of the keycaps.
And then a bunch more on the bottom.
And then pry it apart to release the plastic
tabs as per usual.
The top plastic shell is simple, there’s
nothing much to it.
The bottom plastic shell is pretty bare.
There’s no ribbing or reinforcement on the
bottom surface, and it just has tapped plastic
for the standoffs.
So there’s actually quite a bit of space
here still, which may be why it doesn’t
feel particularly great to type on, and slightly
hollow.
The connections for the batteries don’t
look particular secure either, as they’re
just held by a blob of solder.
The plate is made from 1.5mm steel, so nice
and solid, and gives the keyboard most of
its weight and rigidity.
Looking at the PCB, and it’s very clean,
with nice solder joints and all.
Again, we have spots for surface mount device
red green blue light emitting diodes, BUT
they’re just not here.
And they’ve done this in the past as well,
where these non-backlit boards would have
the spots for the LEDs, and then they’d
release an RGB version.
And since it’s all apart, I’ll give it
a paint job just because.
It’s a simple looking keyboard, so I’ll
bpaint it a nice glowy yellow, because yellow
and grey always looks good.
Overall, I feel that this keyboard ticks a
lot of boxes.
It isn’t for everyone, and we can kind of
see that it isn’t really for gamers, but
that’s fine.
Mechanical keyboards aren’t just gaming
keyboards like all the marketing makes them
seem to be.
I feel that this is a great home keyboard,
or a work keyboard, potentially for the office.
Everyone’s situations are different, but
often for work, people do prefer a full sized
board, especially with the numpad.
And this is perfect for that, and I think
a lot of the value is in this awesome layout.
And the wireless aspect just gives it more
accessibility for different environments and
use cases.
You’ll actually have a bit of a hard time
trying to find a full sized wireless keyboard.
They do exist but there’s not many of them,
and I was actually surprised to find out that
this was wireless.
And it does work well.
The keyboard looks great, it has a simple
and clean design that I think will fit anywhere,
well, I painted mine now, and I absolutely
love it.
Vortex do have the 75% and 60% in their TAB
lineup, and the Tab 90M, looks to have more
features and a different look, but doesn’t
have the wireless capabilities.
So yeh, it’s another great addition to the
ever growing Vortex lineup, which continues
to reach different segments of the market.
