While serious gamers and professional writers debate the different colors of the famous Cherry mechanical switches found in the finest PC keyboards, some of us have a simpler question: What's Cherry got for 30 bucks? The Cherry Stream Keyboard ($29.99) is the quintessential economy model, a no-frills, non-wireless, non-desk-space-saving device that nobody's going to mistake for a unit costing five times as much such as the Editors' Choice award-winning Razer Pro Type Ultra. But if you're looking to step up from the generic keyboard bundled with your consumer desktop, the Stream will delight you with its quiet, comfortable typing feel. It deserves its own Editors' Choice nod as the best budget keyboard you can buy for everyday typing.
Mad Matte Beyond Rubber-Dome
A best-seller several generations old, the Cherry Stream is available in white or matte black and in a tenkeyless (TKL) version at the same price for users looking to move their mice a little closer by losing the numeric keypad. The latter might tempt you because the full-size Stream takes a lot of room—at 0.71 by 18.2 by 6.4 inches (HWD), it's more than an inch deeper than most keyboards, with such a vertical span or reach that I found myself using the bottom-mounted prop-up feet to add the tilt that I usually don't bother with.
Its main attraction is that, while it's not a premium mechanical keyboard, neither does it use the flimsy silicon- or rubber-dome technology of the cheapest boards. Instead, it splits the difference with Cherry SX scissor switches that make it basically a desktop version of a laptop keyboard.
The non-backlit keys have shallow indents for your fingertips and touch one another instead of leaving space between, making it slightly tougher to clear away dust and crumbs. The ABS keycaps aren't smooth, but have a slight nonskid texture. Tiny LED indicators built into the Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock keys glow when toggled, though I could only see the Caps Lock light when sitting straight up over the keyboard instead of leaning back in my chair.
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The 2-pound Stream is almost silent in operation, with only a faint tapping to be heard. Without the loud click and springy resistance of a mechanical keyboard, typing feels like wielding a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer, although Cherry lists an activation force of 65 centinewtons (essentially 65 grams) which requires a medium touch instead of the light touch you'd use with some high-speed gaming keyboards.
With zero wobble and a generous 2.8mm of travel, the Cherry Stream feels refreshingly precise, noticeably more comfortable than your typical mushy generic desktop keyboard. It's a pleasure to type for hours on this board, though it doesn't come with a wrist rest.
Some Handy Shortcuts
While it's available in a $49.99 wireless version, the base Stream relies on an interface Cherry calls "environmentally friendly and maintenance-free," i.e., a 5.9-foot USB Type-A cable instead of batteries. It offers plug-and-play operation with no software required.
The 114-key layout includes 10 extra keys. By default, the four above the numeric keypad launch Windows' calculator, your web browser and email program, and lock your PC. Six small keys at top center are media controls—mute, decrease, and increase volume and play/pause, next, and previous track.
While the Stream works without any special software, there is a Cherry Keys utility found under Support/Downloads at the bottom of the CherryAmericas.com website (not under Downloads on the keyboard's product page). It lets you configure any of the special keys except the lock key, plus F1 through F12 and Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause, as programmable shortcuts.
You can open an application, document, or webpage; execute a macro; type some boilerplate text; or perform a few system operations such as log off, shut down, or Forward or Back in a browser. It's not as sophisticated as high-end keyboard utilities, but it's effective and easy to use.
Verdict: Not Fancy, But Fine
The Cherry Stream isn't a keyboard for users who care about anti-ghosting or N-key rollover (it has neither), and if you'd prefer a wireless or ergonomically curved or split keyboard for the same $29.99 price, you'll probably be able to find one. But it likely won't match the scissor-switch design or luxurious typing feel that makes the Cherry our Editors' Choice-winning budget pick. If your only typing experience has been on the keyboard that came with your low-cost desktop, the Stream will be a revelation.
If you have more desk space than dollars available, Cherry's $30 Stream Keyboard is far more finger-friendly than the chintzy keyboard that came with your PC.
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