El Gordo

Hi folks.

I've been unable to get a UK spec computer keyboard in the USA, and all the UK retailers I've tried online won't ship to the USA. Getting family back home to post, with the dimensions and weight provided by the manufacturers results in shipping prices of around $100 a time. I write a lot of academic papers and it really squishes my flow when I'm deleting the @ symbols surrounding my quotes that result from leaving the default layout as it is, and if I change to UK layout for my US keyboard I lose backslash, the hash key, and so on. Plus I kinda miss the massive enter key too.

Does anyone know of where I can get a genuine British keyboard over here?

MrSensical

Why not try amazon.co.uk w/international shipping.

If that's too much $$ then you may be SOL. I can't imagine anyone in US doing one for less than $50 and a used one at that.

penguinsix

Did you just search Amazon US for "UK Keyboard"?

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Wired-US...8100722&sr=1-5

Guindalf

I have had stuff shipped from Amazon UK and it's usually pretty reasonable - as long as you buy from Amazon itself and not one of the storefronts.

sir_eccles

Be aware it isn't always so straight forward as just plugging in a new keyboard. My laptop is an old UK one but I have a US keyboard plugged in to the USB port for comfort reasons. I have told it to use US keyboard many times, except it always forgets, so I end up typing on my US keyboard as if it is UK. The "\" key is the only real problem.

El Gordo

Yup, searched through carefully. The one or two which claim to be UK keyboards are only saying that because the " and @ are the other way around. Unfortunately they're actually international keyboards for German speakers, usually, and there's a whole bunch of other keys switched around too. That particular one has keys for special characters, and others make way like the semi-colon and the less/more than signs.

BUT, thank you for looking/trying!

Amazon UK, every time I enter my US address option for delivery, I get an error screen

I've found a company who does, in theory, fit the need, and the keyboards have interchangeable fascias, but it seems that they're not stocking the UK spec in the US. I need to investigate more.



The actual keyboard cost isn't too much of an issue. I spent £100 on my old one that just gave up the ghost around 11 years ago and it served me so very well. I don't mind spending $100 on the hardware. Just preferably not the postage.

ian-mstm

Would it be easier to get, say, a programmable keyboard?

Ian

Bob

If the cost isn't the problem, this OLED one would fit the bill - http://www.amazon.com/Optimus-Maximu...8119266&sr=1-1

El Gordo

This one might tweak my budget restraints eeeeever so slightly

Anian

You don't actually lose any keys (actually maybe just one) they just get shifted around. I've become used to switching between my US keyboard at work and my UK laptop keyboard at home (It's lasted five years! Outlasted the PC I bought when I moved here, and still works fine aside from the battery life)

Weeze

Are you trying to buy from a distributor that won't ship internationally on amazon.co.uk? I buy stuff all the time from the British site with no problems.

Kar98

Why bother? Every other computer around you will have the En-US layout, and switching back and forth is much more of a hassle than just getting used to the American layout. I know I gave up using my German keyboard about 4 weeks into my stay in the US.

kimilseung

I do not remember the layout of a Brit keyboard now, but would an option be to tell the computer that you are using a UK keyboard and switch the keys around (pluck them out and snap them back in, in a new order)

I assume I am forgetting something that makes this impossible.

edit: Ah, re-read the OP, and there are other issues.

Kar98

The part where modern keyboards will get ruined when you try to do this.

El Gordo

Yeah, that was my first thought. There's subtle differences in shape between rows on most keyboards, so that you can jumble up letters but if you try and switch in a number, or something from an F key, etc, the profile is different and they won't sit in. Good thinking though!