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The CLVX 1 was immediately met with a raised eyebrow when it landed in my inbox. Having been burned by the Naya Create just last month, I was wary of any keyboard that claimed to be more than a set of clackers.
This is a full sized keyboard with a touchpad built into the keys themselves, outlining the middle of the alphanumeric keys for an expansive pad ready to act as a mouse as soon as you finish typing. Yeah right.
It's not going to be giving the best gaming keyboards anything to worry about, but I have to say the CLVX1 has changed my work game. I test keyboards and mice on the regular, so I have a near constant rotation of new devices every two weeks. Putting them all away for a few days was a relief. I haven't had a mouse on my desk during work hours for days now, and everything feels a lot calmer.
Switching between typing and using the touchpad control is everything brand Clevetura claims it to be; seamless, intuitive, and fast. Inputs are picked up incredibly smoothly, and the transition back to typing is immediate as well.
You'd be surprised how much time you can save without having to move your hands away from the keyboard, how much you stay in flow. It's remarkable that nobody's released a similar device in the year since the CLVX1 has been on the market.
Unlike other keyboards looking to consolidate all controls into one board, the CLVX 1 doesn't need you to change how you work. Naya's modular design fundamentally alters the way you interact with your PC, here the keyboard is working to the actions already embedded in your muscle memory.
For the most part, sliding motions when typing are impressively ignored. I only had a few instances of accidental inputs when I'd left my hands on the keys in between sentences, only to drag them to the next key slightly before starting to type again.
There are two main click buttons positioned under the space bar, but they're a little too stiff to truly feel intuitive and their positioning means dragging and dropping is a bit of a juggle. Still, a double tap and hold can perform the same action on the touchpad itself.
That's the best thing about the CLVX 1; the more you use it the better it gets. Yes there's an AI mode that claims to learn how you type in order to better tune sensitivity levels, but I'm talking more about the functions and features on offer.
There's an accompanying app but it's a little sparse, allowing you to reprogram the slider sections at the top and remap the function row. There's one thing missing here, though, touchpad sensitivity controls.
See, a laptop touchpad is designed to use with a smaller laptop screen. That means you don't need as much distance in your tracking speed - a single sweep from left to right will normally get you across the screen just fine. Except the CLVX 1 isn't designed to accompany a laptop, it's a keyboard built for desk use - and my monitor measures 32-inches.
That means to get from one corner to another I'm having to swipe a good number of times, sometimes feeling like I'm crawling to my destination. Being able to adjust this speed would make the world of difference.
Should you buy the CLVX 1?
This isn't the article I assumed I'd be writing when the CLVX 1 landed at my doorstep. It only took a few minutes of actual use for the two-in-one to actually impress me, though. Aside from that super slick touchpad integration, the CLVX 1 actually feels like a nice keyboard to type on.
You'll find deeper, more textured keystrokes among the best hot-swappable keyboards, but for a low profile chiclet style deck there's still plenty of snap and energy here.
If you've got the cash to experiment and find yourself tired of breaking typing flow to reach over to your mouse, there's nothing I'd recommend more than the CLVX 1. It seems like such a simple feature addition, but it can genuinely change the game if you give it the time and space to shine. Separate profiles can cater to more creative apps for power users as well.
That said, I don't think anything could be worse for gaming. This deck isn't designed for your Steam library, so keep it well away.
- See all keyboards at Amazon
- CLVX 1 | $249 at Amazon
I'm also rounding up all the best wireless gaming keyboards and the best membrane gaming keyboards on the market. If an integrated touchpad doesn't sound like your bag, though, check out the best gaming mouse models on the market.
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