Here’s why Oree’s $200 wooden keyboard is worth every cent

USING unique craftsmanship and materials, the keyboard has been handmade from a single piece of wood, with the grain preserved. Sounds fancy, right?

The keyboard has a USB cable and Bluetooth connection, and a battery that recharges automatically.

I FIND it very easy to drop a couple of hundred dollars at the pub on a Saturday afternoon, but spending that type of money on a new keyboard would be insanely stupid.

Well, at least this was my attitude until I got my hands on Oree’s $A199.95 Board Essential keyboard, which instantly struck a chord with every part of my inner-hipster.

Using unique craftsmanship and materials, the keyboard has been handmade from a single piece of wood, with the grain preserved against the shell and keys.

“Each board is unique and reflects the native tree it came from, with its own wild veins and spirals,” the company’s website explains.

“Each piece is sanded, varnished and assembled by hand in our atelier in France, so you can feel an incomparable caring touch along with the heart and soul we put into this work.”

The woods are sourced from family-owned forests located in the Eastern part of France

Available in maple or walnut, the distinctive hand-polished keyboard has a lifetime guarantee — this alone makes the price tag justified.

“We apply an invisible food-safe varnish that stringently protects the wood against casual stains and we design our electronics carefully for lasting performance,” the website reads.

To offer a universal experience, the product works with any computer, tablet or smartphone and has customisation for different operating systems and country layouts.

However, this cannot be chopped and changed after purchasing, so to ensure special characters work correctly, the company suggest getting the keyboard that correlates to the device it will be most used — Mac/ iPad or Windows.

As for connections, the product connects to a device via a USB cable or wireless Bluetooth, with the batteries recharging automatically when plugged in.

The Board Essential works with any computer, tablet or smartphone and on any operating system.

During my tests of the product, I found it easy to connect and use across a number of different devices.

In terms of functionality, the keyboard performed exactly as it should with zero complications during my testing.

Not only does the product feel great to use, it also has a distinct “woody” smell that adds to the impressive aesthetics.

The only issue I had was it didn’t really fit with the look of the rest of my computing hardware, but in saying that I would just prefer to upgrade to a wooden desktop and mouse and really commit to my inner-city hipster ways.

Would you purchase this keyboard? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.