In our opinion, keypads should complement keyboards while gaming or be able to replace them completely. The Tartarus series of compact gaming keypads have a long tradition at Razer, and now the company has released one with analog optical switches. The Tartarus Pro is available to purchase now for US$129.99 and comes with free shipping.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Razer-Tartarus-Pro-The-first-gaming-keypad-with-analog-optical-switches.440347.0.html
Very interesting stuff...never tried one of these before.
May have to take a look at the white model, it's absolutely gorgeous. If anyone is looking for an entry level gamepad RedDragon K585 DITI is an excellent budget option, blue box switches, add rgb, conventional key layout and 5 macro buttons. It's also great for productivity macros but the software is buggy.
I am afraid this is certainly not the first analog keyboard. That'd have to be the Wooting One (and yes it is mechanical), please do your research.
The most interesting function - the analog switches - unfortunately do not work as advertised. The switches are fully triggered at about 2.0 mm. This leaves only a margin of about 1.5 mm between 0% and 100%. With the given 3.6 mm you should have reached a margin of 3.1 mm. Unfortunately, this function is completely unusable for me.
Better check this video before consider buying it:
youtu.be/VGRAl6SN71A?t=156