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Hardware Optimus Maximus OLED Keyboard Finally Shipping
Chris Peredun - February 22, 2008 9:57 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 73 comment(s) - last by Oregonian2.. on Feb 25 at 3:44 PM

The Optimus Maximus - All $1564 US dollars worth.

The IBM Model M, Part 1391401 - A better typing experience, just not as flashy.
$1564 buys you everything but the simplest feature - typing

DailyTech has been following the long-winded saga of the Optimus Maximus keyboard for over two years now, from its initial unveilings to the last update in May 2007 of the "pre-preorder" date -- but the final hardware has been completed, sent for shipping, and even delivered to the eager fingers of reviewers at Engadget.

Unfortunately, the reviewers weren't completely impressed. While the preliminary report from Engadget praised the brilliant OLED keys, the major selling feature of the keyboard, the sturdy construction and high-quality building materials, the review team was let down by a flaw in the fundamentals of the Optimus Maximus.

"Typing on [the Optimus Maximus], well, sucks," was the blunt assessment from the Engadget review team. "... As a whole it just requires way too much force to depress keys ... Let's put it this way, we sit around and type all day long and this thing wore us out in about 30 seconds to a minute. Carpal sufferers, beware."

More reviews should be rolling in shortly -- but if the Engadget preview is any indication, the "ultimate keyboard" may have gotten so carried up with special features that the basic functionality was left out.

However, it does stand to reason that anyone able to spend the wallet-busting $1,564 USD for the Optimus Maximus could certainly afford to pick up an old IBM Model M 1391401 as their primary unit for typing.

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Serious question
By NullSubroutine on 2/22/2008 10:19:51 PM , Rating: 1
I am not being sarcastic what is so great about the keyboard? I mean I am not understanding it?




RE: Serious question
By Cygni on 2/22/2008 10:29:41 PM , Rating: 4
each key is an OLED screen.


RE: Serious question
By Oregonian2 on 2/25/2008 3:44:35 PM , Rating: 2
A hunt-and-peck typist paradise!

(I being a touch-typist, don't even look at the keys -- typing was the single most useful class I took in all of high school, and only took it because I refused to take study hall).

P.S. - Want a GREAT keyboard for typing? The old classic Northgate one! Their PC's weren't so great, but their keyboards were!


RE: Serious question
By oab on 2/22/2008 10:31:26 PM , Rating: 4
The 'great' thing about the keyboard is that the letters change based on what program you are using.

Which is really cool, assuming it works properly, and from what the article says it does. The only downside is that it is apparently rubbish to type on. Which is a problem for a keyboard, but if you are using it to show your shortcut keys in Photoshop, you probably aren't doing much typing at that moment anyway.

That and it's absurdly expensive.

Put another way, the letters on the keys will NEVER rub off, and pressing the shift key dynamically changes the letters (ie. they go from showing lower case to upper case instantly), or you can have your own DVORAK layout simply by changing the windows profile, no excessively hard memorization needed.


RE: Serious question
By daftrok on 2/22/2008 11:27:52 PM , Rating: 2
I thought the 11" OLED screen from Sony for 2500 bucks was ridiculous. The most I'd EVER spend for an OLED keyboard like this (assuming it would be easy to type on which it isn't) is 300 bucks. For 1500 bucks you can buy a high end 17" laptop for crying out loud. For 1500 bucks you can buy 30 of these:

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/keyboards/m/1120...

So I say this OLED keyboard is going to flop unless they fix the keyboard issue and cut a grand off the price.


RE: Serious question
By matriarch wolf on 2/23/2008 7:26:56 AM , Rating: 2
This would be awesome for russian alphabet so the keyboard could change letters and other characters appear. I'm sure before they go full production the key stiffness issue will be resolved.


RE: Serious question
By Netscorer on 2/23/2008 7:30:09 PM , Rating: 3
Since when did simple stickers that cost all of five bucks stopped to work for second language alphabet?


RE: Serious question
By retrospooty on 2/23/2008 9:53:25 AM , Rating: 1
"For 1500 bucks you can buy a high end 17" laptop for crying out loud"

But it isnt made for you, or I, or any average consumer... Its a tool. Its made for customizeable apps. think McDonalds keyboard, the ding dong behind the counter presses the "combo#3" key when you order a #3, and they press the "nuggets" key when you order nuggets. It can be customized for diff things on diff apps, useful in many companies for many tasks, with little training required. I can see tons of useful implementations for it in business. Its actually quite alot like those Star Trek TNG keyboards.


RE: Serious question
By JustTom on 2/23/2008 11:04:05 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
But it isnt made for you, or I, or any average consumer... Its a tool. Its made for customizeable apps. think McDonalds keyboard


Bad example, I think Mickey D's spends quite a bit less than $1564 for their keyboards.

Other than the 'cool' factor this is next to useless. Good typists don't even look at their keyboards; most software users with any degree of expertise don't need flashing reminders of keyboard shortcuts. While this is certainly a cool use of technology I seriously doubt there will be much of a market beyond boutique gotta have it buyers. Which probably is the business plan anyway.


RE: Serious question
By mgambrell on 2/23/2008 11:22:14 AM , Rating: 1
Do you have any idea how much these keyboards would be worth in terms of customer satisfaction from a reduction in slow or mis-entered orders? Mcdonalds cashiers arent the brightest bunch.


RE: Serious question
By JustTom on 2/23/2008 11:28:36 AM , Rating: 2
McDonalds already has keyboards that limit incorrect orders. And they cost a lot less than 1564. They could probably go out and buy brand new keyboards everytime their menu changes for less than the price for this keyboard.

At this price this keyboard will not be used at low margin POS locations, it would just be silly. There might be utility if prices came WAY down; I would guess that Mickey Dees probably pays something like 10 bucks for their POS keyboards, which have custom keys. Albeit not custom keys that change contextually but do you really think a hamburger cashier needs that?


RE: Serious question
By retrospooty on 2/23/2008 2:09:02 PM , Rating: 1
Please, MD's is just en example I used because everyone has been there. It is useful for alot of businesses, and customized apps used in variuos purposes. Its not a consumer product, why must you think only of yourself? Agreed, its too much for normal people, but again, its not made for you.


RE: Serious question
By JustTom on 2/23/2008 2:46:12 PM , Rating: 2
I am not thinking only of me, if you have followed what I said. I still doubt this item has any real large market. Time will tell.


RE: Serious question
By retrospooty on 2/23/2008 3:40:15 PM , Rating: 2
agreed, not a huge market, a very specific niche market.


RE: Serious question
By masher2 (blog) on 2/23/2008 2:15:26 PM , Rating: 2
> "They could probably go out and buy brand new keyboards everytime their menu changes for less than the price for this keyboard."

Perhaps...then they'd have the cost to install them, and retrain staff on them. You think they'll just ship it there and trust a fry cook to plug it in properly?

Seriously, in a high-volume business environment, $1500 is nothing compared to improving service and throughput. I've seen businesses pay 1,000X as much just for a software upgrade that would save typists a couple keystrokes. Hell, many POS applications aren't even using keyboards any more -- if their app can support it, they just pay an extra $1K or more for a touchscreen.

Still, I don't think this keyboard is quite ready for corporate prime time. It's more of a flashy tool for the well-heeled consumer. Once it has more of a reliability track record, you can expect to see it in big business.


RE: Serious question
By JustTom on 2/23/2008 2:54:59 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Seriously, in a high-volume business environment, $1500 is nothing compared to improving service and throughput. I've seen businesses pay 1,000X as much just for a software upgrade that would save typists a couple keystrokes.

It would be $1500 per POS location, which certainly would add up in a fast food retail situation.
Your point on touch screens is a good one, in a POS situation such as the OP described touch screens are already used and probably have a much greater utility than this keyboard.

I think this technology is cool, it has potential but whether it will ever be practical to deploy in any but the most limited circumstances is in my mind doubtful. Most people who use keyboards for a living seldom even look at the keys, whether they would with this product is something that can only be speculated on.


RE: Serious question
By HOOfan 1 on 2/23/2008 3:51:53 PM , Rating: 2
sure they could get a bulk discount, but even at $800 per unit it would be about $800 x average of 2 registers per outlet x 10,000 or so locations in the US = $16M


RE: Serious question
By mcnabney on 2/24/2008 1:20:23 AM , Rating: 3
Lets see. More like 5 per McDonalds, 31,000 restaurants worldwide at $800 a pop. That would be 124M just for the devices. Add new/modified POS stations, replacements (are these milkshake proof?), support, and training. That would be a half billion dollar project. Not going to happen.


RE: Serious question
By DeepBlue1975 on 2/23/2008 8:29:31 PM , Rating: 2
True. It was not meant for corporate use from the beginning, but rather targeted towards the wealthy gaming crowd out there.

Problem is, when they first talked about this keyboard (mid 2005 I think, with an ETA of late 2005 that was obviously a little delayed) the cost was said to be much less than this.

IT professionals don't need a gizmo like this. We just need standard qwerty layout, and we usually don't look at the keys while we type.
CAD professionals might benefit from it and in many industrial applications in which you don't need to type but to "trigger actions" for very specific applications could be useful too, for example disabling keys that are not allowed in certain contexts, etc.

Macdonalds and the likes? touchscreens. having a $1500 keyboard with more than one hundred keys could be a bit cumbersome.

From a personal standpoint, I'm so much more interested in voice recognition than this. I'm even trying a software which can take voice input to type text messages on my cell phone (voicemode for symbian, in case someone is interested in stuff like this)


RE: Serious question
By danrien on 2/23/2008 5:15:23 PM , Rating: 2
When I go to a fast food restaurant the keyboards I see are already customizable... they just have an insert where they insert little pieces of paper with the menu items, and the computer is programmed to know which key means what. a lot cheaper, and as easy to implement.


RE: Serious question
By retrospooty on 2/23/2008 6:07:30 PM , Rating: 1
True, they are. This is new tech, and its expensive. Several years from now when its cheap it will be all over the place, and likely no-one will remember the optimus maximus, but the tech behind it will be all over the place.


RE: Serious question
By sgtdisturbed47 on 2/23/2008 3:20:58 AM , Rating: 2
You aren't being sarcastic, and the only thing good (?) about this keyboard is the fact that each key is an independent OLED screen.

In my opinion, it's just silly. A keyboard is a keyboard. I've never heard of keyboard enthusiasts, so I don't know how this silly thing is going to be marketed.

At that price tag and what little it offers, I don't see what there is to gain from spending that much on a keyboard. And apparently, it take a lot of force to get the key to register being pressed.

It's a pure geek toy, that's all.


RE: Serious question
By onereddog on 2/23/2008 4:12:59 AM , Rating: 5
Do you not have an imagination?
My god if I had the money I would be all over this.

Think about it:
In photoshop you can hold ctrl or whatever and the keys will change and display all you shortcuts or macros.
Space flights sims will finally make sense.


RE: Serious question
By Urkis on 2/23/2008 9:52:52 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah you can make some pretty cool educational games with this too (the game "memory" comes to mind). However, doesn't OLED suffer from burn-in? That would be the most serious flaw since most keys will remain fairly static. Perhaps you can run some kind of "key saver" software on it?


RE: Serious question
By MrBungle on 2/23/2008 5:41:15 PM , Rating: 2
Here's an imaginative idea: save $1500 by printing out a list of macros and putting that next to your keyboard.

Then spend that $1500 on something other than a keyboard!


RE: Serious question
By spartan014 on 2/25/2008 4:18:50 AM , Rating: 2
...

And once you get too cozy with your Optimus Maximus and
WHAM..!! You can now work only on your own machine..

To be more precise..

You are at your friend's place and can't remember that
particular key combination because OM has spoiled you...


RE: Serious question
By psychobriggsy on 2/23/2008 9:23:42 AM , Rating: 2
It looks strong enough to use to bludgeon someone to death as well.

There's enough flight sim buffs and rich geeks to give this product a market, if the key stiffness is resolved.

In five to ten years, now the tech and drivers are mostly done, you'll be able to get an OLED keyboard for $200 that performs better than this.


RE: Serious question
By semo on 2/23/2008 9:31:22 AM , Rating: 3
one thing you people don't get. this keyboard isn't for geeks or "keyboard enthusiasts" but for people that spend 20k (pick a currency) on a bathtub. it's for rich kids' bachelor pads.

no one needs to look at their keyboard for photoshop shortcuts or which key brings up the knife in cs. it's like race cars with with traction control and an ac. a boy racer might buy a drop top clk but a pro racer knows better.

so to sum up: this oled keyboard is not for enthusiasts and professionals


RE: Serious question
By JohnQuar on 2/23/2008 10:09:50 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
no one needs to look at their keyboard for photoshop shortcuts or which key brings up the knife in cs. it's like race cars with with traction control and an ac. a boy racer might buy a drop top clk but a pro racer knows better.


Great point, I was getting excited about the idea of the keyboard but you are exactly right, I'm thinking it would be more of a distraction than anything.


RE: Serious question
By semo on 2/23/2008 11:43:45 AM , Rating: 2
i'll admit that learners might need to look at the keys for shortcuts or what not. but even then it will be cheaper to buy a 2nd monitor and show a virtual keyboard on it or even draw a picture of a keyboard in paint.

this product isn't meant for practical uses at its current price point


RE: Serious question
By retrospooty on 2/23/2008 9:58:15 AM , Rating: 2
Its really useful for customized business apps. The possibilities are limitless. That is the current audience, not really consumers.


RE: Serious question
By JustTom on 2/23/2008 11:31:18 AM , Rating: 2
What sort of custom business apps?


RE: Serious question
By Xodus Maximus on 2/23/2008 11:45:18 AM , Rating: 2
Excel Mobile, spreadsheets on the go, for those that can't budget while sitting at a desk, duh


RE: Serious question
By Xodus Maximus on 2/24/2008 1:44:33 AM , Rating: 2
Ignore my comment, it seems I confused this thread with the Zune XNA one, oops


RE: Serious question
By Omega215D on 2/23/2008 3:50:22 PM , Rating: 2
The real question is: Will it be able to Transform?


RE: Serious question
By Chernobyl68 on 2/24/2008 2:25:49 AM , Rating: 2
sigh...I really wish more keyboards would come in an ergonomic style.


At this price
By Xodus Maximus on 2/22/2008 10:57:45 PM , Rating: 2
It is probably easier to buy a touchscreen LCD monitor, with virtual keyboard software, and pretend its a keyboard.

Seriously, why did he not just use one giant screen for the keyboard, with a touch overlay...silly... and it probably would have looked cooler to use a monocolor display with the ability to change the background colors via different LEDs, cheaper too.




RE: At this price
By littlebitstrouds on 2/22/2008 11:52:33 PM , Rating: 4
ZOMG, it costs more money to buy a CD burner and burn the disc, what a useless technology. This was an augment once... Why is stupidity running wild here. Just cause it's a first time product offering, doesn't mean the damn concept is flawed. My God people, wait for it to get cheaper and you'll all want one. Is it me, or is this fact not painfully obvious?

As per what the responses should be:
Oh man, that's awesome. I can't wait until the technology gets cheaper and I can use one of these in my own home.


RE: At this price
By marsbound2024 on 2/23/2008 12:04:55 AM , Rating: 2
I don't think no one is saying that it isn't a neat and usable concept. The fact is that it is a $1564 keyboard that displays pictures and allows you to program the keys to do different things than just "A" or "B" or whatever. We have better things to do with our money at the moment. I'll want one when it is below $100.

So I don't think it is stupidity sir... the facts are:
Apparently OLED tech has not matured enough to be viable in consumer products that are as simple and cheap as a keyboard.
If they want a product like this to be competitive, they probably should have considered OTHER means of making a programmable keyboard like this. It is pretty cheap to make such small LCD/LED screens that function exactly like this does. Think of the BIOS error code screens on some motherboards. It isn't that expensive to make. If you have to have beautiful color, it is still cheap.

How much does the average 17" or 19" LCD monitor cost nowadays? Cheap right? Now think of the area needed for a keyboard that shows pictures like this one. Not anywhere near that much area. So... even cheaper! Why the $1564 price tag? THAT'S why we are all so negative about it. The concept is great... the price tag and the execution of that concept... not as much.


RE: At this price
By masher2 (blog) on 2/23/2008 2:59:21 PM , Rating: 2
> "How much does the average 17" or 19" LCD monitor cost nowadays? Cheap right? Now think of the area needed for a keyboard that shows pictures like this one"

Think of the thickness of your average LCD screen (generally about 2 inches) then add to that key travel space, and you've got an extremely bulky item. Not to mention the fact that each individual key would need its own light source, LCD driver circuitry, and so on. OLED screens are generally about the same cost as LCD for very small screen sizes...which (along with size and battery life) is why you see them in so many small devices.


RE: At this price
By littlebitstrouds on 2/23/2008 11:47:13 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I don't think no one is saying that it isn't a neat and usable concept. The fact is that it is a $1564 keyboard that displays pictures and allows you to program the keys to do different things than just "A" or "B" or whatever. We have better things to do with our money at the moment. I'll want one when it is below $100.


quote:
So I don't think it is stupidity sir... the facts are: Apparently OLED tech has not matured enough to be viable in consumer products that are as simple and cheap as a keyboard.


I'm confused... you just agreed with me but pretended it was a rebutle.


RE: At this price
By marsbound2024 on 2/24/2008 12:06:40 AM , Rating: 2
I agreed with part of what you said. The concept is great, but we aren't being stupid as you said. Everybody is so up in arms because of the cost. The fact is, why even introduce it yet when it is obvious OLED must not be mature enough and cost-effective in something so simple as a keyboard. It's not stupidity on our part at all.

So sure, we will all love the technology and probably do right now. But very few will pay $1564 for this keyboard. That is why you are seeing people making comments against this thing.


RE: At this price
By littlebitstrouds on 2/25/2008 12:21:41 AM , Rating: 2
Remind me to introduce something only when it meets your price point.


RE: At this price
By MasterTactician on 2/23/2008 2:23:11 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
It is probably easier to buy a touchscreen LCD monitor

Looks like he's working on that as well:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/28/art-lebedev-kil...


RE: At this price
By James Holden on 2/23/2008 3:50:55 AM , Rating: 2
Star Trek here we come!

I'd way rather have this concept than the Maximus


RE: At this price
By semo on 2/23/2008 12:00:46 PM , Rating: 2
RE: At this price
By Xodus Maximus on 2/23/2008 11:54:44 AM , Rating: 2
Nice Find! That has to be much easier to prototype and manufacture, I wonder why he didn't do that one first.


Reminds me of NASA
By marsbound2024 on 2/22/2008 10:58:32 PM , Rating: 2
Ya know... spending millions of dollars on an ink pen that can write in zero-g... instead of say using a pencil. Now we have a ridiculously expensive keyboard. Why couldn't the keys simply be tiny LCD touch screens if cost was this much of an issue? Or the keys could just be tiny LCD screens embedded into a regular ol' mechanical key with a nice protective cover.

Personally I think having a flat keyboard with embedded LCD touchscreens the size of keys (independent of each other) would be a better route to take if OLED is so prohibitively expensive... I can't think of the justification of buying a keyboard that is more than a couple hundred dollars to be honest, though.




RE: Reminds me of NASA
RE: Reminds me of NASA
By marsbound2024 on 2/22/2008 11:33:44 PM , Rating: 2
Learn something new everyday. But regardless, we all know NASA is notorious for cost overruns at least as well as their questionable use of budget in general. :) Though admittedly I am a big NASA fan because of their amazing contributions.


RE: Reminds me of NASA
By semo on 2/23/2008 9:51:38 AM , Rating: 2
normal pens use just as well apparently

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM9YN7O0MD_index_0.html


RE: Reminds me of NASA
By RIPPolaris on 2/23/2008 12:06:23 PM , Rating: 5
http://xkcd.com/250/

I wouldn't trust snopes too much.


RE: Reminds me of NASA
By psychobriggsy on 2/23/2008 9:31:50 AM , Rating: 2
This has tactile feedback though.

A lot of it, judging from the initial reports. Gives your fingers a workout :)

Each key isn't just a screen, I think there's a tiny computer in each key - enough RAM for the key image (and next key image), and a tiny CPU to do the updates to the display, and a display controller. Also there's not much room in there, miniaturisation costs. In addition there's the research costs to recoup.

In the end they're probably making each key for $5 or so apiece. You get 115. Then there's the case itself, which is far more complex than your usual keyboard and looks really sturdy - a couple of hundred dollars each. Then recouping development costs, then profit ($500 per keyboard, or ~30%, which is fair).


RE: Reminds me of NASA
By marsbound2024 on 2/24/2008 12:09:46 AM , Rating: 2
Why the hell would you have a mini computer in each key? All you need is software. Each key is assigned a tag. The software is responsible for updating that tag and sending the correct information to update the OLED screen under the key. This is running as a background process in whatever operating system you are running. I hope you were not being serious when talking about a mini piece of RAM and a mini CPU.

Sorry if I totally missed the boat with your sense of humor. But if you are being serious (which I don't think so given your statement "Gives your fingers a workout"), then give me a break. :P


RE: Reminds me of NASA
By masher2 (blog) on 2/24/2008 12:43:27 AM , Rating: 2
You can't do it simply with software...you still need a display controller to actually drive the individual displays themselves.

Still, I'm sure the keyboard has just one controller in total, rather than one for each key as the OP stated.


RE: Reminds me of NASA
By marsbound2024 on 2/24/2008 12:52:43 AM , Rating: 2
Lol, ok well yes if we wanted to get really technical. :)

I was quite aware of this (just as your monitor needs a display controller). The main thing I was discounting was the RAM and CPU hypothesis. ;)


I dont get it...
By oggy on 2/22/2008 10:24:45 PM , Rating: 2
...is the redhead a guy?




RE: I dont get it...
By christojojo on 2/22/2008 10:31:00 PM , Rating: 2
Someone needs to go outside. :)


RE: I dont get it...
By Xodus Maximus on 2/22/2008 11:03:34 PM , Rating: 2
I must need to go outside too, because that was the first thing I thought too.

I say its Carrot Top in a bra, he's crazy like that. Click for reference http://www.fugly.com/media/IMAGES/Gross/Carrot_Top...
It could be that snowboarder/skateboarder dude also, but I doubt it.


RE: I dont get it...
By Chris Peredun on 2/23/2008 12:34:39 AM , Rating: 2
I'll give you a hint: Read the filename of the thumbnail. ;)


RE: I dont get it...
By christojojo on 2/23/2008 11:26:53 AM , Rating: 2
RE: I dont get it...
By Xodus Maximus on 2/23/2008 11:51:08 AM , Rating: 2
I see, so the girl has a weird face to begin with and resizing just made it worst.

You just had to go and burst my Carrot Top in a bra bubble, oh well time to move on to Jon Stewart in a thong...


Apple Recon
By BruceLeet on 2/22/2008 10:48:59 PM , Rating: 5
Apple is doing their reconnaissance work disguised as Optimus Maximus before moving to the PC Market.

Design over Function.




This...
By Vim on 2/23/2008 1:16:10 PM , Rating: 2
Is very star wars-ish, imo.




RE: This...
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/23/2008 9:36:54 PM , Rating: 2
I disagree. If you mean Star-Trekish then I would point you to the Microsoft Surface, which is VERY Star-Trekish.
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/


Weak!
By ricera10 on 2/22/2008 10:28:26 PM , Rating: 2
I think it just means the guys at Engadget need to work out their finger muscles. If you're going to type on a tank, you'd better need fingers capable of driving that tank!




By 67STANG on 2/22/2008 10:43:40 PM , Rating: 2
Reminds me of the "registers" they use at McDonalds... employees are not the greatest at math, so they put pictures of the food items there instead of prices...

Unfortunately, this is 2 months wages for a McDonalds employee...




By EndPCNoise on 2/23/2008 1:17:28 AM , Rating: 2
Doh! I just spilled my coffee all over the damn thing!




Too bad... oh and notice the girls?
By Belard on 2/23/2008 4:42:06 AM , Rating: 2
This is the first of such a product. Perhaps in another few more years when OLED tech is cheaper and more developerment for a better keyboard will come out.

After two years, the developers of this keyboard should have ACTUALLY used it to see how much of a pain it us to use. For some of us, the feel of a keyboard is important and is why we pay $20, $40, $100 for a keyboard. Those OLD IBM keyboard like the one showed above is one of the best ones ever made. In fact, I am using a keyboard that I bought in 1998... Its a Lite-On, Very simular to the MS-Natual. The letters haven't worn off because its not made as cheaply as todays $50~100 keyboards that USE DECALS!!

I paid $28 for this thing. It so old, it has an AT-keyboard connector (not PS2) Yet a $70 Logitech or Microsoft keyboard uses bloody DECALS!? Its gonna suck when this thing dies.

The problem with this OLED keyboard is not that the keys are mechanical (I grew up with such keyboards in the 80s) - but bad design.

In the prototypes they showed, unless they used photo-shop, you couldn't see the screens themselves. Like they used dark smoked plastic.

Hey, Anyone else see the two nudish girls on the User-Keys? Its red. They are the girls from Tat-too, Russian lesbian duo. ;) Why is there a key for that?

There is a future for these types of keyboard, but it'll be a few more years.




No chance
By martinrichards23 on 2/23/2008 8:25:12 AM , Rating: 2
The people who designed this are looking the wrong way through the telescope. A simple touch screen would be far cheaper and easier to use.

This reminds me of when you see guys who have just bought their first car, a crappy old rust bucket, and they do it up with spoilers, paint job, new exhaust etc. but unfortunately all they end up with is a spruced up piece of crap.

The point is that you shouldn't put so much effort into something that is already fundamentally flawed. Yes the keyboard is a very useful tool, but I would like to see a revolutionary replacement.

Also, I look at my monitor, not my keyboard.




By rsasp on 2/23/2008 9:48:26 AM , Rating: 2
like the topic says, who would keep staring at the keyboard? plus the price is outrageous.




Don't They Know?
By Quiescent on 2/24/2008 8:02:00 PM , Rating: 2
Keyboards are just like shoes. You have to break them in. I absolutely hated my new keyboard for about 3 months. And if the Optimus Keyboard is a new keyboard, for sure it's keys will be stiff.

Gotta break 'em in. I'd still get it, if I could afford it!




Best business use?
By junkdubious on 2/25/2008 1:25:19 AM , Rating: 2
I'd say CAD/CAM or the medical industry maybe.




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