I can’t say there are too many times when my living room couch potato time calls for a wireless keyboard to be at hand, but if I owned some sort of home media center it might come in handy, but what about the mouse? Cideko’s new Air Keyboard incorporates not only a full QWERTY keyboard and shoulder mouse buttons, but an air gyration mouse for navigating your favorite websites. They spec it at a 50 hour battery life and a matching 50 meter range. No word on price or a street date, but since it was on hand at Computex 2009 I’d say any day now.
This is the first I’ve heard of, or at least recall Lifeworks, but the recently founded company has just signed a licensing deal with iHome and from the looks of it they’re churning out some cool iPod integrated products. I’m particularly fond of the iConnect Media keyboard, which also comes in a Mac specific flavor. Integrated into the keyboard is an iPod dock with media controls and 2 rotating USB ports. It’s not exactly ground breaking, but it certainly does look svelte and sexy. Also of note is their iStand Notebook Media Center, which is just brand speak for a notebook stand with an iPod dock, speakers, 2 USB ports and touch sensitive volume controls. The complete line will launch sometime this summer and cost $149.99 and $299.99 respectively.
Now, I’m really kicking myself for purchasing a Logitech diNovo Mac Keyboard. Why? If I held out a bit longer I could have picked up Brando’s Slim Keyboard with Smart Touchpad. With the flip of a switch the touch sensitive numeric keypad can be converted into a multitouch touchpad with left and right mouse buttons. On top of all that it’s RF wireless and just 18mm thick. Yours for $69.
If you’ve ever feverishly performed busy work on your computer that requires you to go from keyboard to mouse, than you know how cumbersome the experience can be. That’s why I like working on my laptop, because I never have to move my hands too far from the keyboard. The Combimouse is a mouse and a full QWERTY keyboard combined into one. The left portion of the device is a standard keyboard, with the exception e of a scroll wheel and bar key. The right portion, though is both the right side of the keyboard as well as a mouse. It features a contact switch that while touched enables mouse mode, rendering all keys useless accept for I, O, J, K, L, which double as mouse buttons. Surprisingly, the Combimouse has been in development since 1999, so I have serious doubts as to whether this thing will come to market. Nonetheless, I applaud its inventors for their ingenuity.
Although it’s far from rivaling the Art Lebedev keyboards, the Luxeed L5 LED keyboard does run a good second. And now the company has a second iteration of the device that is Mac/Linux compatible, and includes an improved keystroke system as well as a fix for a previous ghosting issue. Hit the video below to see the Luxeed’s color rainbow like abilities. No word on a US launch but the previous version is going for $199 on ThinkGeek.
PC gaming is just that. It’s not Mac gaming. Mac gaming may never see the true light of day due to the endless upgradable components found in high end PC gaming rigs. The Lycosa Mirror Special Edition Gaming KeyBoard by Razer is a fully programmable macros backlit gaming keyboard for the PC.
Looking like it belongs in the Matrix, the Lycosa is a sleek and sexy keyboard and is quite the looker. Even the packaging was positively sharp and draped in gamer sheen. A little big in size, the Lycosa will need some extra space around your set up. Here’s a brief rundown of the Lycosa’s features:
High gloss mirror finish keytop
Backlit illumination with WASD cluster lighting option
Fully-programmable keys with macro capability
Gaming cluster with selective anti-ghosting capability
Slim keycap structure with Hyperesponse technology
TouchPanel easy access media keys
Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key
10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching
Some of you may not be aware of such a device as a ‘gameboard’. For those uninitiated, a gameboard is a device sitting to one side of your keyboard designed to allow for better gaming through improved ergonomics and extended functionality. This is the sort of extra functionality that could make the difference between the virtual wins and losses in competitive digital gaming. The difference between the pwner and the pwned. …Continue reading: Gadget Review: G13 Gameboard by Logitech
February 12th, 2009 5:05 AM | by Christen da Costa
Boy life might be good for LG, but is it good enough to warrant the production of the LBA-C300 Bluetooth Qwerty Card? I don’t think too much of an explanation is needed, but in case you’re were wondering, yes, it connects to your LG phone via Bluetooth and let’s you send/receive texts, set an alarm and stopwatch, dial out, remotely control your phone’s camera and probably send emails. Based on those 4 cooper circles on its back, I’m assuming there is some sort of charging cradle for the device, or perhaps its the keyboard for the leaked LG VX9600 Versa we recently saw.
No word on when the LG LBA-C300 will hit the store shelves, but good news, it just passed through the FCC.
I suppose it’s indicative that design goes hand in hand with culture, but I find it amusing that there is a keyboard out there that allows you to fast abbreviate all you favorite IM sayings. The Fast Fingers Keyboard has three functions: a standard QWERTY, an annoying ABC setup, and a “F” button mode that lets you get your OMF’nG on. I think it’s safe to say that this has teenager written all over it, cuz my grandma could care less.
