The Optimus Keyboard has a date!!

i saw this keyboard in a magazine (maybe cpu: the one kyle has an article in) the price wasnt that bad, i think it was just under $200
 
wow! i've been looking at the logitech diNovo, but damn! that is fantastic.

edit* no more pounding my keyboard in cs.
 
xonik said:
Explain first why it's impractical to operate the keyboard on a wireless signal.
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He says it in his post. Battery life. They do use less power than say an LCD, but still, that many would definitely be bad for a battery. There'd definitely have to be a function to turn off all of the keys when your computer's screensaver goes on. The life of current OLEDs isn't very impressive.
 
cant we just use rechargeable AA/AAAs??

I use them now in my MS Bluetooth KB/Mouse and they work great
 
alkoholik said:
cant we just use rechargeable AA/AAAs??

I use them now in my MS Bluetooth KB/Mouse and they work great
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Well sure, but what if battery life is less than 24 hours? That'd be a pain to recharge so often.

A lot of wireless keyboards don't even have num lock, caps lock etc LEDs on them to save battery life. It's not that it wouldn't work, they just want battery life to be as long as possible.
 
Tengis said:
I would never purchase this... why? I dont look at my keyboard when Im playing games or working in photoshop, I look at the monitor. If you are ignorant to the point that your keys need to be labeled because you dont know how to work something... then why even try?
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I'll have to look into that Matrix style learning process so I instantly know all the key shortcuts to all of my video editing, sonar, max, cad, visual studio and other complicated suites. That way I can use them without ever having to lookup some obscure command key that I may need only occasionally. God knows, I wouldn't want to appear 'ignorant'; my fear of that may even keep me from trying something new.

You must be using the Das Keyboard, it sounds like you don't need any symbols at all.

[edit]

I think it's a great idea, I can forsee it would be very helpful to my productivity. If it is reasonably priced I will certainly be getting one. Actually, work will be getting me one ;)
 
agent420 said:
I'll have to look into that Matrix style learning process so I instantly know all the key shortcuts to all of my video editing, sonar, max, cad, visual studio and other complicated suites. That way I can use them without ever having to lookup some obscure command key that I may need only occasionally. God knows, I wouldn't want to appear 'ignorant'; my fear of that may even keep me from trying something new.
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You probably have a keyboard with labeled keys....why even try using the computer? :p
 
dudewth said:
You probably have a keyboard with labeled keys....why even try using the computer? :p
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As a matter of fact, I do. I can't take the chance of missing Alt-Tab when when boss comes down the hallway and I'm here on the [H] ;)
 
You know...I think I'm going to program all the letter keys (leaving the numbers, shift, enter, etc) with parts of a picture. Gotta think of a cool design now...

Anybody else thought about doing this (provided it's possible, which I'm sure it will be)?
 
Volkum said:
You know...I think I'm going to program all the letter keys (leaving the numbers, shift, enter, etc) with parts of a picture. Gotta think of a cool design now...

Anybody else thought about doing this (provided it's possible, which I'm sure it will be)?
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I always assumed that's what they hand in mind for the screensaver they mentioned.

I'm going to put a nipple on every key.
 
Arkham said:
I always assumed that's what they hand in mind for the screensaver they mentioned.

I'm going to put a nipple on every key.
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Or you coudl have an entire body spread out over alot of keys. It would require some mad editing, but it would be worth it!
 
tskiller said:
Or you coudl have an entire body spread out over alot of keys. It would require some mad editing, but it would be worth it!
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<insert obligatory touch-typing/speed-typing joke here>
 
according this page, it will cost no less than 200-300 usd.

8(
i was hoping for less than 200 because i would definitely pick one up then.

oh yeah, this article was also written back in july 05 and the interviewee says he expects it to see the light of day in a year or so. i think the feb release date is bunk.
 
Haste266 said:
according this page, it will cost no less than 200-300 usd.

8(
i was hoping for less than 200 because i would definitely pick one up then.

oh yeah, this article was also written back in july 05 and the interviewee says he expects it to see the light of day in a year or so. i think the feb release date is bunk.
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That's so old though. It was one of the first (and only) bits of information floating around when this thing first surfaced. I think that link was in the original thread [H]ere, too.

Not that the price is bunk, but the "Feb" date was put on the site months after than interview.
 
if it is $200 or less, one will be mine. i remember when this was posted about a year ago and everyone just thought it was a fake. now that it is real i am really excited :)
 
I might get one for $200, depends on what kind of money I have sitting around when it comes out.

If I get one, we're gonna form a [H] Optimus Keyboard Users club, so we can all share pictures and stuff
tongue.gif
(That and I'm not too experienced with programming stuff, so I'll need to mooch).
 
OLED's use much less power than traditional LCD's. I can't speak for lifespan.
I have 2 friends with the Sony mp3 player with the OLED display, they both tell me the thing lasts for 50 hours on a single charge. I would have to say it draws more power than a traditional keyboard, probably as much as a 5" lcd maybe.
If IF they release the SDK then all will be well, otherwise we will be SOL (unless they release alot of cutomization features with it, or somebody else writes software for it).

I would personally like to have it for asthetic purposes and bragging factor "HAHA, I have breasts on my keyboard that jiggle!" but in reality, its the first of many to come, and if this sells, I see no reason for other manufacturers to not follow.

Check it out: http://www.universaldisplay.com/tech.htm

Oh, and you could just turn them all off if you didn't want to see anything, IE touch typing... or if you knew somebody that didn't know the letters on the keyboard, you know those "peckers", it would virtually fu*k them when they tried to use your computer :D
 
I would LOVE to have this thing in wireless. Hell, I replace my G7 batteries daily, doing the same for my keyboard won't kill me.
 
Neurofreeze said:
There are some precision keyboards out there that easily break the $300 barrier (I was shopping around for some professional Dvorak keyboards a long time back and they were all around $300-450) and they do not have many bells and whistles aside from being nice to push buttons.
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please tell me where you found $300+ keyboards for sale.

As far as the optimus goes, I don't know if I'm looking at a different site, but the optimus site I see says "good news feb. small thing comes in little packages". Maybe if they were planning to sell something they wouldn't market it with a riddle, they would, as a previous poster commented, have a booth a CES and show the world something concrete instead of CGI shit. And just so all the people who are being exposed to the pretty optimus pictures for the first time know: THOSE PICTURES ARE NOT REAL. They are computer generated, there was never and probabbly is still NOT a product that looks like that at all. Also, the designers specified a 16x16 or 32x32 pixel key. If you look at the keyboard, that is way less than what is being used in the graphic. So the art dudes are not even saying anything is comming out in febuary, just that there will be "news" ohhhh. They are great at marketing, i'm eager to see how good they are at producing a product for the consumr. Also, people will buy something pretty and new for considerably more money. Anything apple is an example of that, and if you look at the keys closely, it's an apple keyboard... go figure.

ps. still conserving the penny jar just incase.. :rolleyes:
 
larkin said:
please tell me where you found $300+ keyboards for sale.
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Some of the old Dvorak keyboards went for a lot more than that. And I recall one hand-fitting keyboard that was nearly $1000.

larkin said:
Also, the designers specified a 16x16 or 32x32 pixel key. If you look at the keyboard, that is way less than what is being used in the graphic.
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Did you bother to count? Its 33 x 33 actually, not "way more".

Maybe if they were planning to sell something they wouldn't market it with a riddle, they would, as a previous poster commented, have a booth a CES and show the world something concrete
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Certainly they won't have a product in February, nor the near future after that. It doesn't mean its all smoke and mirrors, however. Many innovative products experience lengthy, unexpected delays.

if you look at the keys closely, it's an apple keyboard... go figure.
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I seriously doubt they'd design an entire keyboard from scratch. Much cheaper to use what parts they can from existing production lines.
 
masher said:
Some of the old Dvorak keyboards went for a lot more than that. And I recall one hand-fitting keyboard that was nearly $1000.
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That's great but my question was WHERE did u see that(link, name or phone#). I didn't ask if you were serious.

masher said:
Did you bother to count? Its 33 x 33 actually, not "way more".
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the enter buttons whose pixels seem to fade into infinity is more, and so are a quarter of the other non letter keys

masher said:
Certainly they won't have a product in February, nor the near future after that. It doesn't mean its all smoke and mirrors, however. Many innovative products experience lengthy, unexpected delays.
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Yeah, and there's a dozen quotes in this thread anticipating the product in feb, i'm saying don't expect it.

masher said:
I seriously doubt they'd design an entire keyboard from scratch. Much cheaper to use what parts they can from existing production lines.
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you've missed my point here. why so defensive
 
Well I took the Apple keyboard comment to mean it looks like something that'd be connected to a Mac. As in graphically. As in they were displaying it with mac graphics on the keys, though I can't recall what those keyboards look like off the top of my head... I just looked at it and thought, hey that looks like a Mac keyboard. Of course, the graphic can be changed.
 
larkin said:
That's great but my question was WHERE did u see that(link, name or phone#). I didn't ask if you were serious.
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It sounded as if you were doubtful. And after ten years, I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but PC Mag used to run ads on them.

the enter buttons whose pixels seem to fade into infinity is more, and so are a quarter of the other non letter keys
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My mistake. You are correct.

Yeah, and there's a dozen quotes in this thread anticipating the product in feb, i'm saying don't expect it.
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The feb. date is for a keyboard add-on, not a full keyboard...as one could have expected form the "good things come in small packages" quote on the site.

you've missed my point here. why so defensive
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Why? Because I've got a few hundred thousand invested in this company, of course! Actually, I'm wondering where the hell you decided I was being "defensive", merely by pointing out that most of the parts would obviously be lifted from existing keyboards.
 
I think the coolest thing would be like if you play FPSs and all of a sudden when you get shot your keyboard goes red like blood.

Or... for Flight simulators, you could have a control for each of the keys. Like airspeed on some of the letters.

Endless possibilites really... under $200 and its mine.
 
clickclickw00t said:
I think the coolest thing would be like if you play FPSs and all of a sudden when you get shot your keyboard goes red like blood.

Or... for Flight simulators, you could have a control for each of the keys. Like airspeed on some of the letters.

Endless possibilites really... under $200 and its mine.
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OMG the best idea I've heard in this entire thread... if you mapped the keys to actually show pictures of what it controls... or at least make it a bit more clear... flight simulators require more control than any game IMO...

Of course then you'd still have the problem of no sensitivity like you get from a joystick. Bah.
 
clickclickw00t said:
I think the coolest thing would be like if you play FPSs and all of a sudden when you get shot your keyboard goes red like blood.

Or... for Flight simulators, you could have a control for each of the keys. Like airspeed on some of the letters.

Endless possibilites really... under $200 and its mine.
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Is it just me, or is $200 far to much to ask for a damn keyboard? Looking at airspeed on keys would be a pain in the ass...if you want a spare display pick up a g15.

TBH I think it's a novelty, and a friggin expensive one at that. Instead, buy another video card with that money and keep your eyes on the damn monitor where they belong.
 
DudeItsMe said:
OMG the best idea I've heard in this entire thread... if you mapped the keys to actually show pictures of what it controls... or at least make it a bit more clear... flight simulators require more control than any game IMO...

Of course then you'd still have the problem of no sensitivity like you get from a joystick. Bah.
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Thanks dude. At first I thought you were being sarcastic.

But yea, some flight simulators are SUCH a pain in the ass. I don't think this keyboard is the ultimate in price, but for bragging rights etc, I think its worth the money IF YOU HAVE IT.

The possiblites for things displaying on the side keys are ENDless.

1) new email
2) weather/temperate
3) case fan speed
4) case temperate
5) time
6) etc etc etc
 
quadnad said:
Is it just me, or is $200 far to much to ask for a damn keyboard? Looking at airspeed on keys would be a pain in the ass...if you want a spare display pick up a g15.

TBH I think it's a novelty, and a friggin expensive one at that. Instead, buy another video card with that money and keep your eyes on the damn monitor where they belong.
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Exactly, I wouldnt buy a keyboard to look at it.
 
And it dosnt occur to you that its STILL just a keyboard? $200 in itself is still a bit much, could be saved towards something you can really use.
 
Emission said:
And it dosnt occur to you that its STILL just a keyboard? $200 in itself is still a bit much, could be saved towards something you can really use.
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Something like what man? I don't need 150+ fps in games. I don't need dual SLI. I don't need hardcore graphics.If medium detail runs as 60-70 fps I'm more than satisfied.

I'd rather experiment with some new technology. Just my 2 cents
 
I can't remember the time I've looked at my keyboard.

On the desktop or in a game, ever. It only has markings on it because that's how they are sold.

Initially, I thought this was awesome, and I'd drop cash on one to have it.

But... I'm never going to look at the damn thing.
 
clickclickw00t said:
Something like what man? I don't need 150+ fps in games. I don't need dual SLI. I don't need hardcore graphics.If medium detail runs as 60-70 fps I'm more than satisfied.

I'd rather experiment with some new technology. Just my 2 cents
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So your saying mini-screens in the keys is new technology? They couldve done this years ago! Its just a mini-LCD lineup, nothing special.
 
Emission said:
So your saying mini-screens in the keys is new technology? They couldve done this years ago! Its just a mini-LCD lineup, nothing special.
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And I suppose you thought of the internet in 1960?
 
DudeItsMe said:
OMG the best idea I've heard in this entire thread... if you mapped the keys to actually show pictures of what it controls... or at least make it a bit more clear... flight simulators require more control than any game IMO...

Of course then you'd still have the problem of no sensitivity like you get from a joystick. Bah.
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IMO Flight Simulators definately take the highest level of control, especially if your playing a Janes. I'm looking foward to seeing this KBB in action. If it is all that it's cracked up to be, I'll spend up to $300 on one but no more.
 
I think they should incorporate force-feedback into the keyboard as well. A key could vibrate when you got e-mail or for a FPS the direction key could vibrate from the direction you got hit...

:p
 
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