Jan 03
Remember that BlackBerry keyboard-looking case for the iPhone that popped up at the tail end of 2013? Looks like BlackBerry saw it too, and they weren’t too happy about how … Continue reading
Jan 03
Iconic ZX Spectrum Home Computer Of The ’80s To Be Reborn As Retro Gaming Keyboard For iOS
Posted in: Today's Chili
In the U.K., the iconic 8-bit home computer of the 1980s was the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Few keyboards have surely been pounded as hard as the Spectrum’s rubberised complement of grey rectangles.
Released in 1982, the 48K computer-in-a-keyboard was last produced in 1990. But if this Kickstarter campaign (from veteran Spectrum games dev Elite) hits its funding target then the ZX Spectrum will be reborn as a Bluetooth keyboard for iOS, initially, with plans to add support for Android, Windows Phone, PCs and Macs down the line.
Elite is seeking £60,000 (~$99,000) in crowdfunding to fund production of the first 1,000 units and bring the Spectrum back to life. The Bluetooth ZX Spectrum will be able to be used, not so much as a tough-to-type-on Bluetooth keyboard, but to recreate that authentic rubbery Spectrum gaming experience in conjunction with future app releases from Elite that will be available to buy from the iTunes App Store (and later from Google Play, Amazon’s App Store and Microsoft’s Windows Store).
The Bluetooth ZX Spectrum keyboard will also be backwards compatible with Elite’s existing ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection apps — which feature Spectrum gaming classics such as Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner, Cybernoid, Monty on The Run and Skool Daze (to name a few). The apps will be sold separately to the keyboard — which is being priced at £50 to early Kickstarter backers (which includes Elite app credit and delivery in the U.K.).
The Bluetooth ZX Spectrum keyboard may also work with some third party apps — so you could use it for other keyboardy functions, albeit the form factor was never designed for speedy touch-typing — but Elite notes that compatibility cannot be guaranteed.
Elite is licensing the ZX Spectrum trademark and has been granted the right to replicate the Spectrum’s form factor — and says it’s the only company that has been granted that right from the IP holder.
Nostalgia fans should direct their clicks to Elite’s Kickstarter page. The company has raised £17,000 of its £60k target so far — from more than 280 backers, and with 28 days left to run on the campaign. If successful they are aiming to ship the Bluetooth ZX Spectrum keyboard to backers next September.
Dec 26
A couple of years ago the Commodore 64 was reborn with upgraded specs (although the company behind it seems to have folded now). This year it’s the Sinclair ZX Spectrum’s turn to get an update. Actually it’s more of a downgrade. A company called Elite Systems has acquired the right to make officially licensed Bluetooth keyboards that look like the Spectrum. Yep, just a keyboard. Maybe tinkerers can cram a couple of Raspberry Pis in it.
Elite Systems already ported a collection of ZX Spectrum games to iOS, so this keyboard should be the best way to play those games. The image above is not of a mockup, but it’s not a prototype of the Bluetooth keyboard either. That’s an actual Sinclair ZX Spectrum next to an iPad, but Elite Systems says that there’s no better way to visualize what their final product will look like anyway.
The company has set up a Kickstarter for the keyboard, but I’m not going to bother sharing the fundraiser’s video here. Let’s just say they need to hire some PR guys. Pledge at least £50 (~$80 USD) on Kickstarter to get a Bluetooth ZX Spectrum as a reward. Or, head over to eBay UK, where you can pick up an actual ZX Spectrum for about the same price.
Dec 24
While users of both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 will still be using standard controllers for first-person-shooters for the foreseeable future, the creator of XIM is hard at … Continue reading
Dec 14
There are already plug-and-play third-party devices that let you play previous gen consoles or a PC using any of their controllers. For instance, you can use a Wiimote with your PS3 if you want. There’s no equivalent product for the PlayStation 4 just yet, but Marcos Mori de Siqueira of Softfactory is onto something here. He hacked a Dualshock 4 controller to send input from a mouse and keyboard to the PS 4.
I’m not even going to pretend that I fully understood what Marcos pulled off, but from what I grokked he used a microcontroller (plus two digital-to-analog converters for emulating the thumbsticks) to turn signals from his keyboard – in this case a Logitech Gameboard – and mouse into signals that the PS4 understands, sent via the Dualshock 4′s circuit board. All in all it took him about $50 (USD) of materials and a ton of solder to make the mod. Skip to about 1:55 in the video to see the mod in action.
Check out Marcos’ post on Softfactory for more details on his mod. Seeing as FPS and MMOs are still popular, I wonder why Sony and Microsoft don’t just add support for keyboards and mice on their consoles. They can probably earn extra from certifying third party hardware if they did that. It’ll make it way easier to search for content on their online stores too.
[via Hack A Day]
Dec 08
Are all keyboards created equal? The correct answer would be, no. After all, there are so many different kinds of keyboards to choose from, where it is further broken down into musical as well as computer keyboards. Well, this time around, we will be talking about the musical keyboard, so here is the $99.99 Xkey USB mobile MIDI keyboard which should be able to get budding enthusiasts begin to compose their own sonatas in no time at all.
The Xkey USB mobile MIDI keyboard would arrive with polyphonic aftertouch, letting one play with class, making it ready to meet all of your recording and performing needs head on. It is extremely thin in its form factor, not to mention lightweight for easy portability. Those who are on a tight budget would definitely do well to take a closer look at it, since it comes loaded with features which are more often than not found in higher priced models. Connecting it to a computer is a snap, as it does so via USB, sipping extremely little amounts of energy. It sports full sized keys, 128 levels of velocity sensitivity, and polyphonic aftertouch to boot.
[ Xkey USB mobile MIDI keyboard sports polyphonic aftertouch copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Nov 30
We here at Technabob are big fans of Richard “Datamancer” Nagy, the craftsman responsible for high quality steampunk computers and accessories. Sadly Datamancer passed away earlier this week. While that may be stunning news to his fans, it’s even more of a loss to his family. As a token of respect and goodwill, eBay user bruteforce1889 is auctioning off a keyboard made and signed by Richard.
Bruteforce1889 will donate all of the proceeds from the auction to Richard’s family.
You can bid for the keyboard on eBay. Rest in peace Richard.
[via Boing Boing]
Nov 22
The fabled Nokia tablet is finally out in the real world, going by the name Nokia Lumia 2520 and looking every bit like the Lumia smartphone-inspired slate the world expected. What might not have been expected quite so much by the Nokia-hungry fans in our environment was the keyboard add-on. This Nokia Power Keyboard attaches […]
Nov 19
Genius has unveiled a new Bluetooth keyboard that is sized specifically for use with the Apple iPad mini. The new keyboard is called the LuxePad i9010 and it uses Bluetooth 3.0. The keyboard is also designed to clip onto the front of the iPad mini to provide protection to the iPad screen. The keyboard is […]
Nov 16
Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. has made a name for themselves in the past with a slew of gaming peripherals that could hold their own against the very best. Well, the company is far from done just yet, where their latest piece of hardware to roll out would be the S.T.R.I.K.E. M mobile keyboard. Even better news is, the S.T.R.I.K.E. M mobile keyboard is tipped to ship in time for the holiday season this year, enabling you to further expand your holiday shopping list just in case you have run out of ideas on what to get the regular nerd in your life.
First of all, the Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. M mobile keyboard would arrive in a tablet sized footprint, which would make it ideal for mobile use. Not only that, it has also been specially designed to interface with a wide variety of platforms and smart devices, where among them would include the company’s upcoming M.O.J.O. Micro-Console for Android. In order to keep up with the times, the S.T.R.I.K.E. M would also arrive with NFC technology, where it would enable gamers to hook up the keyboard through the simple act of tapping it to a compatible device. Just in case you are working with products that do not come with NFC compatibility, there will always be integrated Bluetooth connectivity for a greater degree of connectivity among the likes of smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Apart from that, the S.T.R.I.K.E. M mobile keyboard would also boast of micro P.U.L.S.E. scissor keys which deliver crisp actuation with a tactile click response, as well as an Optical Finger Navigation (OFN) Mouse Sensor with dedicated mouse buttons. It will be powered by a rechargeable lithium polymer battery which would in turn, power the backlight on the S.T.R.I.K.E. M so that you can continue gaming/working in darkened environments. Dedicated media buttons with volume scroll wheel and on board memory have lso been thrown into the mix to stash multiple macro commands. Expect to pick up the Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. M in shades of gloss black, gloss white and gloss red.
Press Release
[ Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. M mobile keyboard announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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