In a “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” type paradox, this multifunctional smartphone accessory has mysterious origins. Did someone slap a backup battery on a mediocre Bluetooth keyboard as a redeeming feature, or was a Bluetooth keyboard added to a backup battery for added value and more incentive to carry it around? More »
Because even germaphobes deserve nice things, today Logitech unveiled its new K310 washable keyboard with a snazzy waterproof design that can be scrubbed and submerged in up to 11 inches of water. So it’s perfect for the next time a sneezy co-worker uses your computer. More »
The new Logitech Washable K310 keyboard features laser-printed and UV-coated keys, so they don’t fade after a cleaning. The keyboard is equipped with holes on its back to help drain water. It is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The Logitech Washable Keyboard K310 will be available in Europe this October for a suggested retail price of $39.99. [Logitech]
As keyboards eventually move towards dead silent and touch screen, you’ll rue the loss of clickity, clackity keyboards filled with character. Hell, we’re already without the beautiful racket of typewriters. Click, tap, tap, reset. It’s the sound of work and art at the same time. So combining a typewriter with an iPad? That’s a sound I love to hear. [YouTube via Kottke] More »
More likely than not, when you think of Synaptics you think of its touchpads. Or maybe, if you’re a mobile aficionado, you know it for its touchscreens, used in phones like the HTC One X and Sony Xperia P. Now, though, the company is about to start making another kind of tactile product: keyboards. That thing you see up there is ThinTouch, a keyboard Synaptics will supply to PC makers looking for ways to make their Ultrabooks even thinner. Indeed, the keyboard is said to be up to 50 percent thinner than its competitors, and Synaptics’ big pitch to OEMs is that a thinner keyboard allows for slimmer PCs, with room for larger batteries (now that we need). The company is also promising stronger backlighting, since the keys sit close to the substrate and there aren’t rubber domes blocking the light source. Lastly, there’s a capacitive sensor underneath the keyboard, allowing the laptop’s touchpad to be disabled automatically while you’re typing. (Naturally, this works best if the trackpad is also made by Synaptics.) The company is also developing a feature in which the space bar could be a touch sensor in and of itself, with support for functions like autocomplete.
Perhaps our biggest question is how much travel these keys will have — after all, the last thing anyone needs is another shallow Ultrabook keyboard. Synaptics reps told us the company isn’t yet ready to share such technical details, though we did get to compare Synaptics’ keys with its competitors (see the image after the break). At first blush, it seemed just as flat, but not flatter, but we’ll reserve full judgement until we can use the keyboard for an extended period of time. Also no word on which PC makers will take a chance on the ThinTouch, but Synaptics says the keyboard will start shipping sometime in 2013.
Gallery: Synaptics ThinTouch keyboard
Filed under: Laptops
Synaptics enters the keyboard market, announces the ThinTouch keyboard aimed at Ultrabooks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Razer has unveiled the new DeathStalker Ultimate gaming keyboard. What makes this gaming keyboard special is that it features the Razer Switchblade User Interface, which allows the touchscreen and 10 buttons above the screen to have custom programmable icons. The Razer DeathStalker Ultimate is powered by the Razer Synapse 2.0, which enables the keyboard to automatically save all of a user’s custom settings and profiles on a cloud server. What’s more, it also supports an anti-ghosting infrastructure of up to 10 keys in game mode. The Razer DeathStalker Ultimate gaming keyboard will be released in September 2012 for $249.99. [Press Release]
Mad Catz Interactive has rolled out the STRIKE 7 professional gaming keyboard for PC. The STRIKE 7 features a unique modular design and the V.E.N.O.M. touchscreen interface. This unique touchscreen interface allows gamers to launch video games or applications, deploy custom macro commands, program chat, game, media settings at the swipe of a finger. The Mad Catz STRIKE 7 gaming keyboard is now available for $299.99 each. Video after the jump.
[Engadget]
If you take your gaming seriously, a stock keyboard is never going to cut it. Right at the other end of the spectrum, however, is this thing: the Mad Catz Strike 7, which is perhaps the most insane gaming keyboard ever made. More »
Genius has decided to release the Imperator MMO/RTS gaming keyboard in the United States and Canada. As part of the GX Gaming Series, the Imperator Pro features 6 programmable macro keys under 3 game profiles, allowing gamers to assign up to 18 macro keys. This gaming keyboard also provides fully customizable 16 million RGB backlight with three levels of brightness and a pulsating mode with three speed settings such as slow, medium and fast. Additional specs include a durable braided cable with an anti-corrosive gold-plated USB jack and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. The Genius Imperator Pro gaming keyboard retails for $99.90 a pop. Watch the video after the jump.
Choosing the path less taken by connecting to a device using NFC in lieu of the more common Bluetooth, Elecom’s new TK-FNS040BK wireless keyboard skips the hassle of having to always pair with your gear at the cost of a considerably limited range. More »
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