Hasta La Gadget!

Hey, Scrabble geeks-even if you can’t play the addictive game 24/7, at least you can pretend with the Scrabble keyboard. Although not (yet) for sale, the Scrabble keyboard is made from real Scrabble tiles that were all hand-beveled and built into a USB, clicky, mechanical-switch keyboard. Granted, not all of the keys, like the Caps lock key, are original Scrabble pieces, but for the most part, the keys are authentic.

The keyboard’s creator received such a positive response, that a note was added on Jan. 19 saying a batch of keyboards is being considered for the near future. The legality of the Scrabble name could be an issue. “Please don’t sue me, Hasbro, I’m just a guy in a garage over here!” said the keyboard’s creator.

Here’s hoping Hasbro lets him make more of those keyboards, because playing online Scrabble with the Scrabble keyboard would make it just that much more fun.

Take it from us, kids. Computer use — with its carpal tunnel-wrecking input devices, spine-bending office chairs and eye-straining displays — can wreak havoc on the body of even the healthiest young blogger. And even though there are a million products out there to help us work in a more ergonomically correct fashion, many of them seem just plain silly. If you’re looking for something that actually looks like it belongs on a desk, however, be sure to check out the Smartfish Pro:Motion Keyboard. Pretty standard gear, except that it’s outfitted with motors that subtly shift the keyboard’s angle throughout the day — ostensibly eliminating the cause of repetitive stress injuries. If this weren’t enough, the device can track your typing speed and self-adjusts its angle and separation according to your needs. There have been no clinical trials for the device yet, but if you’re desperate for relief — or feeling daredevilish — you’re not gonna let that stop ya, right?

[Via Everything USB]

Read: Pro:Motion Peripherals [caution: PDF]

Filed under: Peripherals

Smartfish Pro:Motion Keyboard prevents carpal tunnel syndrome, bops ’round your desk originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Eee train won’t stop until all consumer electronics have been assimilated. Today Asus introduced the world to the Eee Keyboard, a full-sized keyboard with built-in PC including WiFi (and Ethernet), speaker, mic, and 5-inch interactive display and touchscreen. It weighs less than 2 pounds and connects to existing displays. Well, it would if it was more than a concept, which, knowing Asus, means someday soon.

Gallery: Asus Eee Keyboard revealed

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

Asus’ Eee Keyboard revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flush with the success of its G13 gameboard, Logitech is now creating a whole series of peripherals that will all work together to celebrate the seventh letter of the alphabet. The G-series line includes a new $199 G19 keyboard, offering a 320 x 240 color LCD mounted on top and 12 “G-keys” that can have up to three macros assigned to each. Next up is the $129 G35, a 7.1 surround-sound headset with integrated “voice-morphing” options for those who’d rather sound like a space squirrel than domestic gamer. Finally, there’s a new flavor of the G9 mouse, dubbed the G9x, which loses the photo-overlay in favor of a maximum DPI of 5000 — that’s a whole 1800 more than before! Those extra dots will set you back $99 when the G9x releases in April, while the keyboard and headset should come about a month earlier.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals

Logitech introduces G-series peripherals for gamers who need lots of buttons originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Knowing that it is unlikely that Apple would ever release an iPhone Pro with physical keyboard, Mat Brady from planetmat has sent me another image of a potential accessory. It looks great.

Mat says that he created the accessory answering readers’ feedback on sliding keyboards.

The slide-out keyboard has generated the most response from any of my suggested features. The general consensus stands firm on two opposing viewpoints:

1. Most people would prefer to have an optional slide-out keyboard,
2. but don’t believe Apple will ever “go backwards” and release anything like this.

In response to one comment (Mike) I have created what might be an answer to a third-party product which could solve this dilemma.

Actually, not a bad idea at all. It would be even cooler if, instead of being a third-party accessory, Apple actually released a modular iPhone, one that could admit different accessories like these but without the added bulk of building them around the original design. [Planetmat—Thanks Mat]