Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

I like change as much as the next guy (unless that next guy happens to be afraid of change) but when you start messing with the keyboard layout that I’ve been using since the early 80’s, I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass on your product. Such is the case with the μTRON keyboard. I understand that the split-down-the-middle design can be more ergonomic than your standard keyboard, but why on Earth would you move around all of the non-QWERTY keys? ALT is now sitting to the left of the A key, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End are now sitting way over on the left side of the keyboard, and the space bar looks to be smaller than your average Enter key! Baffling.

Oh and get this, it’s currently available in Japan for around $525! Yeah that’s the best way to ensure your radical new layout catches on, make it completely unaffordable to 95% of the world’s computer users.

[ Akihabara News - μTRON Keyboard and Its Impossible Layout ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ve always thought of the thermostat as a sort of battleground. I don’t care if you’re at the office or at home, if there is another person in the area, they will always want it set around 8 degrees differently than you do. The worst (for me) is when it gets really cold in my office, as I don’t type well when my hands are freezing. If you happen to work in an office where this is a regular occurrence, this keyboard from Thanko might be beneficial to you.

This cool (get it?) keyboard has built in fans and a heater that can keep your hands cool, or warm, depending on what you want. The keyboard may look a little bulky (for obvious reasons), but if you get cold hands, it would be well worth the $51.

[ Thanko ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When it comes to price, this $48 tiny wireless keyboard from Brando can’t quite compete with their $25 super tiny keyboard I wrote about back in September. But when it comes to functionality, I think the extra $23 is worth it since not only do you get a whole mess of other shortcut buttons making it particularly useful for an HTPC, but it manages to squeeze a trackball in there as well. As one of 5 remaining people on Earth who actually likes trackballs and wishes someone would use them on a laptop again, I definitely like. And while the 2.4Ghz wireless USB receiver definitely isn’t the smallest one on the market, it does allow for a half-decent operating range of about 32 feet. The keyboard can be ordered now on the Brando website, but it won’t start shipping until the beginning of November.

[ Brando 2.4Ghz RF Wireless Multimedia Tiny Keyboard ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Last week I brought you a ‘super tiny‘ USB keyboard from Brando, and while there’s no denying it was indeed tiny, it only came with a USB connection making it unusable with most cellphones and PDAs. However, this miniature keyboard from IOData, which is currently on display at the Sharp booth at CEATEC, uses bluetooth instead of a wired connection which theoretically would allow you to use it with any bluetooth equipped device. Sure the keyboard is cramped and all, but it’s considerably less cramped than the thumpbad or on-screen keyboard on your cellphone. And while it might excel when it comes to a tiny form factor, it unfortunately fails miserably when it comes to price, since it’s expected to sell for about $150. (Pass.)

[ Giiks.com - IOData Mini Bluetooth Keyboard ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’ve gotten used to the tiny keyboard on the Asus EEE and for some reason would like to have the same cramped typing experience on your desktop PC, you’ll want to pick up this Super Tiny Keyboard available from Brando for $25. At just 6.6 inches wide I wholeheartedly agree with the ‘Tiny’ part, but I think ‘Super Tiny’ should be reserved for the type of ‘keyboards’ used on Casio Databank watches. But that’s just my opinion. The keyboard manages to cram 56 keys into its small form factor, including caps lock, num lock and function keys, and features a mini-USB connector on the back. And while I appreciate Brando providing a photo of the keyboard next to the iPhone for size comparison, since it’s lacking bluetooth or any kind of wireless connection, there’s absolutely no way to actually use it in lieu of the iPhone’s own software keyboard.

[ Super Tiny Keyboard ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Luke Anderson

It seems like it would be pretty hard to make a keyboard stand out from the crowd these days. Sure, you could put tiny LCD screens on each individual key, but even that’s been done. However, HP has managed to do something that no other keyboard (that I’ve seen) has done before. They’ve created a key that issues the Ctrl-Alt-Del command. Yes, now you can reap all of the benefits of pressing three keys while exerting only the amount of energy it takes to press a single button.

Aside from the fascinating button and having a slew of additional function buttons, there’s not really much to talk about. The new keyboard comes bundled with a wireless mouse which doesn’t actually look all that exciting. Unless you’re in the market for a new wireless keyboard/mouse set, I probably wouldn’t spend the $80 to upgrade from your basic setup.

[ HP ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Luke Anderson

When you think back to the early days of video games, Space Invaders will likely come to mind. The alien creatures tend to find their way outside of the game, and onto other products. This time they have landed on a flexible keyboard for your PC.

The keyboards come in two different color schemes (black/white and white/pink) and will run you $39. Sure, these are just the same flexible keyboards we’ve seen in the past, but the nostalgia factor does give it extra points.

[ 101Gear ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

This Crayola EZ Type keyboard is a great solution for those of you who have kids at home who like to play on the computer, but would prefer that they kept their sticky fingers off your clean keyboard. The blindingly colored keys are big and easy to read, and while the top row of function keys have been completely removed, the escape key still exists and is considerably larger and easier to find. It’s available from Crayola for just $29.99 and would be great for any kid, unless you happen to be a graphic designer and don’t want your children exposed to the Comic Sans font at such a young age.

[ Crayola USB EZ Type Keyboard ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

These days I rarely have the need for a scanner, which is good since traditional flatbed models take up a lot of desktop space. But for those rare times when I do need to digitize a document or a photograph, a sheet-fed model would probably suffice which is why this KeyScan keyboard isn’t such a terrible idea. It’s a “high quality Windows keyboard” that incorporates a bi-directional 600dpi color scanner capable of scanning a full page document in about 14-15 seconds. (Or about 5 seconds in gray scale mode.) At $159 (black or beige) from the KeyScan website it’s a bit more expensive than a cheap flatbed + regular keyboard combined, but again, you’re paying for convenience and an extra 3 square feet of space on your desk.

[ KeyScan Keyboard ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]