As concepts go, here’s one I’m surprised we haven’t seen before. Take a BlackBerry 7130 and give it Optimus Maximus OLED keys, which can double as shortcuts and page controls together with SureType text entry keys. These renders are the handiwork of designer and editor Billy May, who has been working with Mozilla Labs on developing “a conceptual ‘Mozilla Phone’”.
More images after the cut
Art Lebedev Studios have released an image of what they’re calling the “final pre-production prototype” of the Optimus AUX, which presumably means that commercial versions of the 15-key OLED ‘board will look this way. They’ve also, finally, given an indication of price: around $650.
Optimus have released photos of the newly assembled Aux prototype, the fifteen-key accessory that will use the same OLED technology as its Maximus full-QWERTY sibling. While it’s arguably straightforward to produce a slick prototype and then ruin things with a shoddy production run, we have to give the Optimus guys credit here: the Aux looks great.
Two Optimus posts in one day almost smacks of Maximus hype, but it’s Friday and we do have some slick new renders of the recently-christened Aux. Optimus have tweaked the design from its initial, Pultius form: gone are the odd gaps between the columns, and an extra USB port has been added to the back. Optimus originally suggested that the USB could be used to daisy-chain multiple keypads together.
Optimus Labs’ Pultius prototype – a numeric keypad using the OLED-embedded keys from the company’s full-sized Maximus keyboard – will likely be released with the name Optimus Aux, according to the latest post on the company blog. The fifteen key add-on will offer a lower-priced point of entry to people wanting customizable keys but unable to afford the full Maximus.
I’m not entirely sure if this is meant to be some late (or early) April Fools joke, but Optimus – the company behind the Maximus OLED keyboard – are apparently set to release the Optimus Minimus, a very low-tech version of customizable keys. Basically a number of sheets of stickers, Minimus will be available in Latin, Cyrillic and Photoshop layouts.
Optimus have announced a new upcoming product, the Pultius, which is intended to be an addition rather than a replacement to your normal keyboard. Consisting of fifteen OLED keys similar in layout to that of a numeric keypad, it could be used for triggering programmes, websites or even macros for gaming or art apps.
After teasing with a foam mockup, Art Lebedev Studios have released the first 3D prototype shot of the in-development Optimus Popularis keyboard. The keyboard is shorter than the original Optimus Maximus, with the extra row of shortcut keys moved from the left of the main keys to above the function keys. However it seems to share the same each-key-a-display setup, although the space key display is now full-length rather than the small square OLED on the Maximus.
Art Lebedev Studios, the team behind the Optimus Maximus keyboard, have released some fresh (if scant) detail on their next project. Named Optimus Popularis, as the name suggests it’s another keyboard but one aimed more at general consumers. Estimating a sub-$1,000 final pricetag, it apparently won’t use OLEDs for the keys but ”will be based on a totally different principle”.
What’s the coolest keyboard that you’ve seen? I wouldn’t be surprised if you said the Optimus Maximus. Honestly, that’s probably the coolest one I’ve ever seen too. It seems that ThinkGeek is pretty impressed with it as well, so impressed, that they have decided to add it to their site for purchase.
Chrome OS: Waiting Is The Hardest Part…Though Necessary
Apple is no longer the Nordstrom of Tech, they’re the “New Nordstrom”
Can Anything Replace Windows XP As the Best Netbook Operating System?
Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!
SlashGear Japan
