United Keys OLED Display Keyboard and Keypad hands-on


Well, any doubts of legitimacy have certainly been quelled: United Keys rushed us over an OLED keyboard and keypad today, and they're certainly the real deal. We're naturally utterly un-blown-away by the product -- you get what you pay for -- but it's still a relatively unique and interesting product, and wears the mantle of "the poor man's Optimus" quite well. Read on for our full impressions.


Overall, we're pretty much completely and utterly unsurprised by what United Keys has for itself here. The design is unimpressive, the software is slightly undercooked, and monochrome keys could never begin to look as impressive as color ones. On the other hand, everything works as promised, and it's hard to complain about the price. Still, we're more looking forward to the future of the product than its current incarnation: United Keys CEO Ronald Brown says that the software will be improved on an ongoing basis, and that they'll even consider open sourcing that effort if they feel like the demand is there (hint, hint). As for folks who simply cannot handle the monochrome, United Keys is naturally looking into color, with the main limitation being price, since they hope to launch a color product at a similar or slightly higher pricepoint to this one.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Logitech G18 gaming keyboard shows its not-so-ugly face


We spied the Logitech G13 Gamepad when it was announced earlier today, and now Engadget Chinese has caught wind of something else that may be in store for us. The keyboard pictured above is apparently the G18, and we while we have almost no solid info on it, we can glean a few things, such as the apparent groupings of fast function keys on the left side of the board (some which seem to be numbered G11-G15), not to mention that tiny display at the center. We don't know when we can expect this beast to arrive, but the G13 Gamepad is expected in January so fingers crossed.



[ Via: Engadget ]

United Keys now shipping OLED gaming keyboards


We heard about a United Keys OLED gaming keyboard quite a awhile back, and we were a little skeptical of its chances of coming to fruition, but here it is, in reality, ready to simplify your life. Well... it's ready to try, anyway. The keyboard features 103 regular old, everyday keys, and boasts nine monochromatic OLED display keys on the left side which can be custom mapped and identified by text or images -- really giving the Optimus Maximus a run for its money, huh? This bad boy is 20.5-inches long and 7.25-inches wide, but the good news is that if you don't want the full keyboard (and who can blame you?), you can order just the keypad of nine OLEDs. They're taking orders now, and apparently shipping within two weeks. The full keyboard is going to run you $259.99, while the OLED keypad is $199.99. Shocking photo of the keypad after the break.



[ Via: Engadget ]

Thanko USB bear gloves don't inhibit your typing, keep palms toasty


Ah, how timely! Over two years after the USB-powered G-Gloves hit the scenes, in comes Thanko to bring a much needed new face to the niche. These Kumasan mittens both get powered from a single usb port and even have cutouts to allow your fingers to move freely. There's no mention of a price nor any indication that these will ever be released outside of Japan, but this is definitely a must-buy if you're headed to that side of the globe anytime soon.

[ Via: AkihabaraNews ]