HP provides deets on gesture keyboard
By Marc Perton 
posted April 7th 2006 1:34PM
posted April 7th 2006 1:34PM
HP just
let loose with some more info on that gesture keyboard the
company showed off in India a couple of weeks ago. According to HP, the keypad, which was developed by the
company's Bangalore-based research team, can reproduce the script used in Hindi and other Indic languages, a process
that would require up to 1,000 keys using a traditional keyboard (though most keyboards designed for such languages
rely on keystroke combinations, rather than actual 1,000-key layouts). HP has begun selling the keypad in India for
about $45, including software. The device is being manufactured in India by a company HP declined to name. HP sees the
potential market for the keyboard as comprising up to 1.5 billion non-English speakers in India, Nepal and other South
Asian countries. At $45 a pop, that could make the keyboard a pretty lucrative product for HP.
Can they supply in UK? Obviously, it is likely to work in the Windows, will it work in Linux?
At $45 a pop, I'd buy one just to see if I could adapt it ... AKA Z-Board.
Seriously, though, at $45 a pop, who is really going to buy these? Especially in India.
well, this sure does knock down one hurdle in out-sourcing ...
Thought you would enjoy my follow up post on this topic:
http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/kintz/archive/2006/04/07/881.html
Is there 1.5 billion computers in India, Nepal and other South Asia countries? And this thing still uses keystroke combinations right?
my mistake, i thought you still have to press keys but i found out that it is a tablet. Tablets have being around for years, how come this is news?
i'll give hp a gesture!