The Combimouse

We were about to write this off as a harmless gimmick, and a great gift to slow down a couple FPS rivals of ours, but after staring mesmerized at the sheer craziness of it all, we're starting to think these Combimouse peeps are on to something. Their concept is quite simple: reduce the repetitive and arduous task of moving your hand from keyboard to mouse and back again a few thousand times a day. They accomplish that by splitting the keyboard and making the right half into a full fledged mouse. Your merely switch up your grip and the mouse function automatically springs into action. You might look a bit dorky in the act, and it surely won't work for everybody, but it seems to us that a spreadsheet pusher could quickly get used to the setup and learn to rock it. The creators of the Combimouse have recently completed their final prototype and are on the lookout for a manufacturer. We'll keep you posted.

[eM @ May 5th 2006 10:28PM]

The best way to avoid moving hand from keyboard to mouse is to drop the worthless toy rodent.

[Pete @ May 5th 2006 10:37PM]

I would totally use this for a lot of the work I have to do with. I'd need a bigger desk I think. Would it save that much time though? You still have to move your hand... but if you were able to move the right half without moving your hand... what would you click with on that kind of setup? We need an optical pointing device, something you just look at and make it click!

[chung @ May 5th 2006 11:07PM]

I think that's a brilliant idea!

[LaserBeams @ May 5th 2006 11:19PM]

IBM had this nicely licked a dozen or so years ago with the Trackpoint. Bad for gaming, but great for almost anything else, and no need to move your hands. Several manufacturers make desktop keyboards with built-in trackpoints.

[Dull @ May 5th 2006 11:28PM]

I don't know. It might be better and just go back to the old design and add a trackball or install a touch pad to the keyboard.

[Kesey @ May 5th 2006 11:36PM]

And I thought Apple's 1-mouse button was bad. Where are the mouse click buttons?

[Chris @ May 5th 2006 11:59PM]

trackballs and touchpads both suck.

#6, RTFA, there's a sensor that detects "mouse mode" and turn keys into mouse buttons.

I think I'd need a 10 key pad with this thing too, I can't stand laptop "numlock", drives me nuts because it's not square like a calculator. other than that, this looks brilliant, I'd like to try it out.

[planbforever @ May 6th 2006 12:10AM]

sweet, a 34 button mouse!

[kerunt @ May 6th 2006 12:15AM]

It will be a heavy mouse, and a crappy, inconvinient keyboard. Not for me.

[Jeff Axup @ May 6th 2006 12:34AM]

from a human factors standpoint, this is a really good idea. Even with keyboard shortcuts the mouse is still needed for many tasks. The only thing I'm wondering about is how rapidly you can switch the right hand from keyboard to mouse mode (input device acquisition time) and whether the mouse works as well as a normal one in terms of moving and clicking. Very creative product though - I'd like to try one.

[Carl Lumma @ May 6th 2006 12:37AM]

Right idea, ridiculous execution. The context switch is what wastes time, not the physical distance between keys and mouse.

Learn to use a pointing stick and you'll never go back.

-Carl

[erik @ May 6th 2006 12:39AM]

@ #2 thats what i think(wish) apple is up to with their camera/moniter patent. all you would need is the software to recognize your blinks and pupil movement, not that hard.

[JCA @ May 6th 2006 1:01AM]

Hey Engadget, how do you know it won't work for everyone? And don't call me Shirley. ;-D

[rakk @ May 6th 2006 1:54AM]

Nice looking keyboard. Its looks different from other keyboards.

http://cheap-computers-review.blogspot.com/2006/02/hp-pavilion-a1230n-desktop-pc-hp.html

[avid diva @ May 6th 2006 2:15AM]

"...all you would need is the software to recognize your blinks and pupil movement, not that hard."

If it's not that hard, why isn't it used with regular cameras? The iMac ships with a teeny tiny camera hole at the top of the screen!

Do you realize that with the pixels-as-cameras approach the screen becomes, not only a camera and a scanner, but a multi-touch sensitive screen? The reason apple is developing this (conjecture) is because they want to make a multi-touch sensitive tablet. (more conjecture)

[James @ May 6th 2006 3:51AM]

I perfer this http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-4WKSWX
with an additonal mouse for those times you must play FPS's.

I wish they made more keyboards with trackpoints.

[Andreas @ May 6th 2006 4:08AM]

It looks good!
Just keep the weight down and it could help a lot of people in their work.

[jw @ May 6th 2006 4:09AM]

What about us lefties?????

[Andy Briggs @ May 6th 2006 4:45AM]

I'm sure they'd make one for lefties if there was a market for it...
Great idea for office work, etc., and maybe even for FPS players like myself!

[duke @ May 6th 2006 5:08AM]

i said this before, i'll say it again: FUGLY

[hermes @ May 6th 2006 5:18AM]

It will increase a efficiency of the user. This is the product that evry body want to have.

[JMass @ May 6th 2006 5:36AM]

RIGHT idea....but like #16 what about the lefties...we make up 10% of the market...and you wonder why we live on average a few years less... :-(

[Atanas Boev @ May 6th 2006 5:37AM]

No dedicated muse buttons? On the video demo the guy first presses "j" and then "

[Woolly Mittens @ May 6th 2006 5:50AM]

This is stupid. The only thing saving you from RSI is the VARIATION in motions you have during your work at the desk. Moving your hand around stops your arm muscles cramping up and restricting the flow of fresh blood to your wrist.

Besides that it looks completely unusable to me.

[Michael @ May 6th 2006 6:19AM]

whether the mouse works as well as a normal one in terms of moving and clicking.

[john @ May 6th 2006 6:39AM]

Nice looking keyboard. It looks different from other keyboards and its very attractive.

http://cheap-computers-review.blogspot.com/2006/02/hp-pavilion-a1230n-desktop-pc-hp.html

[Brian Polensky @ May 6th 2006 7:50AM]

This looks crappy. How would a sreadsheet pusher use a keyboard with no number keypad of its own?

[medyk @ May 6th 2006 8:16AM]

ok.. where's the right alt key? What about not english users?

[Count R. Strike @ May 6th 2006 9:47AM]

OMG!

I've been waiting for ages for the ultimate mouse/keyboard combo that would allow me to write "Poopy Kill" while still fragging at 80fps. It seems that I wasn't the only one! Kudos to the pwning peeps at Combimouse for designing this.

[Bill @ May 6th 2006 9:50AM]

I love the way people think that if somebody comes up with an idea for a new product the idea is a crappy one unless it works for lefties, non-english speakers, spreadsheet junkies, and every other sort of computer-using 'minority.'

[David Ferrier @ May 6th 2006 11:19AM]

I'm left-handed, but ambidextrous as far as use of a mouse is concerned. Right now the mouse is on the left because I have a pain in my right arm.

The problem with the keyboard/mouse design is inflexibility. A well-designed mouse needs to be usable on either the left- or right-hand side.

Consider the following what-ifs:

- a person develops pain in the right arm, as I did, needs use the mouse on the left, but can't
- a person is a right-arm amputee, or after buying the Combimouse has the bad luck to have to have his or her right-arm amputated
- a person is a right-side hemiplegic (loses the ability to use the right side of his or her body) or is afflicted by this condition after buying the Combimouse
- after buying the Combimouse, a person develops a neurological condition such as myasthenia gravis or multiple sclerosis, which in turn could cause unilateral right arm weakness, making the person unable to move the mouse section of the Combimouse

[Marlon @ May 6th 2006 11:33AM]

Interesting, but I think it would only work if the keyboard is ultrasmall, but then it defeats the purpose of having a keyboard. I don't think a mouse as large as that would be comfortable at all. I hate moving regular sized mice over and over again. Having to lift up something like that wouldn't be fun at all.

And that is the exact reason that trackballs definitely do not suck. Perhaps most implementations are not great, but there are a few gems out there since the advent of optical tracking. I don't think it works as well when combined with a keyboard though. I agree with the trackpoint comments. That is the best pointing device to combine with a keyboard, but it can use a few improvements.

Analog control on a trackpoint would increase it's efficiency by allowing different speeds and if they can reduce the malfunction of self moving cursors - the trackpad should really be replaced with these.

[David @ May 6th 2006 12:12PM]

Hmmm...
This is a really ugly gimmick. They attempted to solve a problem that doesn't exist and caused a bunch more in the process.

So now you can type text that uses only letters on the left side of the keyboard while while you move the "mouse" half.

A mouse can be placed wherever it's convenient, say right in front of your keyboard, so the distance moved is no more than repositioning your hand on the combimouse.

A most mice can be used with either hand, and you can pick the one that best fits you.

The University study that they reference says, that test subjects found that typing was slower, but think it would improve with practice. One problem is that there are two spatial references for typing instead of one. If you type a G on a normal keyboard, you know where the H is. With this one you don't.

All that and it's ugly as sin.

[Fact9 @ May 6th 2006 2:14PM]

TrackPoint

[LaserBeams @ May 6th 2006 2:21PM]

29/Marlon: "Analog control on a trackpoint would increase it's efficiency by allowing different speeds and if they can reduce the malfunction of self moving cursors - the trackpad should really be replaced with these."

Trackpoints do have analog control. Push them harder to the sides, and they move faster, like a joystick. The actual tip doesn't move much, but because it's pressure based, it works the same way.

[Avinash @ May 6th 2006 2:54PM]

I'm waiting for someone to market a cheap ergonomic keyboard where the keys are not designed to slow down typing. Today's "modern" keyboard design dates back to the 1860s when the keyboard layout was changed to stop typists from typing too fast and jamming the keys. Right now the cheapest ergonomic keyboard is $300 http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/

[Brandon @ May 6th 2006 4:00PM]

WTF is wrong with just simply adding an IBM trackpoint to the damn keyboard. This is one dumb idea right here.

[Dao? @ May 6th 2006 8:44PM]

ITS ABOUT TIME! Even if this product is not very handy, I still appreciate the fact people are still experimenting with keyboard/mouse peripherals...

Someone mention in the comments this site:
http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/

Go there, they have some awesome things, for example, usb programmable foot pedals... If you are a gamer, think of the possibilities they could have.

[gregor-e @ May 6th 2006 9:43PM]

As I recall, the original designers of the mouse (Xerox PARC?) intended the user to always have one hand on the mouse, while the other hand entered text using a chording keyboard. None of this shifting a hand back-and-forth.

[George Vaccaro @ May 6th 2006 11:13PM]

This has got to be the most bizarre negative feedback I've ever seen, in response to a, at the very least, innovative and different take on a design that hasnt seen much innovation in decades.

You may not like it, it may not be great for lefties, spreadsheet junkies or people who buy it and then lose their right arm (what the hell was that?) but its a very interesting concept. The lefty problem, and for that matter better fps gaming could possibly be solved in a future version that also had a mouse in the left hand side - you could use the left x axis for strafe for example.

What's wrong with giving credit for what's good and interesting about it, and then making some thoughtful suggestions?

It looks like they've tried to keep the weight of the mouse down, for example by putting all the function keys on the left half.

I love the layout of the cursor buttons on the mouse part. Delete and backspace right next to each other makes a lot of sense too. Check out the right shift - seems like a lot of thought was put into this.

I personally dont like my trackpoint very much. I find it difficult to make small moves, like only 1 pixel.

Also, check out that link to the ibm keyboard that James posted, I own one and love it - although it has a trackpoint which I dont use. Its the first keyboard that I've seen that has full separate cursor and paging controls (in the traditional layout) without the bulky number pad - which I personally dont have a need for. I like it because of its small form factor and has two usb ports built in.

I would definitely try this keyboard out if it was reasonably priced - like under $150. I think its a very innovative idea, and a great example of how even existing and entrenched designs can be reinvented and improved.

[me @ May 6th 2006 11:23PM]

So where's my backspace key?

I wouldn't buy it unless I could try it first. No backspace key really annoys me though the scroll wheel and spacebar only on the left hand side aren't too bad.

[A. Schwarzenegger @ May 7th 2006 12:26AM]

Up until now I have been using 30 lb wrist weights to fit my training into my busy schedule. With the Combimouse I should increase the speed of my office workflow and not have to sacrifice my valuable workout time. I am hoping that in the future they will come out with versions that integrate the keyboard, mouse and monitor so that I won't waste precious time reaching for brightness controls or the monitor power button.

[erik @ May 7th 2006 3:03AM]

i guess i should have mentioned that my post was a joke, oh well

[David T @ May 7th 2006 3:32AM]

I'm still waiting for a nice keyboard without a num pad. That's where I wamt my mouse and I use my mouse about 10,000 times more than that num pad (which I never use). That IBM trackpoint James linked to is something I didn't know existed and will look into for my use. For a while I did use an old IBM clicker that didn't have a num pad. Unfortunately, it wasn't built as well as the normal full size clicker and I got tired of the shift key missing all the time.

[Frode Hegland @ May 7th 2006 6:17AM]

This is why I am only using a PowerBook: the trackpad is so much closer than a mouse, I can't get used to the large movement away from the keyboard.

[Keith @ May 7th 2006 7:34AM]

This is absolutely daft! How is one going to achieve a fast-typing speed if the right side (of the keyboard) is to act as a moveable platform. This is not conventional at all.

[Ian Mackereth @ May 7th 2006 10:08PM]

I've actually had a quick play with the prototype of this (sorry, I know informed opinions aren't exactly welcome here. 8-)} )

The mouse part works quite well, with the force required to move it around being negligible, the way any optical mouse feels. The buttons do require an instant to switch to, so keyboard shortcuts still have their use for frequently-accessed functions.

You'll _need_ to be a real touch-typist, though! I type at about 40-50wpm, but I'm not a trained typist, and I found the inability to cross the keyboard with the nearest available finger a hassle. Hunt'n'peck would be fine, as you're looking at the keys anyway, and a good typist would be fine, as the split is in the approved hand division; it's just us fast, bad typists who'd need to adjust!

It's still flat on the desk, so it's only better ergonomically because your wrists aren't being held too close, but your hands are still unnaturally horizontal.

In short, I don't think I'd rush out to buy one, but I'd be interested in trying one for an extended period to see how it felt after a long essay.

[187 - John Doe @ May 8th 2006 11:29AM]

I use my mouse so seldom, the keyboard can fulfill all tasks, most faster than the mouse. I only use it when playing games really.

[187 - John Doe @ May 8th 2006 1:08PM]

I use my mouse so seldom, the keyboard can fulfill all tasks, most faster than the mouse. I only use it when playing games really.

[Bill Kearney @ May 10th 2006 8:56AM]

Looks like a novel idea. I'd wonder about the reliability of using switches used for keys as mouse buttons. But it looks like it'd also be a great way to avoid repetitive motion issues that a regular keyboard might present.

And since PCs have USB ports there's nothing that'd keep you from also attaching a regular mouse, trackball or whatever should you have certain situations that are better served using them.