Optimus keyboard hits OLED snag, production still on track?

The Optimus keyboard has been a long, long time coming, and unfortunately for everyone with the $1,200 $1,490 ready and waiting, you might have to test your patience still. While release date rumors have come in all over the place, the dashing keyboards were slated to ship sometime near the end of this year barring any major production problems, but alas, it looks like the dreaded manufacturing hiccup has reared its ugly head. Apparently, the OLED producer that the Optimus creators were relying on have encountered some "serious financial difficulties" and won't be delivering the displays at all. Thankfully, it looks like the team is moving forward with other production steps anyway, and they plan to retrofit the keyboard cases with the just-in-time OLEDs (to be sourced from a currently unknown supplier) after most of the assembly is already done. So while we're hearing that the pre-order stage is still set for "near April," and the shipping timeframe is still penciled in for December, it could take a Christmas miracle to pull it all together.

[Mills @ Mar 26th 2007 11:20PM]

I'll wait for you forever, Optimus, my beauty....

[Nick @ Mar 27th 2007 6:39AM]

Until you come to the sad realisation that this constantly-delayed product is just vapour and a clever means of getting Art.Lebedev studios some exposure for their other products that ACTUALLY exist.

[tchiseen @ Mar 26th 2007 11:22PM]

how many units 12 months from now will be sitting in warehouses waiting for the oleds... 5k? 50k? if they ever get completed, who is going to buy one? sorry. for the same rrp (now, which can still go up more) you could build a new computer... why would you spend all that on a keyboard that probably doesn't work as well as the one you have now? good luck a.lebedev.

[Brian @ Mar 26th 2007 11:23PM]

Even if the price goes to $2999, and they don't ship until 2009, I will still prepay for 25 of the wonderful things.

Seriously, Engadget's obsession with this thing is as much a joke as the vaporware itself.

[Caramelzappa @ Mar 26th 2007 11:29PM]

Anyone who uses their computer enough to justify spending $1400 on an accessory knows the keyboard well enough to not want to look at it, no matter what program they're using. Don't get me wrong, I think the optimus is a beautiful idea, but it's also terribly flawed, especially at that price.

[Anonymous @ Mar 26th 2007 11:43PM]

The Optimus Keyboard sounded like a great idea when we thought it would be 200-300 dollars. Now that it's 1500, no one is going to buy the thing. Why do we need EVERY key to have an OLED? You know what most keys are for? Text input. Why do I need to see the letters ABCD or E as an OLED? Backlit keyboards have been around for awhile and they are fairly cheap, so it's not so that I can type in the dark. If you want some advice (art lebdev) make a keyboard, a simple qwerty keyboard and stick 10 OLED keys (Map-able hot keys) where the number pad is supposed to be. 10 keys is more than enough for most people, infact, I don't even have 10 apps I'd like to hotkey as it is.

It's official, and someone correct me if I'm wrong (but I'm not), the Optimus Keyboard is the new Phantom Console. Now that the Phantom Console is an old joke for ridiculous vaporware that is never going to see the light of day, I'm replacing it with the Optimus. You are now officially a joke Art.

[Tavis Veighey @ Mar 27th 2007 12:31AM]

Exactly! Who is going to spend more on a keyboard than their WHOLE DAMN COMPUTER!!!!

I had $400.00 ready for the keyboard. Then all the delays, and other jerking our chain... They can screw themselves now! That keyboard is only worth $25.00 to me now! If I find one in a discount bin for $25.00 or less then I might get one for fun. However there is no way I will purchase one for the original quoted price of "About tht price of a good cellphone".

They should NOT have released certian bits of information if they were not planning on actually carrying them out! If you give a price estimate then you should stay around it, not multiply it by more than 3x!

[ettrzrtzrtzrtz @ Mar 27th 2007 2:22AM]

Erm, people, how could you even _think_ that this thing would sell for 200$ ?

The first time I looked at it, I thought that it would cost >1000€. It's rather obvious considering that it contains more than 100 little displays, isn't it?

[Brien @ Mar 27th 2007 2:42AM]

You know, if it were just the ctrl/opt/function keys even, it'd be nice.

Maybe ASDF.

But at 1.5k nobody will care.

[brandon @ Mar 27th 2007 12:00AM]

I'm totally going to play Duke Nukem Forever with this keyboard.

[Chris Anderson @ Mar 27th 2007 12:22AM]

I plan on watching a lot of porn with this keyboard....

and maybe even assigning porn GIFs to all the keys...

no really, this thing's a joke.

[schlomo @ Mar 27th 2007 12:22AM]

Vicks Vaporub - Now with real vapor: pieces of the Optimus 103 in every jar!!!


why not just use the same OLED manufacturer as the Optimus Mini? they've been working with them for a while and would probably get a fat discount. oh yeah, that's right, because the 103 ISN'T REAL

(insert more vaporware jokes here)

[frosto @ Mar 27th 2007 12:28AM]

"I'm totally going to play Duke Nukem Forever with this keyboard."

kudos

[Lebeu @ Mar 27th 2007 10:26PM]

Perhaps someone who has a computer that costs twice as much as Optimus Maximus.

There are ppl that can and will fork the $$$ just for the fun on it, because the $$$ for their Optimus are pocket money instead of savings for them.

Lebeu

[Sparkie @ Mar 27th 2007 12:35AM]

I'm starting to thing that this is a hoax, just like that guy who was "developing" light based ram and hard drives... ( i forget the "company" ... any help?)

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Mar 27th 2007 12:46AM]

I think that Optimus will ship when mind control will be available on all personal computers. Then, it will be sold as a useless but "vintage" fashionable accessory for the updated price of $2,800.

Actually, I think they should talk to these guys at Luvaglio to incorporate the OLED keyboard in that $1 million laptop.

[ennui @ Mar 27th 2007 1:43AM]

Why do the writers at Engadget insist on reporting on this ridiculous thing? Has any reader EVER expressed interest in this overpriced garbage? If I see one more post about this thing, I'm switching my readership to another gadget blog.

[ufghfghfgh @ Mar 27th 2007 2:29AM]

Is there an alternative gadget blog that you can recommend? I am annoyed by Engadget too (especially their Mac-love).

[MisterShrubber @ Mar 27th 2007 2:56AM]

Oh I know, why don't you start writing a tech blog yourself? Surely, it must be easy. Don't forget to make it free and to appeal to every single on of your readers. Every single one. Don't even think about displeasing one of them, or I won't come and read your blog!

[gfhfhfghfgh @ Mar 27th 2007 4:53AM]

Well, I would not mind displeasing Mac fanboys.

[empurium @ Mar 27th 2007 3:10AM]

I can't seem to find it, but I remember a post on Engadget about a ~5 year lifespan on these keyboards; and I just realized...

That's $25/month. For a keyboard. What the hell.

[MEAT! @ Mar 27th 2007 3:21AM]

I can just read the next Engadget article, "Hands on with the Optimus keyboard!! [More]"

"...Weeelll, it's not _quite_ hands on, but Art Lebedev has absolutely 100% sworn without crossed fingers that, if we were to pick up the keyboard, we would find it to be not all that heavy but not that light, and would absolutely be amazed to see that the keys light up beautifully--which got us all here at Engadget a little giddy to hear, I don't have to tell you! Oh, incidentally, Art Lebedev only charged us $1,400 for the interview (that's $1,400 per word, obviously...about the price of a good cellphone made of gold), so Engadget will be switching to subscription only. Subscriptions can be purchased below.

[zoara @ Mar 27th 2007 12:11PM]

gfhfhfghfgh: grow up

[furanku2 @ Mar 27th 2007 7:33AM]

I want one to use in my Moller Skycar.....

[Alexander @ Mar 27th 2007 7:52AM]

if I can buy the keyboard with no OLED keys for under $200 bucks, then I will. As I need them, I'll buy keys. (which work out to about 11USD, BTW.)

If not, then much like DNF and the EV-1 it will remain firmly in the nether.

[E71 @ Mar 27th 2007 7:55AM]

Won't the lifespan decrease significantly for us gamers?

Oh, and I wonder how many keys you can press simultaneously,... no keyboard manufacturer ever mentions this...

[marcozna @ Mar 27th 2007 8:15AM]

This thing is a great idea. Yes it is ridiculous that time is taking so long. That's the problem of announcing concept ideas - it's bad PR value. The price is unreal but somebody needs to start these keyboards, they're desparately needed!

I posted my views about it here:
http://marcozna.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/old-news-the-optimus-103-keyboard-good-news/

[Rus @ Mar 27th 2007 9:10AM]

I don't understand what is so difficult about producing this keyboard. There are already displays as small as keyboard keys, why can't they just be fitted on to the top of keys and have a little wire for the video connecting them, USB 2.0 is fast enough to give the keys enough data for video.

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 27th 2007 12:47PM]

Goes great with a million dollar lappy
http://www.tgdaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31351

[SideSwipe @ Mar 27th 2007 2:50PM]

Forget the keyboard, I think they should make an OLED mouse so my stupid clients can remember which button does what in specific applications. Maybe a big "thumbs up" icon on the left and an "X" on the right. :rolleyes:

[Tavis Veighey @ Mar 27th 2007 10:42PM]

But are there enough people out there in that situation to make it worth while? I doubt it. The keyboard has no industrial uses (That a touch screen can't do better). So I do not see this selling that well. It is too expensive for what it does. (Now if it comes with a 100 year, no questions asked warranty, then MAYBE!!!!)

[snowglyder @ Mar 28th 2007 2:16PM]

I like my keyboard just fine. If the keys played video, in color, on every single key, maybe they could ask $500. Even then, it'd only be cool for the first few minutes after unboxing, until you actually start typing or get into your game.

I'm seriously over this thing. Next please.

[Josh @ Mar 31st 2007 1:34AM]

For the price of the keyboard you can buy a brand new computer. Sorry, but the price is ridiculous. I cant imagine anyone buying this. They should really scrap the idea because they are going to lose a fortune producing this thing. They'll never make the money back that they've spent on the price of production and parts. It sounds to me like they didn't take the time to work out a more cost affordable way of making this thing and where a bit overzealous to do it.

[Aston @ May 15th 2007 5:58AM]

They've only planned on making 800 of them, currently. It's for the exclusive market. I predict they'll be able to sell them without any troubles at all, there are more than 800 rich people in the world.

[Court K. @ Apr 27th 2007 5:34PM]

This keyboard is completely flawed. Even flat/square laptop keyboard have indentations in the keys for your fingers. Has anyone EVER actually typed on a 100% flat key? I have it's HORRIBLE. Just start typing on the flat surface of your desk, because it's pretty much like this. They should have put clear/curved plastic caps over the screens.

Now the keyboard can't actually be used, it's just a screen made out of little screens. Horrible.

Apple has a patent from 10 years ago for the exact same idea, in their patent they describe how flat keys are useless and that they must be curved to function.

[Aston @ May 15th 2007 5:58AM]

I prefer laptop keyboards over normal ones because they usually don't have indentations. I find they feel better on my fingers and I can type more accurately because I don't mistakenly push down buttons because of the indentations.

The last time I used a Mac was two years ago (was it the G5 back then? The one with the screen attached, by a thin articulated neck, to a half-spherical base). It had a stock Macintosh keyboard with convexed keys. It was the worst keyboard I had ever used. Who thinks of making a keyboard with keys that have a convexed surface?

[Aston @ May 15th 2007 5:58AM]

It's a piece of contemporary design more than a keyboard, everyone has to keep that in mind. It's art. With only about 800 of them planned for production its price is justified simply for the exclusivity.
You can find Japanese Gunpla models for about USD$500 and they don't have nearly as much technology, work and design put into them as this keyboard does. It's not like those models have any functionality either, but they still can sell for that price.

This isn't a keyboard for everyone, obviously. For everyone that is up in arms about this: stop whining like a child whose mother has said: 'no', to buying him/her ice cream. Someone with enough money will buy one and stick it in an art gallery or use it for their high-paying office job.