Optimus Maximus keyboard for laptops? Yes, please.

Truth be told, the bona fide Optimus Maximus keyboard is still quite a few bills higher than most folks are willing to pay, which makes the likelihood of a similar layout hitting laptops anytime soon that much slimmer. Still, we're sure the technology will become cheaper to produce over time, and we certainly dig any future that has products resembling the concept pictured above. No, we've heard nothing official regarding such a keyboard on a lappie just yet, but now that the idea is all out in the open, we're not going to be satisfied until it happens.

[Thanks, Maksim]

[m @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:26PM]

with a new blu-ray drive, this should reduce battery time to about 10 minutes--with the screen at half-brightness.
i'll pass on both for now, thanks.

[michas_pi @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:20PM]

They better include a "maximus" battery with it.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:23PM]

But, would it not be easier to make a full keyboard touchscreen similar to the Ipod Touch's?

Sure it would be expensive but I doubt it would make the computer more than $2000 since the technology is rather old.

If done that way, the computer would be able to use the extra thickness of the absent keyboard keys as space for a battery and it would also be as thin as a macbook air possibly.

[Mike @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:46PM]

I think you mean this, a future version of the optimus
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus-tactus/

[Iain @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:47PM]

Do you not realise how horrible that would be to type on?
It's ok on a phone but on a full laptop/PC, it would be terrible.

[computer.dude.28 @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:57PM]

A full touchscreen the size of a keyboard?? That would eat more power than the main display! Say goodbye to your battery life.

[TavisJohn @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:25PM]

Great! Now the keyboard on your laptop will cost more than the rest of the laptop!

Yes it is a really cool idea, however that would probably up the price of my $2,000 laptop to $3,500. And in a 2-3 years when I get a replacement laptop... I am also out my expensive keyboard!

[Fubar @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:47PM]

Yeah, but just think if you put one in a MacBook Air... Engadget would need scientific notation to report the price.

[flYY @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:55PM]

i r SOOO expensiv

[phanbouy @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:03PM]

@fiYY: i agree with you in words and avatar

[Zak @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:37PM]

LOL at Fubar. If it makes the Macbook Air that much more expensive, what would it do to an X300? Would you have to invent new math just to express a number that high?

[eternaleye @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:39PM]

Nah, just use A(g64, g64) { http://xkcd.com/207/ }

[Mike @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:32PM]

It won't need a bigger battery, it is OLED, and by the time it comes out, the laptop LCD will be to, so it will actually have better battery life.

Oh my god, I so want this on a MacBook Pro! I'm a photographer and videographer, this would make Photoshop/Illustrator/Final Cut Pro/DVD Studio Pro sooooooo much easier!

Too bad is still a half a decade out... At best...

[m @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:37PM]

then why does the full-size optimus require its own power adapter?

[Mike @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:43PM]

The Laptop Screen will be OLED, rather... It'd be kind of odd if the LCD was OLED (lit by a CFL or LED even!) wouldn't it? I mean, can an OLED LCD be lit by a CFL or LED? Not AFAIK...

WTF?

That just wouldn't make a while lot of sense IMHO...

God love acronyms...

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:38PM]

your post looks like it was written by 2 different people....

[Flashpoint @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:40PM]

Your post just guarranteed M and CUBSWILLWIN :Highly Ranked" grades.

I hope you're happy for yourself.

[Hoag @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:42PM]

"then why does the full-size optimus require its own power adapter?"

Because a USB port provides 500mA current (at 5V = 2.5W power), at most.
The Optimus Maximus (seriously, what a marketing name) requires more power than a standard keyboard, not more than, say, an LCD screen.

[223344917 @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:45PM]

@m
Although a USB can't provide enough power for the keyboard, still, OLED significantly uses much less energy than LCD, if the laptop display is made out of OLED too I say that makes it up for it

[Brendan Sheehan @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:47PM]

Ah nice, say hello to a slow refreshing keyboard in 2011.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:37PM]

where are the f1 through f12 buttons gonna go?

[Iain @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:51PM]

They're along the top, it's just they're displaying icons in the picture.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:07PM]

I know that. I mean in the picture they don't have any

[LesbianHam @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:23PM]

goto 2commentsUp

[sm @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:39PM]

what would be really awesome is that since these OLEDs are flexible and thin, if they put a sandbox type of thing under OLED that can change the shapes of the keys, now that's pr0n

[BatteryAcid @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:41PM]

Cool, but god thatd be expensive, the keyboard is worth almost as much as my main laptop as is.

[BatteryAcid @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:44PM]

Oh snap, i take that back it costs 2x as much as my laptop.

[phanbouy @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:53PM]

i don't think old dudes say "oh snap" ;p

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:40PM]

yeah they are not as hip as us and are lingo. We know how to get down with it. ;)

[phanbouy @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:12PM]

lol that got low ranked? guess the evening crowd's the sensitive types. who knew?

[afrmx @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:46PM]

What I would LOVE to see is a laptop using the Optimus Tactile that is still in concept. Wouldn't it be sweet to have a laptop that when opened it only has two flat deep black smooth surfaces and the when turned on images are all over it. on the lower panel the keyboard drawin itself on the upper panel the desktop fading in. Going into a dvd player app, the lower panel zooms out the keyboard and turns into a scene selection menu. THAT IS SOMETHING I WOULD DEFINITELY GO STAND IN LINE TO BUY IT.

[torqueo @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:47PM]

"Like on a piano, since there are no keys to look at when typing, your brain will quickly adapt and memorize the key positions. Within a few short weeks users increase their typing accuracy and find themselves typing up to 100% faster."

So why would I want this junk? Isn't Optimus Maximus for stupid people who can't remember where the keys are, and have to look? For me, the more distracting it is, the more annoying it is (especially when it comes to something like typing).

[torqueo @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:48PM]

PS. The quote comes from Das Keyboard, a "blank" keyboard: http://www.daskeyboard.com

[Jeff @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:49PM]

Given that this keyboard actually sucks as a keyboard, I'm gonna say no thanks. Give me a keyboard that's actually pleasant to type on any day of the week. That's something I'd pay more for, not a bunch of OLED's.

[Prokanda @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:12PM]

Saitek Eclipse (the original, it's a lot more solid) and Logitech G15 gaming. Both are awesome... if you were actually looking for a reference. Just be prepared to raise your chair if you pick the G15. The keys are angled down even with the keyboard legs propped up. Oh, and it's not cheap. However, the Eclipse can be had for $30-$40.

[RDW @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:51PM]

If they made the keyboard detachable, it would be worth it. The trick to key keyboard is to use eInk instead of LEDs (once the picture is set, no battery juice at all).

[lanejasper69 @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:12PM]

Nothing like a several thousand dollar laptop that'll be outdated in a year with a several thousand dollar keyboard that won't (or not as outdated for that matter). I hate these keyboards, they are ridiculous, and I hope they fail at all they may or may not be able to do.

LMAO...sorry....I Care!

[Mark @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:32PM]

What about e-paper keys? It only uses electricity to change the image shown on the display, which would only be when you press the fn key, or change a key around...

Wouldn't be color though. I think I can manage with my superscript numpad and fn key for now...

[dikkers91 @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:45PM]

I was thinking the same thing. The battery life would be great if it used e-ink, and it wouldnt be that bad in black and white anyway

[phanbouy @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:28PM]

Optimus Prime's gonna come around and kick this keyboard's ass.

I'm Michael Bay and I approved this message.

[Stace @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:31PM]

Engadgets review confirms that this is a special purpose keyboard not suitable for regular everyday typing... and you want to put it on a laptop?

No thanks.

[Sirocco @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:33PM]

The only thing stranger than the Optimus Maximus is Engadget's infatuation with it.

[Zak @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:39PM]

I know, right? It's super weird that a site called "Engadget" would actually be interested in stuff like gadgets. Honestly, I can't get my head around it. Why the infatuation with gadgets, Engadget? Why?!

[ccox @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:37PM]

Using the Laptopimus Maximus was a mixed bag. "It wasn't that the keyboard didn't do everything you want it to do", said an anonymous reviewer, "but I just couldn't get used to a laptop that was 4 inches thick and weighed 20lbs."

[Geoff @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:38PM]

Battery life would be the serious issue ... I'd take an E-INK keyboard any day now, though :)

[Fubar @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:43PM]

Geoff, I'm pretty sure that's the best avatar I've ever seen on Engadget.

[HoWai Ng @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:20PM]

Sure...then your battery life will probably last only 45mins

[n4v1n @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:03PM]

That laptop battery is gonna have to pull a matrix and be hardwired to our body.

[Prokanda @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:15PM]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this... what about laptop chassis flex? even with short-travel laptop keys, sometimes there's the possibility that the keys can come in contact with the screen if the laptop is handled incorrectly. From the looks of it, the maximus keys are pretty damn rigid and require a large amount of space because of the OLEDs. Of course, I agree with everyone about the battery life and price too...

[Joshua Walters @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:22PM]

The Optimus Maximus costs more than some laptops.

I dont see how they are going to get it in a laptop without it costing $5,000 minimum.