Grippity back-typing keyboard is one step closer to existing
By Laura June 
posted Dec 4th 2008 7:47PM
posted Dec 4th 2008 7:47PM
Not terribly long ago we caught a few glimpses of a prototype of the Grippity, a sort of garish looking back-typing keyboard. Well, the actual production model's completed, and though it's lost some of it's Frankenstein-ish charm, it continues to look rather insane and cool. The unit boasts a full QWERTY keyboard, for use with eight-finger typing from the back, plus two triggers on the back that function as the mouse buttons. As if that wasn't wild enough, it also boasts an orientation sensor that allows the 60 QWERTY keys to double as hot keys when the unit is flipped over. The final unit is expected in about six months, and should retail for $100. Check out the gallery for more views of this terrifically weird specimen.
wuuuut is going on.
Could it be that your spoon is too big??
I am a banana!
no me gusta
I am a banana with maracas!
Actually, I thought I saw a similar concept with only 4 buttons on each side, with shift and alt buttons on the front. Master that and a jedi you be...
There is no spoon.
This is a new milestone, a marvel of modern technology!
It looks harder to use, larger, and more expensive than most alternatives. I believe those are antonyms of traits one usually uses to describe modern technology... whatever.
Yes, I'm glad modern technology could find a way to make typing more difficult!
http://www.gloomies.com/sarcasm.jpg
@jivetrky
Ok, bad keyboard concepts aside- what is that symbol you are using for your avatar from? I know I've seen it before, it's driving me nuts!
@ who?
it's from heroes.
http://sadman64.net/images/rofl/rofl3.png
Oh! Yeah! Thanks Slycooper!
Anywho, this keyboard=bad ;-)
Wow, it looks awesome, but would take ALOT of time to get used to... So it seems.
and it only took me a good 5 years to get up to 70wpm..
back to training pants I guess.
True. Instead of using a normally oriented QWERTY keyboard they should have arranged the keys in the same position *relative to your fingers* as they would on a normal QWERTY keyboard. It would look something like this.
BGT YHN
VFR UJM
CDE IK,
XSW OL.
ZAQ P;/
my thoughts exactly, linuxamp! BGT56YHN FTW!!
@ linuxamp
Hey, you never know till you try it xD
Who knows, could be the next best thing, if someone made one.
@linuxamp
Good idea, do it.
I'll buy one.
Seriously why would I want to press keys in on the bottom of the keyboard. As if most people don't have enough trouble typing normally.
Because you can't type normally if you're holding a handheld object. Think about it. You are restricted to only using your thumbs on a handheld device. This allows you to make use of all 10, er 8 digits.
I wonder why they did away with the contoured shape from the prototype? Looks more functional that way.
And this constitutes as "typing normally" how exactly?
I didn't say you could type normally with this. But you can't type normally using any other handheld device either. This device just allows you to make use of 8 digits instead of 2 (thumbs). Obviously this would/will require some awkward, possibly dangerous learning curve. But I actually think they are on to something here...
It took one-hundred+ years for people to accept the current keyboard layout (think back to typewriters and such). It would be more feasible to develop hover technologies for our mobile devices and keep keyboards the way they are than to get the general public to adopt this!
dude, you aren't paying attention. The keyboard hasn't changed. It's still QWERTY like any other keyboard. The layout is the same. The difference is how you interact with it.
true or false: you type SMS texts on your QWERTY phone (touch or slider) using the time-tested 10-finger method? False. You use only thumbs and/or stylus. Same keyboard layout, just a different method of interaction.
this is no different.
MmmK. I'll put this in as simple of terms as possible: Typing from the back and with your fingers parallel to the keyboard = Not. Normal.
ok, thats a bit odd
and no game pad buttons, still should be an interesting one
WSAD on this thing? NEVER!
Im pretty sure gaming never crossed there name. Id personally rather type on a thumb keyboard, but who knows, this might actually be good.
That is one nasty looking piece of crap.
I think it actually looks cool. Everything else (functionality, ease of use, pricetag, ect.) sucks ass.
Those pretty hands in the pictures turned me on a little bit. Sex sells even pointless keyboards.
you must get turned on easier than a lightbulb...
I thought those belonged to a guy with really long fingernails....
They are kind-of man hands.
right on ...wonder how those hands look using a joystick
Looks like a terrible idea to me. I'm getting carpal tunnel just looking at it.
what the hell were they smoking
How many times do we have to say this... ahem.. alphagrip? Bindun! Now if only it was wireless!
This one looks a bit rickety though...
I like the idea, it seems like it would be good for controlling a HTPC from the couch.
If you can touch type, try "typing" on an imaginary back-typing keyboard and see if your fingers remember the approximate key placement, cos mine did, so maybe the learning curve isn't as high as you'd imagine.
the orientation is completely different though...
The way my fingers remembers it was the way that the keyboard is layed out in the picture.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I've been looking for a way to play games like WoW with a controller. This would work out pretty well with some practice.
I think what he's saying is that your hands are antiparallel to the vertical sides of the keyboard with your fingers facing each other, as opposed to how you normally type with your hands parallel to the sides of the keyboard with your fingers running alongside each other. I agree with him, I believe the keys should be split and each half rotated 90 degrees in opposite directions to face your hands.
A solution in search of a problem.
Seconded.
Thirded?
4thed??
i think this is a good idea to help test hand eye coordination [and increase it] and nerve damage since it challenges the brain to do something it does all the time but in a different way. Eh, never mind.
Um.. I often use the 'ctrl + shift +' (and the likes) keyboard combos, now I would like to see how that will be done on this one. It could prove to be a big challenge. I am not too sure about it although its a nice idea. Has its flaws though.
dude, seriously, what the hell would you not be at a desk writing that would require a keyboard, let alone one with a whole bunch of special shortcuts.....
Is this being proposed as a safer way to text while driving?
Ok, I like this idea except... what about one handed typing?
What happens when I'm scholling my pint and want to keep on working?
Wow, I couldn't finish that article. The grammatical errors burned holes in my eyes. Who's writing this stuff, a 3rd grader?
This thing would be awesome for pissing off those friends that like to come to your place and screw with your computer.
They'd just be perplexed with this bad boy!
And now for the Dvorak version...
wholy fuck, this is the solution to the tactile-less tablet.
here we go.
Why?
Why not?
So, is this supposed to be for the blind and visually handicapped, because I can't see any reason for investing in one. It's cool, sure, but it's just like that color-coded keyboard (look it up on CNET): It's cool, but completely impractical.
Amongst other reasons, I'm sure it's for the blind, and in that case, I second this because being blind in this day and age must suck so much (especially if it's not natural born blindness).
Looks effed up but for people with mobility problems in their hands, this could be a life saver. I had a more or less temporary nerve damage in my left hand two weeks ago, and with a job in computers, this became very difficult to type (impossible actually, you don't realize how much of your typing movement uses the tendons on the top of your fingers, where your knuckles are, not your digits or your finger tips). I lost the "upper" movement of my fingers from my wrist to my knuckles -- the radial nerve -- after a really freak incident (I was, literally, watching TV... my arm was in a weird position but nothing TOO weird, fell asleep and damaged a nerve).
The worst keyboard if you have mobility problems? The Mac keyboards that have the raised keys... like... the LAST gen of mac desktop keyboards. Even after my hand has mostly recovered (i'd say to 90%), typing on this thing tires my hand in about 30 seconds. This post itself was exhausting... and if I had to work like this all day, I could not.
Given some adjustment time, a keyboard like this would have been great and for anybody with nerve damage like mine, this could change their lives. I would have dismissed this three weeks ago, but having struggled to type for the last ... 13 days, even with most of my mobility back, I think it's a great idea.
Your hands rest in a more ergonomic position and you can type and use the mouse at the same time without taking your hand off the keyboard. Makes sense.
This actually might be nice for people who need to type standing up. I don't know how many of them there are, but I imagine it's hard to balance a keyboard on one hand and type with the other.
They know most people hold their hands horizontally when using a keyboard, right?
why not like... change the orientation...
break it in half and rotate each side...
While the full text rendition probably works well with desktops and other immobile terminals, I think a chorded version might be a good bit more comfortable on portable devices, because you wouldn't have to size the keys down that much. Of course, chorded typing requires a fair amount of training, but then again, people figured out typing on (much less efficient) cell phone keyboards at stunning speeds as well, didn't they?
You know, this is pretty interesting to me. I wouldn't use it to write a novel, but I could totally see it for entering, say, search strings for the TV guide on my PVR.
Combine this with a dual-axis accelerometer and there's some potential for this as a PC gaming device, too. Real easy to chat & manoeuver at the same time