Grippity back-typing keyboard is one step closer to existing
By Laura June 
posted December 4th 2008 7:47PM
posted December 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.
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