Grippity drops by again to show off gaming mockup and original keyboard model

We just can't get enough of these Grippity back-typing keyboards, and Jacob Eichbaum dropped by the Engadget trailer one last time to show us his super-early mockup of a Grippity back-typing gaming controller, along with the original prototype that started all this insanity. Apparently they've been getting a lot of interest from manufacturers, especially with the media remote we saw the other day, so hopefully we'll see this crazy concoction hitting stores sometime this year.

Gallery: Grippity drops by again to show off gaming mockup and original keyboard model

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[Neil @ Jan 11th 2009 11:28PM]

it looks so frustrating to use!

[Flashpoint @ Jan 11th 2009 11:48PM]

Atari Jaguar !

[asha @ Jan 12th 2009 9:47AM]

you would think they would have come up with a better lay-out for the keys. They've made home row a lot more annoying to reach along with everything else.

I honestly think that this is going to fizzle and die.

[AJR @ Jan 11th 2009 11:31PM]

It looks like something I would use. It's just wonder how long it would take to get use to the back-typing keyboard.

[someguy7234 @ Jan 11th 2009 11:32PM]

Does it come in Dvorak?

[ethana2 @ Jan 12th 2009 2:24AM]

Make it colemak and put the keys on the back of the thing, in two opposing sets, so that you hold the controller from the sides and touch type. ~111wpm colemak typist
I suppose dvorak would be a welcome option also.

[Tankyu @ Jan 11th 2009 11:38PM]

LET'S HOPE IT HAS A SHIFT KEY. THERE IS NOTHING MORE ANNOYING THAN PEOPLE WRITING IN ALL CAPS.

[Neil @ Jan 11th 2009 11:48PM]

damn hypocrites. lol.

[i.c. weiner @ Jan 12th 2009 12:02AM]

wow, way to miss the whole point of his post

[Tankyu @ Jan 12th 2009 1:46AM]

wow, way to miss the whole point of my post

[Gad Get @ Jan 12th 2009 2:08AM]

Yeah, way to miss the whole point of his post!

[Rocketboy @ Jan 12th 2009 9:57AM]

Way to miss the whole point.

or should I say

WAY TO MISS THE WHOLE POINT.

[Tony Bowman @ Jan 11th 2009 11:41PM]

meh. The Xbox 360 chat pad works just great, and most people have gotten adept at thumb tyiping thanks to cell phones. why bother with this?

[Foo @ Jan 14th 2009 1:08AM]

just think about it, with this one you can play (thumbs and index ingers) and type (all 6 rest fingers) at the very same time!!!

[alex @ Jan 11th 2009 11:42PM]

now i'm not trying to be negative but.. is it really all that great?
it seems like it would be a lot simpler to simply use the 360 chatpad...

[Christian G. @ Jan 11th 2009 11:45PM]

Typing AND playing at the same time. It sounds awesome... but is it possible for our simple brain? D:

[AVG @ Jan 11th 2009 11:57PM]

i can thumb your mom from the front

[HZ @ Jan 11th 2009 11:59PM]

They MUST be kidding if this are their websites :

http://www.grippity.com/
http://www.surfpad.net/ (the one that appears printed on the back of the gaming mockup=

I mean, i lol'ed hard with this.

[Broo @ Jan 12th 2009 7:08PM]

yea- the website is great...

i think it is supposed to do a bit more, but the link to 'src="file:///C:/Program%20Files/Microsoft%20Office/Office10/fpclass/animate.js"' seems to be having some problems...

[John Willaford @ Jan 12th 2009 12:00AM]

Yeah, no doubt Flashpoint.
It's like Sam Trameil resurrected the Jaguar as a PC and claimed it was a 384bit system since it has 4 32 bit cores on its Processor and a 256bit GPU. .

[eric @ Jan 12th 2009 12:01AM]

We would have also accepted 'that's what she asked'.

[thethirdmoose @ Jan 12th 2009 12:13AM]

Pics or it didn't happen.

[superhobo @ Jan 12th 2009 12:14AM]

Why?

[allislost @ Jan 12th 2009 12:29AM]

HEY i was promised a prototype and i never got it. I would like to get one and do some testing and write a review for it

[jacob @ Jan 14th 2009 6:23AM]

I am a man of his word - once we have sample to give to beta testers, you are on my list along with the other 4.

about the BGTYHN layout - if we would have used it, I can imagine the comments to that - "who's gonna learn this new layout? what's wrong with QWERTY? what about alpha-grip???"
It would be very easy to change the layout with a simple driver and some stickers. we might give this option. From the test we have made, the changed (and more healthy) posture of the hand while backtyping (yeah, typing with the back...) "deletes" the sense of the fingers to find the keys. the brain, however, continues to "see" the QWERTY even without looking, and send the fingers to the right location.
our goal is to put a casual-lean-backward-typing device on the living room coffee table. we compete with the on-screen "keyboards" or full sized media center keyboards that are just too big for the media center scene. this is also an ergonomic solution for the desktop.

[Levi @ Jan 12th 2009 12:44AM]

I commend the Grippity guy for his efforts, but I doubt the function of the device. It just doesn't look like it's worth the effort to get used to.

[BigD145 @ Jan 12th 2009 1:12AM]

He patented a PS2 controller?

[xconan @ Jan 12th 2009 3:38PM]

that form factor is old or prior art or copy of some defunct company.

[Spider 17 @ Jan 12th 2009 2:00AM]

Gee, I just spent $75 on the real sized one from logitech

[Vic @ Jan 12th 2009 3:07AM]

I would never -ever- show up at a major tradeshow with such rough mockups. That's just pathetic. Again like those above commending him for trying, it just doesn't really seem innovative or practical enough for use. Frankly, I can type just as fast as I want with my thumbs on my blackberry, and the market for a device to type on while on the move at that size seems rather small.

[ananimus3 @ Jan 12th 2009 3:28AM]

I get the whole "people didn't ustacould type on regular QWERTY keyboards either" argument. But I thought it was designed after some careful thought of how we might be able to catch on.

That said... my roundish gut tells me this might be easier to adapt to if they flipped the left and right halves of the keyboards so that the same fingers would seek out the same keys. Top row example: TREWQPOIUY. Visually it's weird, but tactily it just seems it'd be easier to adapt to once you get your head around the fact that your hands are backwards but your fingers are still over the same keys, kinda.

[elBravo @ Jan 12th 2009 3:04PM]

I agree. make the finger movements the same so you can keep the same muscle memory.
Place the keys like:
BGTYHN
VFRUJM
CDEIK,
XSWOL.
ZAQP;/
It looks crazy, but its just the qwerty broken in the center and rotated.
I also love the styrofoam mock up. This guy definitely made this the night before...

[ananimus3 @ Jan 13th 2009 3:40AM]

@elBravo: Ahh of course, of course. The way you did it was what I was (meaning to be) getting at. +1

[keithwwalker @ Jan 12th 2009 6:17AM]

On the one hand, I say some bondo and a few layers of glosscoat would help his cause immensely.

On the other hand, his brilliant concept shines through all that.

Think about it, how could you make typing more efficient? Bring your thumbs into the mix.

[Haikibutsu @ Jan 12th 2009 8:21AM]

We all know who browses the quattro chan.

Rules 1 and 2 only apply to raids.

[Pauly @ Jan 12th 2009 10:05AM]

Is it a design feature that it looks like it's made out of sh*t?

[HZ @ Jan 12th 2009 5:06PM]

it's a concept mockup :roll:

[eyeb1 @ Jan 12th 2009 9:41PM]

old hat ..
the alphagrip has it beat hands down .. both for typing(by far i would say) and gaming .. and it's second generation is on it's way which should over come some if not all of it first generation short comings ..