OptimusMaximus -- Engadget

Engadget's 5th birthday giveaway, part 1: win an Optimus Maximus keyboard!

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 14th 2009 at 4:15PM

When you hit the ripe old age of 5, you start to look back upon the years with a certain wistful nostalgia. We'd be lying if we said we didn't get just a little bit misty-eyed thinking about the Optimus Maximus. Like so many of the gadgets we've seen, we followed this little guy from its early design stages, right up into a full hands-on with the quasi-mythical piece of gear. So, it's not without a small amount of sadness that we release this keyboard back into the wild, where it belongs, where a new user will be confused and frustrated with how hard it is to type on.

All you've got to do is let us know what your favorite post from the last five years has been in the comments below.

Note: We've bolded the above statement, since it seems like you guys aren't following the rules.

The rules:

Leave a comment below. We want to hear what your favorite Engadget post has been from the last five years -- and feel free to be descriptive!
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Optimus Maximus keyboard. Approximate retail value is incalculable (or, something like $1692.31).
If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
Entries can be submitted until Friday, April 17th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Full rules can be found here.

Art Lebedev opens minimus Optimus Store in New York

by Thomas Ricker posted Aug 11th 2008 at 2:33AM

There it is, Art Lebedev's new Optimus Store in New York, NY. It's not so much a store as it is a kiosk sitting inside of RCS Computer Experience at 575 Madison Ave. Guess they're just waiting for demand of the ~~$1,500~~ $1,877 keyboard market to pick-up before busting out the trowel and mortar.

Optimus Maximus survives coffee spill test... or does it?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 1st 2008 at 4:02PM

Maybe it's the ambiguity and possible masking of truth that just adds to the allure here, but whether it really lived or not, you now know what an Optimus Maximus looks like after an impromptu greeting with lukewarm java. Sir tema clearly states that the keyboard "survived" its first recorded coffee spill "thanks to the construction of the upper tray," but judging by the looks of this thing... um, we're not so sure. Oh, and he also mentions that spilling liquids on the 'board is not only "stupid," but it obviously voids any applicable warranties. Thanks for the memo.

Optimus Pultius: because Maximus just isn't enough

by Paul Miller posted Jul 21st 2008 at 10:41PM

Sensing your deep down desire for more OLED keys, Art Lebedev is busting out the new Optimus Pultius, which adds 15 keys to the mayhem. Sure you could use it all by its lonesome, sans Maximus, but that's just not as fun. The keys are just like the ones on the Maximus, and there's even an extra USB port in the back. And you know what that's for... daisy chaining these suckers. No word on price or release date just yet, other than the vague 2008 / early 2009 timeframe.

How would you change the Optimus Maximus?

by Darren Murph posted Apr 11th 2008 at 6:30PM

After hacking away on Art Lebedev's utterly gorgeous Optimus Maximus for a few days, we came away both awed and disappointed. For as beautiful and functional as this beast is, we still felt that actually typing on it -- you know, its primary purpose -- left a lot to be desired. Still, it's hard to deny the ingenuity in the OLED-stuffed 'board, but with such a lofty price tag and even loftier expectations, we can't imagine all of the lucky early adopters being a hundred percent satisfied. For those that laid out for this exquisite piece of kit, how on Earth could revision two be better? Want a few more keys to play around with? Could it stand to lose some of that clicky tactility? Or will it really only be worth the coin once it bags your lunch, irons your shirt and chauffeurs you to work? Do tell.

Optimus Maximus keyboard for laptops? Yes, please.

by Darren Murph posted Mar 3rd 2008 at 6:17PM

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]

Video: Optimus Maximus install, setup, Configurator, and use!

by Ryan Block posted Feb 22nd 2008 at 2:58PM

Ah, finally, video of the production Optimus Maximus keyboard in real world use with our machine running the Configurator software. We won't spoil all the fun, hit up the video after the break to see it in action.

[MP4] - Download, h.264 65MB

Update: Ok, YouTube was totally sucky for the first couple hours, but the embedded video is now online after the break. Of course, you can also download it from the link right above. Sorry for the delay!

Continue reading Video: Optimus Maximus install, setup, Configurator, and use!

Optimus Maximus: at long last, we bring one home to test

by Ryan Block posted Feb 22nd 2008 at 12:06PM

It's the damnedest thing: years after seeing the renders we're actually finally writing this post on our very own Optimus Maximus. We've had ours for a few weeks for testing, but we weren't able to do a whole lot with it until we got some later firmware updates. Here's the preliminary report:

The OLED displays look really good, and are bright and colorful, just like we'd hoped.
Key changes were instant (or almost) in Windows mode, but had a slight delay in Mac mode, where some key bindings were also little out of whack. These are known issues, though, and are being worked on.
The keyboard itself is friggin massive, and very sturdy-feeling. The thing is a tank.
Replacing keys is pretty easy, but larger keys are more difficult to pull off. You're really only intended to replace the standard-sized keys, so far as we can tell.
Typing on it, well, sucks. We kind of hate to say it, but this thing more than likely won't replace what ever keyboard you're writing your novel on -- it's better off used as an absurdly configurable swiss army knife for tasks like gaming, Photoshop, or just about any other productivity app that doesn't require a lot of typing.
Okay, why does typing on the Optimus suck, you ask? Well, although the keyboard uses mechanical switches and a lot of high quality components (evident when we pulled off some keys), and there is some clicky tactility to keypresses, as a whole it just requires way too much force to depress keys. And the larger the key, the more force is required, so enter is easier than space, but harder than tab. Let's put it this way, we sit around and type all day long and this thing wore us out in about 30 seconds to a minute. Carpal sufferers, beware.
The Configurator is everything we hoped it'd be and more. The ability to paint directly onto the keyboard maps with the image editor of your choice is most excellent. Mapping keyboards to applications and conditions is ridiculously easy. Not everything was working properly though, since we were testing early beta software.

We'll have some video in a bit. We so can't wait for people to start getting their keyboards so we can benefit from their wacky layouts.

Gallery: Optimus Maximus: at long last, we bring one home

Optimus Maximus shipments begin

by Joshua Topolsky posted Feb 21st 2008 at 4:24PM

The day you've been waiting so very, very, very long for has finally arrived: Optimus Maximus keyboards have begun shipping out to their new homes. In addition to the pricey, OLED-studded 'boards, the Optimus Configurator software utility is also available, allowing you to customize your new purchase to your heart's content. In other news, Art Lebedev says that he's planning a new project which will make you salivate uncontrollably for five years straight, and end with you taking out a second mortgage on your home to purchase it. Huzzah!

Optimus Maximus sold on eBay at terrifically inflated cost

by Joshua Topolsky posted Feb 11th 2008 at 5:32PM

You may remember seeing an eBay auction for a NIB Optimus Maximus keyboard a few weeks ago on Engadget. As you can imagine, the news generated a lot of excitement -- particularly from the folks at eBay, who decided it would be a sweet item to feature on their homepage. Thus the auction was ended quickly and relisted in accordance with special rules and regulations, and now some poor, poor soul (or wealthy, as it were) is the proud owner of an auctioned Optimus Maximus. Hey, it only cost $2,750... or just a little bit less than double the list price ($1564.72). Oh you crazy eBayers.

[Via TG Daily]

How much would you pay to be the first Optimus Maximus owner?

by Nilay Patel posted Jan 29th 2008 at 2:18PM

We wouldn't have expected the first opportunity for consumers to pick up an Optimus Maximus to be in the wild frontiers of eBay, but hey, we'll take what we can get. Currently at $300 with 14 bids, but seeing how fast our pathetic bid was shot down, it looks like there's going to be quite a frenzy when the auction winds down on February 4th.

Mixed meme of the day: Beatles coming to Optimus Maximus

by Evan Blass posted Jan 16th 2008 at 9:56AM

Art Lebedev's CES 2008 booth tour

by Ryan Block posted Jan 9th 2008 at 9:38AM

Let's get this straight: Lebedev by no means only does the Optimus Maximus, and his studio is one of the most prolific design firms in Russia. But Art and his crew were at CES for one reason, and one reason alone -- not that we have a problem with that. Don't forget to check out our Optimus Maximus video.

Gallery: Art Lebedev's CES 2008 booth tour

Video: Optimus Maximus caught on tape at CES

by Darren Murph posted Jan 8th 2008 at 6:10PM

Mahalo Daily's Veronica Belmont was able to catch up with Art Lebedev at CES 2008 and spend nearly six minutes checking out the oh-so-captivating Optimus Maximus keyboard. If you've managed to resist heading past the break and clicking play as hastily as humanly possible up 'til now, what on Earth are you waiting for?

Continue reading Video: Optimus Maximus caught on tape at CES

Optimus Maximus delayed until February, unless you skimp on firmware

by Paul Miller posted Dec 26th 2007 at 9:02AM

We've been waiting this long, what's a couple more months? Art Lebedev has announced that the Optimus Maximus keyboard isn't quite ready for prime time yet, and will be delayed until late February. Lucky for you reckless early adopters out there, if you pre-ordered the Maximus you can get Art Lebedev to ship you the keyboard now, it'll just be lacking its final firmware, and therefore you've got a bit of a hack job to look forward to when Lebedev releases the full firmware -- which will be software-updatable. Not exactly exciting news, but we'd much prefer Lebedev get this out the door than sit around a few more years waiting on perfection.