Qwerkywriter
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Great keyboard design can be undermined by bad decisions
One problem with loving quirkily designed mechanical keyboards is that there's a risk of falling onto a hype train of your own making. At first blush, Lofree's wireless mechanical keyboard looked like a dream product, thanks to its Henrik Thor-Larsen-inspired design. It showed plenty of promise too, thanks to its Gateron Blue switches and Mac-first layout that works with both iOS and macOS devices (as well as Windows and Android). But despite its gorgeous looks, the Lofree keyboard is unpleasant to use.
Engadget giveaway: Win an iPad Air and Qwerkywriter Bluetooth keyboard!
Need inspiration for a 1930s screenplay or just enjoy the satisfying clack of mechanical keyboards? Either way, the Qwerkywriter from Qwerky Toys could be just the thing for your writing nook. This Bluetooth keyboard and stand appears to be lovingly crafted: The aluminum exterior is coated in matte black paint and each of the 83 mechanical keys are topped with rounded vintage keycaps. There's even a working return bar to complete the look. Of course, charging it with micro-USB and connecting to a tablet via Bluetooth may break the spell, but with up to three months on a charge it could easily be overlooked. This week, the company has provided an iPad Air and Qwerkywriter Bluetooth keyboard to help one reader dial back that future-forward attitude just a touch. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at clacking away on this beauty. Winner: Congratulations to Dan L. of Morro Bay, CA!
Qwerkywriter's retro iPad keyboard is a flawed masterpiece
The internet has made our culture impermanent, and in its confusion, humanity mistook nostalgia for authenticity. Our cameras take images in unprecedented detail, but we only share them if they look like Polaroids from more than half a century ago. The hipsters of today dress like they're about to teach a physics class in a Midwestern public school, circa 1954. That's why the Qwerkywriter feels like such a product of its time: a $399 84-key Bluetooth keyboard that's been styled to look like the love child of an Olivetti Studio 42 and an Underwood No. 5. A gleaming exhibit of the future designed to seem as if it's been in the back of a junk shop for the last hundred years. It was a Kickstarter success, but can the product vault the hurdle between nostalgia and authenticity to become an actual product?
Crowdfunding Roundup: Some winners and a few slow starters
Every week, TUAW provides readers with an update on new or significant crowdfunded Apple-related projects in the news. While our policy is to not go into detail on items that haven't reached at least 80 percent of their funding goal, this update is designed to give readers a heads-up on projects they might find interesting enough to back. Wow, we're hearing about a lot of Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that are figuratively "knocking it out of the park" by not only meeting, but exceeding their funding goals. Let's take a look at what's out on Kickstarter this week: Boldy is a new magnetic iPad and iPhone mount that uses a curved, half-egg shaped mount with a "cup" on the back of a special case to create an amazingly adjustable setup. It has a bit of a ways to go to reach funding, as it's only at about 10.7 percent funding. Fortunately, the campaign goes for another 45 days. If you're one of the three humans on the planet who doesn't have at least one device mount, Boldy looks like it is definitely worth waiting for. OK, so some of you young punks don't even know what a typewriter is/was, but if you have any love at all for retro tech you're going to love the Qwerkywriter. It's a typewriter-inspired mechanical keyboard that is just flippin' beautiful. Dreams don't become reality without your backing, though -- with three weeks to go, the Qwerkywriter campaign has only raised about 35 percent of funding. Please back this project so I can pretend I'm typing on my grandmother's old Underwood typewriter. We already had a full post about the Edyn connected garden accessories earlier this week, but the campaign on Kickstarter is still underway. If you want to make your gardening a little bit easier, to be able to understand what's going on with those plants, back this project. Edyn has already made funding -- it's 181 percent funded with 27 days to go -- but can always use more money to help get manufacturing up and running. TUAW readers know that I'm fascinated with the "Internet of everything", and I have sensors, switches, and webcams just about everywhere in my house to see what's going on and give me control from anywhere I happen to be. Well, oort is looking a creating a unified ecosystem of products connected to your iPhone or iPad through a small puck-like hub. Having just launched, the oort project is only at 2.1 percent of funding, but I expect it to take off. Ever heard of "juice jacking"? It's a method of compromising a smartphone or tablet that's plugged into a USB port for charging. Now, while as far as I know this has never been an issue, LA-based SparqEE wants to make sure it never happens to you. How are they doing this? With the Umbrella USB, which is basically a tiny USB adapter that passes power to your juice-hungry device but no data. In other words, it's a way to stop someone from infecting your devices with malware if you happen to plug into the wrong USB port... 112 percent funded with three weeks to go! Here's a great way to get girls interested in coding: APPALOOSA! is a mobile app prototyping kit that combines stories, supplies and source files to get young girls interested in app development. The project has modest goals and is fortunately almost halfway to its funding goal with 39 days to go. This should be an easy project to push over the top, and it's a very worthy Kickstarter. Let's say that you happen to own a very nice, expensive Breitling watch. Are you going to give that up for some "smart watch" anytime soon? Probably not. That's why Glance makes sense -- it's a digital accessory that fits under a watchband and works with smartphone apps to provide you with information, all while you're using your favorite watch. Regretfully, at only 25 percent funding with three weeks to go, Glance may not make it into production without your help. And finally, we head over to Indiegogo where the Pouff3D 3D scanner is trying to get off the ground. Maybe it's the name; perhaps it's the idea that not everyone needs a smartphone-connected 3D scanner that looks like a weird piece of living room furniture. Anyway, the project is probably going to die an early death; it has only captured $88 of an $85,000 goal with 16 days to go. And that, my friends, is it for this week in the wild and wacky world of crowdfunding. Come back next week when we'll see what new ideas (and probably even more smartphone/tablet mounts) show up. Thanks again to Hal Sherman for providing tips on a number of the projects. If you're aware of any other crowdfunded Apple-related projects, be sure to let us know about them through the Tip Us button at the upper right of the TUAW home page for future listing on the site.
