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Hands-on with the Optimus mini three
So we just got our hands on the underground gadget hit of the fall, then spring, then summer, then fall again -- the Art Lebedev Optimus mini three. Considered the trial run of the true Optimus keyboard, this little sucker features three "interactive" OLED keys, which act not only as animated informational widgets but also as contextual keys depending on which application you're in. It definitely worked as advertised, but we're afraid the mini three's not quite all it's cracked up to be. Read on, and we'll tell ya why, with plenty of eye candy in between.
Optimus mini three delayed until August, bumped to $160
We knew it was too good to be true. The Optimus mini three keypad, which was due out this week, has apparently been delayed until August 15th, due to "additions and improvements," including bumping the button life to 100,000 presses, increasing OLED lifetime to 8,000 hours and adding a brightness control. Art Lebedev Studio has also apparently chosen to switch contract manufacturers, and will be producing the long-awaited device in Taiwan instead of China. So, what do loyal customers get for their patience? Something of a discount, since they were able to pre-order the mini three for $100. Lebedev is still accepting pre-orders for $120, but the price is expected to go up to $160 -- a pretty hefty bump for a product that, so far, exists only in mockups. Still, we're itching to see this one get real, so we hope this delay is just the usual hiccup for a new manufacturer creating an unusual product, and that we'll be able to check one of these out before the end of the summer.[Thanks, Len]
