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Visualized: Art Lebedev Studio's Optimus Popularis
We've long been fans of the creative art / technology mashup, Art Lebedev Studio. Of course we've seen the Optimus Popularis come across our feeds many times but surprisingly this is the first time we've ever caught up to it in person. The idea here is that the keyboard can be reconfigured any way you wish because every key is a small display -- not unlike the Razor Blade. We need one of these badly but the $1000-ish price tag made us realize that unless a bank heist tops up the savings account this will still in the bucket list for now. Feel free to enjoy all those beautiful little keys in the gallery below.
Optimus Popularis keyboard finally pictured, still on track for sub-$1000 release
Art Lebedev doesn't have a fantastic track record when it comes to timing, but we'll be damned if those boutique devices don't look hot when they hit the scene -- just check out this first render of the Optimus Popularis keyboard, which the studio informs us will still (despite years in the making) cost less than $1000 when it eventually arrives. We're loving the new chiclet keys with typewriter spacing, even as we mourn the loss of a dedicated numpad in favor of industrial design -- though Art Leb says a press of the FN key will remedy that issue. When every button has a screen built into it, you can put that ten-key wherever you want, right?
Optimus Popularis keyboard is still on target, due next year
Is your Optimus Maximus feeling a little... dated? OLED keys just not quite doing it for you any longer? Looking for something a little different, and maybe a little smaller? That's the Popularis, a product announced just about two years ago that the good folks at Optimus would like to remind you is still progressing quite nicely. Plans are to start production later this year with a release sometime in 2011. Like the Maximus, the Popularis will have full-color keys, but they are said to not be OLED-based this time, leaving us wondering. When it was initially announced the keyboard was set to retail for the bargain price of under $1,000 but, given the rate of inflation since then, we could be looking at an MSRP closer to $1,010. Better skip today's Starbucks run.
