One of the coolest and hottest designs in the tech industry right now is the Optimus Maximus keyboard by Art. Lebedev Studio. If you are a tech junky, you probably already know what I’m talking about, but some of you may not have heard about this amazing product yet.
Basically, the Optimus Maximus is a USB keyboard that features an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology in each one of the keys on the keyboard which lights up the key like a screen. Because of this amazing technology, you can then change what is displayed on each key on the keyboard. So if you’d like to change the language or layout on your keyboard, just boot up the software that comes with the keyboard and you can change it. The keyboard also features 8 buttons on the left which lets you assign certain applications to each, displaying the logo through the OLED for a direct link between that program and the button. Below is a picture of part of the Optimus and it’s software which allows you to change the keys.
Imagine this technology in a portable laptop keyboard. The only problem right know with the Optimus Maximus is it’s outrageous price. It is currently listed at around $450 to order. This is obviously because of the expensive price of production in this technology and the small company that produces it. I think it would be a revolutionary idea for Apple to buy the company that produces and has the patents for this idea, put some major R & D into it, and mass produce it into their laptop keyboards. Imagine a MacBook with OLED keys. Maybe I’m just dreaming…
I can already see a major computer company buying Art. Lebedev Studio out, because it’s an amazing idea that might die without the financial backing of a major company. I’m positive that Apple could cut down the price of production in these keyboards once they put them in their major production and research departments. Maybe at first it could just be an upgradable option in MacBooks, and they could then go from there. I know I would pay for the upgrade.
If Apple tied this technology together with a large multi-touch trackpad on their MacBooks (that is rumored for Macworld), they would have the ultimate laptop on their hands. I would buy one in a heartbeat.
Check out Art. Lebedev Studio’s site and check out some of their concept designs also. The keyboard that they are wanting to produce in 2008 has a TFT display that looks like it will use multi-touch like technology. Imagine this in a MacBook…
Here is a really crappy photoshop of this on a Macbook…
