CES 2008: Optimus Maximus Keyboards Will Arrive In February

Rumors about Art Lebedev's Optimus Maximus OLED-based keyboard have started to emerge back in 2005. Its design has undergone plenty of changes since then, and has been repeatedly delayed. The functional principle is simple: an OLED screen is placed under each keycap, so the key symbol can be instantly morphed through a software application, in order to reflect the current character set or associated program.

Much of the potential buyers strongly doubted about its very existence, as the keyboard kept being unavailable. This is all history, as the keyboard is alive and kicking, as this year's CES showed us. There are some fully functioning models displayed at Art Lebedev's booth.

The keyboards have been priced at around $1500 for a fully functioning unit, but those who would like to have only a few OLED-enabled keys can get cheaper model. For $500 you can acquire a keyboard with a single OLED-enabled key. If you decide you would like more glittering keys after you bought the keyboard, there is no problem, as the producer sells additional keys individually for as much as $20 per unit.

Sure thing, the full keyboard's price may be a little too salty, but those who would like to have OLED-based multimedia keys only can purchase them individually, for a more down-to-earth price. The keyboard stores its layout data on a SD card situated inside it, so users can migrate their key layout and aspect from keyboard to keyboard.

The showcased keyboards can do every single promised thing, and the feeling that $1500 is too much for a keyboard quickly disappears at its mere sight. It's not the visual aspect that makes it special; the tactile feedback is also extremely smooth, with no typing clicking.

The keyboards are due to shipping in early February, with 5,000 units available in the first batch. The keyboard was unavailable because of Philips chips being short at the manufacturer's unit. Competitive models from Apple are expected soon.