14 DAY TRIAL // There aren't too many users out there that will consider acquiring a desktop computer keyboard for anything above $100. Come to think of it, even this price tag is considered by many too high for a peripheral device, which should only do one thing, input commands. Still, there are a number of enthusiast users out there who will go all out for a product meant to make their desktop computer perform above your average $600 computer. And those products might even include a simple keyboard.
Art Lebedev is a name that has become famous primarily because of its Optimus keyboards. The Russian design studio thought of a way to improve the quality of a standard keyboard by integrating LCD technology. And what it did was to offer a keyboard that has in-key screens, which can be set-up to provide a user with any configuration for their desktop keyboard. Unfortunately, the keyboard has a rather high price tag to manufacture, which translates into users having to pay more than $1,800 for a single Art Lebedev Optimus Maximus keyboard.
It appears the company has unveiled a new concept, for an Optimus Popularis keyboard, which should be more affordable compared to the existent Optimus Maximus. The company's target is to make its concept of keyboards with in-key screens affordable to almost any user. According to Artemy Lebedev, the chief of the Russian Studio, the new Optimus Popularis keyboard will feature a single large touch screen underneath the primary keyboard. This solution should lower the manufacturing price tag, as the Optimus Maximus keyboard uses OLED screens for every keyboard.
The new keyboard will also benefit from a different design that will make it smaller compared to the present Optimus Maximus. The keys will also look different and will probably remind users of those used on Apple MacBook notebooks.
For the time being, the Optimus Popularis has no estimated price tag and the developer hasn't yet revealed a date for its release. But, according to a statement of Artemey Lebedev made earlier this year, the keyboards are expected to go into production in late 2008 or early 2009.