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Not Your Parent's Keyboard - ASUS Eee Keyboard Nearing Launch

Posted by Daniel Shain

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With the exception of the trackpad, not a whole lot has changed in keyboards since your parents were your age, typing essays into their IBM Selectrics (or even Apple IIes, if you had technically savvy ancestors). ASUS, never one to think inside the box, is doing some pretty cool stuff with their new Eee Keyboard. Like stuffing an entire computer into it.

Netbooks are the fastest growing type of computer out there, confidently outpacing the growth of laptops and smirking at the decline of desktops. ASUS helped start the trend of netbook growth with its Eee PC 700 back in 2007, and since then netbooks have been rapidly getting larger and more technologically advanced. But they have always essentially looked like tiny laptops, and no matter how hard they tried their keyboards were always compromised by their size.

I can imagine the wacky team of inventors sitting around in their ASUS lab thinking about this problem.

Scientist A: Hey, we should really invent a netbook that has a nice slick keyboard. I think people would want that.
Scientist B: But if we use a full keyboard, the netbook will be too wide! And Sony already tried making a horribly rectangular netbook anyway, and look how well that went.
(pause)
Scientist C: What if we bypassed the weird screen problem by just shipping a beefed up keyboard?
Scientist A: You mean with the whole computer inside it? How is that not just half a laptop?
(pause)
Scientist B: Why don't we slap a touchscreen on it?
All Scientists: (joyously) Eureka!

And so the Eee Keyboard was born. It truly is a marvel for innovation, as the full keyboard with a 5" touchscreen display attached is loaded with novelty and even some usefulness. Reports have varied somewhat, but the 2lb keyboard appears to be loaded with an Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, a 32GB SSD, 1GB RAM, WiFi/Bluetooth, VGA/HDMI and USB ports, speakers and a microphone, and possibly even wireless HD transmission capabilities via UWB. That's roughly netbookesque, although the battery life of under 2 hours is a little slim. The 800x480 touchscreen will have a stand-alone OS on it for running programs if you must, and otherwise can function as an excellent shortcut menu of sorts when plugged into a standard display.

Oh, and if you think running apps on a 800x480 display is impossible, just remember that ASUS's aforementioned original netbook, the 7" Eee PC 700, had exactly that resolution. My oh my, how the times do change. ASUS has been talking about this since CES in January, but it's looking more and more likely for an October release for between $400-$500.

The folks at Engadget Chinese got to play with one of these not long ago - take a gander here.

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Comments

  • By: Jack Dec 19, 2009 4:12 AM

    if you must, Sony NP-BG1 , Canon BP-511 , Kodak KLIC-5001 and otherwise can function as an excellent shortcut menu of sorts when plugged into a standard display. Essay Writing || Assignments || GCSE Coursework

  • By: akshay Dec 12, 2009 2:30 PM

    Reports have varied somewhat, but the 2lb keyboard appears to be loaded with an Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, a 32GB SSD, 1GB RAM, WiFi/Bluetooth, VGA/HDMI and USB ports, Voucher Codes

  • By: adasdgfdg Dec 12, 2009 11:59 AM

    But they have always essentially looked like tiny laptops, and no matter how hard they tried their keyboards were always compromised by their size.

    Library App

  • By: camera Sep 08, 2009 9:43 PM

    1.66GHz, a 32GB SSD, 1GB RAM, WiFi/Bluetooth, VGA/HDMI and USB ports, speakers and a microphone, and possibly even wireless HD transmission capabilities via UWB. That's roughly netbookesque, although the battery life of under 2 hours is a little slim. The 800x480 touchscreen will have a stand-alone OS on it for running programs if you must, Sony NP-BG1 , Canon BP-511 , Kodak KLIC-5001 and otherwise can function as an excellent shortcut menu of sorts when plugged into a standard display.

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