The mini synthesizer necklace is made by Jen Murse of plastique. It’s laser-cut from various bits of acrylic, layered together to form the complete keyboard shape. What I really love about this thing is just how much depth it has. The keys and levers actually have real dimensionality to them, and if my fingers were small enough, I’d want to try and play with them.

For those of you interested in picking one of these up for yourself or your significant other, the necklace measures about 2.7″ wide by .75″ tall by .3″ thick, and ships on an 18″ gold plated chain. You can also request different chains, but that will affect the price. The keyboard necklace is going for just $50 (USD) over on Etsy.

The “invention kit” comes with a circuit board, a bunch of alligator clips and a USB cable. All you have to do is connect the MaKey MaKey board to a computer, then attach the alligator clips to the object that you want to use as a keypad and you’re good to go. Your computer will just think that you have a USB keyboard connected. It’s like the Old Spice commercial made real: your bananas are now keyboards!

How awesome is that?! The rest of the world has already gone on record with a resounding “Hell, yeah that’s awesome!”, because as of this writing the MaKey MaKey Kickstarter fundraiser has gathered more than 6 times its original goal amount of $25,000 (USD). You can be one of the first to own a MaKey MaKey kit by pledging at least $35 (USD) to the fundraiser.

[via Engadget]

The new accessory will protect your iPad, and uses the power of the sun to charge it up. Solar power is a cool addition, and the whole package looks a lot more streamlined than their previous Keyboard Case. It works with Bluetooth, and just like their earlier keyboard, this one lasts a long time on a full charge. Logitech states that it can last up to 2 years, which is amazing. It’s too bad the solar panels can’t be used to recharge your iPad too.

The Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio is available for pre-order for $129.99(USD) directly from their online store.

[via Ubergizmo]

The biggest selling point of the Brydge is that it just looks beautiful with the iPad, blending well with Apple’s laptops and desktops in both appearance and material. Sure, it also has built-in speakers, a full-sized keyboard and it holds the iPad firmly in place, but you can find those features in other keyboard cases too. Unless it turns out to have a major flaw the Brydge will sell based on its looks alone.

To prove my point, the Kickstarter fundraiser for Brydge met its goal of $90,000 (USD) within a day of its launch, despite not having a pledge option lower than $150(USD). $90,000 in one day, despite the fact that most – if any at all – of the backers have not tested the keyboard case yet and that inventor Brad Leong is a relative unknown.

I’m not saying Leong doesn’t deserve the success or that the Brydge is a scam – heck, I want one – just that he knows how to capture an Apple fan’s heart – through their eyeballs. You can pre-order the Brydge on Kickstarter with a pledge of at least $170.

[The Brydge via ZDNet]

The switches are made out of a sheet of aluminum with black chiclet-like keys on them, reminding me of  the keyboard on a MacBook. That’s not a bad thing, and it definitely makes these light switches unique. They’ll change the mood of an apartment or a room, especially if you replace all of your traditional light switches with these.

You’ll have to contact PLH to get yours, and I’m not sure that they’ll work in American homes since they’re designed for Europe, so you’ll want to confirm that before you order.

[via Jay Mug]

You can’t actually type on them, although they can function as a rubbery massager to sooth and relax your tired feet.

They were originally designed by a Thailand-based rubber shoes company called Kito, and they were selling for about $30 a pair. Now a cheap knock-off of the design has wormed its way into China, where they’re currently being sold for cheap at 7.8 yuan (USD$1.23) a pair on Taobao. Of course you do have to figure out how to read Chinese to buy them.

[via MIC Gadget]

Aside from the usual Bluetooth keyboard and protective case, the NoteBookCase also has a built-in 4,000 mAh battery, which you can then use to charge the attached iPad 2 as well as other gadgets, thanks to its USB port. While the NoteBookCase is designed for the iPad 2, there’s a chance it’ll fit the 3rd gen iPad as well, as many iPad 2 cases still fit the new model.

You can order the NoteBookCase from Fancy for $88 (USD). If iOS had integrated keyboard mapping support for games I’d buy something like this or the ZAGGmate.

[via Fancy]

Handcrafted with care by John William Dunn of Victorian Steam Austin, the iCog Hades is basically a wooden iPad stand with a matching keyboard. Use the two together, and you can transform your close-to-brand-new device into a vintage, steampunk laptop. You can also detach the top lid from the keyboard to use it as a standalone bumper case for your iPad, if you prefer. The keyboard has custom brass covers and hooks up to your device via Bluetooth.

Of course, you don’t expect something this spectacular-looking to come cheap. The iCog Hades is priced at $424(USD) and is available from Victorian Steam’s Etsy shop.

[via Chip Chick]

The Adesso Compagno 3WKB-1000DW will helps increase your productivity with your iPad, adding not only a protective (faux leather) case, but a slim keyboard. It uses scissor-switch keys to offer tactile feedback, which is similar to the keys on most laptops. It uses Bluetooth 3.0 technology to ensure fast key response as well. It also has a couple of multimedia and iPad-specific keys, a rechargeable polymer batter that will last 100 hours, and the case includes magnets to keep your iPad in place, and the keyboard can be removed to provide more typing flexibility.

The case is also smart enough to shut off both the iPad and the keyboard when shut. I know that I keep my Logitech Keyboard Case at home most of the time since I don’t need it on the road, however a compact package like this might make me change my mind. The Adesso Compagno 3 sells for $89.99, and is compatible with both the iPad 2 and the 3rd generation iPad. It’s not available yet, but should be up on the Adesso shop soon.

[via Ubergizmo]

This Keyboard Stationery Set adds a few new tools to your desktop arsenal, including a mini-stapler (guaranteed to staple at least one sheet of paper together,) a hole punch (just need two more and they’ll actually be useful,) a brush (for getting Dorito crumbs out from your keys,) and magnetic storage for your paper clips (and erasing any credit cards or old floppies you have lying around.)

While three of the tools are appropriately labeled, the paper clip storage is quizzically identified as an “Enter” key, which should definitely keep things interesting if you place it in close proximity to your real keyboard.

The set is available in the familiar black or white keycap colors, but also an girly pink version too – presumably for those of you out there with Hello Kitty keyboards. You can find the black or white versions over at Kleargear for $11.95(USD), while PandaWill carries all three versions for just $8 – however, they will pick your color at random, so you may or may not end up with a pink one. Oh, and if you prefer grey, head over to mimoco. Why can’t one place just sell all of these again?

[via Mr. Gomulsang]

There are many principles guiding the design of the Humble Hacker, including hand separation, versatility – the keyboard is fully programmable – and an alternate keyboard layout. Programmers and keyboard enthusiasts, if you recognize some elements in the Humble Hacker that are similar to other alternative keyboards, that’s because dmw was influenced by the best of them, including the TypeMatrix 2030 and the Happy Hacking Pro.

Now for the bad news. In the process of building the first prototype of the Humble Hacker, dmw realized that his invention is quite expensive, “rapidly approaching” the price tag of Art Lebedev studio’s display-filled Optimus Maximus keyboard. The case alone cost him $200 (USD), and the circuit board will set him back $250. Hopefully he’ll find a way to lower the cost and mass produce the Happy Hacker. Check out the link below or the product website for more info.

[via Geekhack via This 8-bit Life]

In case you’re not familiar with the device, a chorded keyboard has fewer keys – the user presses multiple keys at once to enter a single command or character. This not only leads to a smaller device but makes it possible to type with one hand. Entering the patterns on such a device is similar to playing chords on a piano, hence the name. This is an example of a chorded keyboard. I’m not sure if the Kee4 Keyboard also qualifies as a chorded keyboard, but it does work in a similar way.

As for Teague Labs’ app, it uses five virtual buttons which appear when the user places all five fingers on the screen. Theoretically, it addresses the three weaknesses of traditional on-screen keyboards. The buttons are large. If you can memorize the patterns for characters, then you don’t need tactile feedback. Finally, the buttons go away when you lift your fingers off of the tablet’s screen; they can also be dragged in another area of the screen. Then again they take up the whole screen while you’re typing. Here’s the app in action:

If you have an iPad or Android tablet, fire up your tablet’s browser and go to this page to try out Teague Labs’ chorded keyboard prototype. Note that the app doesn’t allow for punctuation marks – those will be included in the second set of buttons, which are still in development. It’s a nice concept but I think I’ll stick to the default keyboard on my iPad. I don’t do a lot of typing on it anyway and I’m already looking at the screen when I’m typing so I don’t need to touch type.

What I really want is for Apple to include a numpad-style button, similar to the ones available on older cellphones. Years of owning Nokia phones have burned the memory of that interface to my thumbs. Also, I’m not sure if the guys at Teague Labs are aware of this, but there are already virtual chorded keyboard apps for both the iPad and for Android tablets, although the ones I saw are designed for use with two thumbs.

[Teague Labs via Hack A Day]

WASD Keyboards uses Cherry MX mechanical switches, so after creating your design you’ll choose the color and type of switch you want. You can also order a dampener if you don’t want the trademark clicking sound that mechanical keyboards make. You can also choose the font of the text on each key and whether the text will be engraved or lasered in. If you really want to get creative you can upload your own design or even send custom art for each of the keys.

Above is my design for a Technabob-themed keyboard; you can see more at WASD Keyboard’s website or have a look at the gallery below for more user-created designs.

Head to WASD Keyboards to design and order your own V1 Custom Mechanical Keyboard. Prices start at $140 (USD). The company also sells a Semi-Custom version of the keyboard, which is still brimming with tweakable specs.

[via Gamerfront via The Red Ferret Journal]

However, that can soon change with TypeWay. In fact, you can get back to typing using all ten of your digits, if that’s what you’re used to or if that’s what you’d want to do. The virtual keys in this app for your iPad will automatically change position and placement in order to adapt to your hand position and typing habits.

TypeWay isn’t just a keyboard app; rather, it’s text editing software complete with basic iOS 5 features like cut, copy and paste, spell-checker, suggestions for word correction, and multi-touch features. The developer made it this way since you can’t replace the regular virtual keyboard that comes with your iPad (though we wish that Apple would some day allow for this.) One other caveat is that the TypeWay keyboard currently only supports an English international keyboard in landscape mode.

You can purchase TypeWay from the iTunes App Store for $5.99 (USD).

[via Chip Chick]

And if you’re the type who sometimes eats dinner while you’re streaming some videos or surfing the Internet, then you know for a fact that your keyboard is filthy. Now for regular, healthy people like you and me, that might be okay. But if this keyboard is in a more sensitive environment, say a hospital or in some other medical setting, then it’s a huge no-no.

To answer the need for a truly clean and self-sanitizing keyboard is the Vioguard, which has now been approved by the FDA. The Vioguard has a proximity sensor that will eject the keyboard when there’s a human who will presumably type something close by. When it’s not in use, the keyboard will then be housed in a UV resistant receptacle where the keyboard will be exposed to a constant stream of UV light.

The Vioguard uses 80W when it’s sanitizing the keyboard actively, and 3W when it’s on standby. No word on pricing yet, but I have to say… Now this is neat.

[via MedGadget via Oh Gizmo!]

The TabStrummer uses an Atmel microcontroller, a MIDI output and an audio-out jack. The 12 memory buttons can be programmed with any chord/tab that can be played on a 12 fret guitar, and all the buttons can be programmed into any of the 300 memory SONG locations of TabStrummer’s internal memory. To listen to the TabStrummer, you can use headphones or connect it to your sound system or TV.

Geeky musicians would certainly love to get their hands on this instrument. To hear the TabStrummer in action, check out the video below. It sounds pleasant enough.

[via Hack-a-Day via Geeky-Gadgets]

Instead of putting up new wallpaper, Sarah Frost experimented with keys from keyboards. She used thousands of computer keyboards, smashed them to pieces, and used the individual keys to create this technological alternative to wallpaper. This QWERTY Wall is definitely something that all computer enthusiasts will enjoy.

There are some funky hypnotic patterns integrated into these large pieces of art. Check them out at her site, or if you happen to be in NYC, head over to the James Hotel, where you can see one of her permanent installations.

[ScrapHacker via Recyclart via Bit Rebels]

First up is the Optimus Popularis, a compact keyboard with everything but numeric keys. The Popularis is one awesome looking keyboard, with each key offering full programmability, and a tiny, full color screen.

Each key is made up of a 64×64 pixel grid, which can support 262,144 unique colors, and a frame rate of 10fps. That’s right, you can display animation on these keys!  Each one can be set up with custom images for different languages, or special keys to launch specific applications or functions when switching applications. Lebedev says it’s “A million keyboards in one,” and he’s totally spot on. Here are just a few sample configurations:

One thing to note is that the keys this time are made using a backlit LCD screen instead of individual OLED screens, which seems like a better approach these days. Though it’s not clear if each key has it’s own individual LCD panel or if there’s just one large LCD behind the keyboard, and the area between the keys acts as a mask. Either way, it still looks awesome. I also love how the new keys are more like those rounded keys found on a Mac keyboard, which is more what I’m used to these days anyhow.

A quick glance reveals a fully customizable display bar between the function keys and the main keyboard, which can be used to display pertinent info like what track you’re listening to, or how many emails you have waiting.

Programming is accomplished with a sophisticated configuration app included with the keyboards – and it’s compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 8 and Mac OS 10.5.1 or higher too.

So now that you’ve wiped the drool off of your current keyboard… the pricetag. The Optimus Popularis isn’t cheap. The pre-order price is 31,500 rubles, which works out to be about $1086 (USD) or 747 (EUR) at today’s exchange rates. Pricey, but sexy as all get out. If that’s too rich for your blood, and you still love the concept, check out the Optimus Mini Six add-on keyboard instead:

The Mini Six is exactly what it sounds like – a small external keyboard with six programmable LCD keys on it. It supports the same programmability,  and animation capabilities of the full-size keyboard – though it only can handle 65,536 colors. The Mini Six is selling for for 10,900 Rubles, or about $376(USD) or $258 (EUR). Both the Popularis and Mini Six are built from aluminum and plastic components, and have a nice slim profile.

Art Lebedev Studio started to take pre-orders for both the Optimus Popularis and Optimus Mini Six today, with the Popularis shipping June 1, 2012, and the Mini Six not shipping until November 1, 2012. But there is an advantage to that long pre-order wait, as the retail prices will be more than 30% higher once released. Yeouch! Lebedev, does plan on showing off the prototypes at the 2012 CES show next month. I definitely plan on stopping by their booth to see these awesome looking things up close and personal.

The iStation has integrated speakers and a keyboard that will pair with your iPad via Bluetooth. There’s even a USB cable to charge up your tablet. This means that the iStation will be tethered to a power outlet. It’s the sort of dock that wouldn’t look out of place in a kitchen – or a vintage computer store.

It’s available in a faux retro woodgrain finish or in white for $85.90(USD) over at M.I.C Gadget’s online store.

[via Ubergizmo]

But what would you think if I told you that you could possibly be using a multitouch, tempered glass keyboard and mouse by April of next year? Well, you really would, if you made a pledge of $350 or more (to get both), $250 or more (to get the keyboard), or $150 or more (to get the mouse) on this Kickstarter project by Jason Giddings.

These next-generation computer mice and keyboards are made from special, curved tempered glass and have cameras at the base to detect your fingers’ movements using infrared light. Both devices are still unnamed, but Jason is giving anyone who pledges $10 and $25 a chance to name his babies (these babies, and not his real ones, if ever he has any.)

Jason’s goal was to raise $50,000 and it looks like the project is well on its way, as the current pledges already amount to over $48k. Way to go!

[via Oh Gizmo!]