technabob » luxeed

luxeed u5 color-changing led keyboard available for pre-order adds mac, linux support

technabob — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:46:22 +0000

Remember the oh-so-cool Luxeed LED multicolor keyboard? This colorful desktop keyboard is about to get a new update for 2009.

Now Mac and Linux users can get in on the polychromatic action thanks to the new Luxeed U5 keyboard, which improves on the original Luxeed by adding multi-platform support. Now I picked up the original Luxeed over at Think Geek about a year ago, and am still enjoying my colorful keyboard every day. I’ve actually programmed a bunch of color patterns to suit my mood or the current season. Purple, green and gold for Mardi Gras, all red when I’m feeling mad, pure white when I actually want to read the keys.

The Luxeed L5 also makes changes to the LED system to reduce ghosting (this was a relatively minor issue with the original Luxeed, IMHO). They’ve also added a firmware updater utility and improved the overall responsiveness of the keys. Hopefully they’ll fix some of the issues with occasionally sticky keys too. Or maybe that’s just because of the crumbs I’ve dropped between my keys during lunchtime. But does it really matter anyway? You’re not buying one of these because it’s the most responsive keyboard out there. It’s all about the bright candy-like colors. And while I don’t have any video of the new keyboard in action yet, the original footage never gets old:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

No word on a North American release date yet, but Luxeed is taking pre-orders for the L5 in Korea for KRW 99,000 (just $77 USD).

luxeed led keyboard hits the u.s. (finally)

technabob — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:17:25 +0000

One of the most popular posts of all time on Technabob was the wondrous Luxeed multi-color LED keyboard. While it sure looked cool, it was nearly impossible to get outside of its native land of Korea. So I’m thrilled to let you know that they’re finally available in the U.S. (sans the Korean characters).

Thanks to the fine folks over at ThinkGeek, the brightly colored programmable keyboards are ready to make their way onto your desk now. For those of you didn’t read the original post, now is as good a time as any to check out this wild keyboard in action in this video clip from Luxeed.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Each light-up keyboard is powered by 430 individual colored LEDs, all of which can be sequenced using the included Windows software (now in English!) The sky is truly the limit for making your own colorful keyboard creations.

Available in a black or white key models for $199.99 each, you’ll need to drop an additional $34.99 if you want a numeric keypad (no LEDs in that add-on BTW). Sure, it’s no Optimus Maximus, but then again, you could buy 9 Luxeed keyboards for the price of one of Art Lebedev’s wonderkeyboards.

Ready to light up your keyboard? Head on over to ThinkGeek and get yours now.

luxeed led rainbow keyboard: disco on your desk

technabob — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:05:57 +0000

Is that drab old monochromatic keyboard getting you down? This keyboard from Korea’s Luxeed features color changing LEDs under each and every key.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While it can certainly be used to produce seizure-inducing displays of blinking color, the keyboard comes with software that lets you do more subtle things, like just set the keyboard to a light up with a single hue that strikes your mood, or create intricate patterns of color.

Luxeed’s USB keyboards are available in a white backlit version (KRW 118,800 / $127 USD) and a sleek black backlit version (KRW 125,600 / $134 USD), where the keys stay black and only the letters change colors.

The keyboards have started to trickle out in their native land of Korea, but hopefully somebody will see fit to import these into the U.S. and Europe soon.