Remember that funky COOL LEAF mirrored keyboard we talked about back in April? Well, it’s finally available for purchase, and it’s even cooler looking now than it was in the early prototype images.
The Minebea COOL LEAF is a completely flat keyboard, with no surface texture at all. Instead, you get a super-shiny mirrored surface, created from “2000 layers of PET film”, whatever that means. A complex grid of force sensors detect your keypresses on the surface. The keys are illuminated from underneath the surface of the mirror, making them easy to see in a darkened room. It also offers an adjustable keypress beep to help provide feedback. Another advantage of the smooth surface is that you’ll never have to worry about dirt getting stuck between keys (although it will surely be a fingerprint magnet).
It offers 108 keys, and connects via USB. It’s listed as working with Windows 7, Vista and XP, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work with a Mac or Linux computer either.
You can order the COOL LEAF keyboard from Dynamism for $249.99 (USD). Plus, you’ll never be able to touch-type on this thing, but at least you can see if you have something stuck between your teeth.
