Decent portable keyboards can be hard to find. Roll-up solutions like the ElekTex Smart Fabric Keyboard are extremely portable but lack the feel of traditional keys. Others that do provide traditional keys, like the Goldtouch Go! Travel keyboard, opt for a folding solution that doesn’t really reduce their size all that much. The Keystick keyboard looks to overcome both of these shortfalls with a full-sized QWERTY chicklet keyboard design that folds away like a Japanese fan to become an easily transportable stick.
Designed by Yoonsang Kim and Eunsung Park, the Keystick keyboard is part of their None Bacteria Project, which is aimed at cutting down the spread of infections. Since keyboards are generally some of the most germ-ridden devices going around, Kim and Park came up with a keyboard that can be easily carried around so users don’t have to contaminate their fingers using shared keyboards.
Looking a bit like Apple’s wireless Bluetooth keyboard the design is unfortunately only a concept at this time. Aside from the pictures there isn’t a lot of info to go on, but it looks like the Keystick is designed as a wireless keyboard that connects to a PC using a tiny USB receiver that can be removed from its home in the upper right of the keyboard and placed in a PC’s USB port.
Providing they could give the keys a decent amount of travel when pressed, any keyboard manufacturer willing to take the design and run with it could be onto a winner.
Via Yanko Design and DVICE.
