Keyboard

To maximize portability, mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad eschew the traditional keyboard for on-screen versions. While on-screen keyboards may be tolerable for typing the odd text message or entering a few words into a search engine, their shortcomings quickly become obvious. With mobile devices now packing processors powerful enough to handle word processing and other more intensive tasks there is a market for physical keyboards to turn an iPad or even a smartphone into an ultraportable computer. One of the better solutions we’ve seen to fit this bill is the newly announced Jorno Bluetooth keyboard from Cervantes Mobile. Read More

The Nuu Mini Key offers potential salvation for iPhone lovers with fat fingers who would like an alternative to the screen keyboard so they can increase their typing and hence input speeds. A non-working prototype mistaken for a working one appears to have given the product a bad name it probably doesn't deserve. Tactile keys will hopefully enable some of us to touch type a lot faster than the current screen keyboard. Read More

Logitech has unveiled three new products aimed specifically at gaming enthusiasts. The new G-Series low friction gaming mouse features 13 programmable controls and pixel-perfect laser tracking. The keyboard has a GamePanel LCD display, user-customized color backlit keys and delivers 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound, plus up to 10 hours battery life... and there's a wireless headset too. Read More

Roland has given key models in its home digital piano family a more authentic, natural sound and feel. Four instruments now benefit from the company's updated SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine for improved velocity response, note decay and key-range behavior as well as more realistic ivory and ebony keys. Read More

Seeing the Airpiano being played, one can't help but be reminded of a graceful martial artist, musical conductor or mysterious magician. The innovative interface is activated and controlled by moving a hand in mid-air above the flat display surface and within range of a sensor array matrix. Driven by custom software, the device can put a huge library of tones and sounds at a player's disposal. Read More

So what can you do these days to make the humble MP3 player a little more interesting? Surely just about every design variation imaginable has been tried. Well, not quite. Designer Jia Peng has proposed a whole new level of player interaction by including a roll-out, 48-key piano keyboard in his Piano's Silhouette MP3 player concept. Read More

There’s no doubt that the wonders of modern technology allow for some pretty special experiences and benefits that would leave the previous generation wide-eyed with disbelief – just yesterday I was watching a World Cup match on an iPhone outside a pub in flawless quality – but do you ever find yourself pining for simpler times? If so, even if it's more for nostalgia than practical purposes, the USBTypewriter could be right up your street. Read More

After a disappointing year of sales for the industry’s leading rhythm games it would seem as though it’s time for a bit of a shake up, and from what we’ve read so far, Rock Band should be getting the upper hand. Following Harmonix’s announcement of Rock Band Network beta, it has now revealed details of Rock Band 3. Set to bring a whole new level of realism to the genre, the most immediate and exciting improvement is its compatibility with “real instruments," thereby offering budding musicians an exciting interactive platform on which to learn. Read More

What goes around, comes around - so goes the saying. Many moons ago a certain computer-in-a-keyboard affectionately coined the C64 took over the world and gave a whole generation a taste of things to come. Now Commodore USA has given the keyboard computer a modern facelift, resulting in an all-in-one solution powered by an Intel Atom processor and sporting a 5 inch touchscreen display. Read More