Futuristic "Cool Leaf" Keyboard Lands in Japan May 13

Posted 04/27/2011 at 11:34am | by Paul Lilly

We're a bit skeptical when it comes to concept keyboards shipping on time. That's what happens when you get strung along with numerous delays and excuses, as was the case with Art Lebedev Studio's Optimus Maximums OLED keyboard, which finally shipped long after its original promised launch date. Now we're being told that a company called Minebea is prepping its totally flat "Cool Leaf" concept keyboard for a May 13, 2011 release. With all due respect, we'll believe it when we see it.

What makes the Cool Leaf keyboard different from all ther rest is that it utilizes flat mirror panels across the plank. Lighted keys mean you can use it in the dark, and because there aren't any crevices to worry about, you won't ever have to flip it over and shake out Hot Pocket or potato chip remnants from in between the keys. For this reason, Minebea says it's an ideal plank for places that require cleanliness, such as medical and food plants, and other clean room areas.

No price has yet been announced, though we do know that it will ship in a Japanese language edition at launch. Minebea also said it plans to ship a U.S. version later this summer.

Image Credit: Minebea

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stradric

April 28, 2011 at 10:42am

Haptic feedback is crucial for efficient typing on a keyboard. This keyboard will make typing in passwords way more difficult.

Still, I'd like to try it out just to see how awful it really is. I'm not a big fan of these right angle keyboards either. Microsoft's Comfort Curve or Logitech's Wave (though the wave has shitty keys) are much better.

thetechchild

April 27, 2011 at 7:40pm

Like every other "flat keyboard", this will inevitably fail. It's next to impossible (for those who don't have a supernatural sense of proprioception and a 3D simulation of the keyboard in their head) to type without error when you have no idea what key you just hit or where your fingers are in relation to the keys.

T8RG8R

April 27, 2011 at 7:00pm

I can't type well and only type when nessary, I just copy and paste mostly, so I would go for it. And I to will believe it when we see it.

warptek2010

April 27, 2011 at 6:25pm

Would this encourage you to make all those head scratching, non-sensical finger marathon typing motions they used to do on the LCars touch panels in Star Trek The Next Generation?

newegg911

April 27, 2011 at 6:02pm

Why in world would anyone that actually knows how to type want any kind of keyboard without mechanical feedback? Give me an ugly old school no frills keyboard any day.