3DConnexion SpacePilot Pro, $500 Rodent with LCD

Well, Art Lebedev seems to have let Pandora out of the box. There's been a recent wave of complete redesigns of the tried and true keyboard and mouse. Vive la revolution! The ergonomic 3DConnexion (now owned by Logitech) SpacePilot Pro is almost more of a keyboard than a mouse. Still retaining the same novel design of the original and SpaceNavigator in adds a small LCD screen and a large amount of function keys to its chassis.

If you aren't familiar with the design controller functions as a twist-able joystick, basically adding the ability to scroll and rotate at the same time as you are mousing around in the X and Y-axis. Mainly for designers and artists, its intent is to become a left-hand mouse. This will allow for alternate controls to be more quickly located as well as shuttle type manipulations to be done with its knob/stick. The LCD screen displays software pushed information like RSS feeds, email or calendar events similar to a mini-USB display. There's also a potential for mini apps to be written with the SDK they've released. Besides the LCD it contains a total of 24 buttons and a five-way D-pad. The only major roadblock for most users will be the price tag at $499 it's nearly double the minimalistic SpaceNavigator but for the wealthy it's available now at their online store.