As most IT professionals know ye olde keyboard is a dirty, filthy germ ridden device; a device which is over brimming with nasty creatures just waiting to make you sick. In fact, the average keyboard is so nasty it is multiple times filthier than you average toilet. Worse still, most
keyboards (unless specifically made to be water resistant) cannot be disinfected without risking killing them. UV light and specialized vacuum cleaner are proven to be effective in keeping keyboards clean and bacteria free, but this is not an option for all people.
For this reason, the Minebea Cool Leaf keyboard announced a little while back provide endless possibilities in not only just places like hospitals but also in the average home environment. It seems that the
Minebea Cool Leaf keyboard has become a reality and will go on sale pretty soon in Japan with North America to follow not all that far behind. For those of you who have never heard of this keyboard, what it basically is is a breakthrough in touch sensitive input controls.
When off, the Minebea Cool Leaf is a flat mirror looking keyboard with no distinguishing features. However, as soon as you touch it, the mirror disappears to be replaced with a LCD readout in the shape of the typical QWERTY keyboard. When you "touch" a "key", you get a haptic feedback that - while not as good as depressing a key - should give enough force feedback. This highly intuitive nature and short learning curve is especially true for anyone who uses a "smartphone". Since there is no moving parts, nor openings the surface of the Cool Leaf can easily be cleaned, making germs a thing of the past. The Japanese version of this keyboard is Windows only; the North American version is supposed to be Mac friendly as well. Expect the Minebea Cool Leaf keyboard to land in Japan in mid May for about $320 with North America slated for later this year.
MIX Wireless Mini HTPC Keyboard Grows Optical Trackpad
By Ian Chiu on April 27th, 2011
