As if the Optimus keyboard wasn’t already running into enough barriers, the Optimus blog just wrote about another huge problem:
Our OLED manufacturer has some serious financial troubles and is not able to deliver displays at all. That is really bad, because we have to search for a new factory and spend some three months making new OLEDs.
Pre-orders for the $1,490 keyboard are supposed to be starting in April and the keyboard is supposed to ship in December. They said that they are able to continue with other portions of the process in hopes of staying on schedule, but this keyboard seems to be becoming more of a dream than reality.
Since they are forced to find a new manufacturer who knows what the result will be. They’re going to spend an extra three months developing the new OLED keys for the keyboard and I would predict the price to rise even more than the already hefty $1,490.
So does all of this mean that it is still too soon for such technology to be implemented in a keyboard? One thing that worries me about the success of this keyboard is that a company, such as Logitech, could easily step up and produce a similar product faster and probably cheaper since they have the money to toss around and the engineers to develop it.
I wish them the best of luck, but I think we’ll be seeing the Optimus keyboard in the Vaporware Awards again this year as Ashley previously pointed out.
Source: Optimus Blog [via Engadget]
Oh no say it ain’t so! This could only mean one thing, it will become once again a contender for the Vaporware Awards!
As [tech.cybernetnews.com] [tech.cybernetnews.com] [tech.cybernetnews.com] the Optimus keyboard is nothing but a joke anymore. I’m glad they reinstated all 114 keys and color screens on all of them, but with the constant delays and the gigantic price tag, is anybody going to buy this? Also, any hope that Logitech will make a similar product is false hope indeed. Maybe you all forgot that this thing will be patented, and therefore no other company will be able to make competing products. My hope is that, when they inevitably see that their sales are terrible, they will sell the patent off to Logitech, who I’m sure could make the same thing for $300, at most.
I won’t believe it until I see it
They’ve announced estimates for release dates forever now, and not once have they even been close. It’s always getting pushed back further and further. I’m honestly surprised they haven’t given up yet.
Get this! Now they are trying to make the keyboad seem reasonable by comparing it to other highly priced keyboards:
[artlebedev.com]
As far as the patents go companies always find ways around them. Patents are always so specific that they just change the parts used and design a little bit and they are able to get around the patents. I would much prefer Logitech to make it as well simply because of technical support.