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Keyview-Smartype Keyboard Designed to Avoid Neckpain

By - Source: Keyview | B 16 comments

How much innovation room is there left in the good old keyboard?

From typewriters and clumsy Cherry keyboards we mid-30s still remember, we have seen low profile keyboards, OLED programmable key keyboards and touchscreen keyboards. But essentially, keyboards are still the same they were 20, 30 or 50 years ago.

Keyview Tech, a company based in Israel and launched by M-Systems founder Dov Moran, says it can reinvent the keyboard. The Smartype still has a QWERTY keyboard, but adds on a configurable screen. Users can configure the screen with apps to show information such as email inbox, weather and time. However, the screen also display the text currently being typed by the user, which Keyview claims helps reduce neck and eye pain.

Rather than moving your eyes between the screen and the keyboard, which some of us may do frequently, you can now keep your eyes on the keyboard only while typing. Keyview says that the display also helps to increase the typing speed, and reduce the error rate.

So far the Smartype is simply advertised as a teaser on a website with very limited information. You can preorder the device, but there is no shipping date or price.

 

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Top Comments
  • 12 Hide
    balister , September 1, 2012 12:28 AM
    Learn to touch type and you'll continue to look at the screen without having to look down at the keys. You'll also be faster on typing then if you are constantly looking at the keys.
Other Comments
  • 1 Hide
    scurbox , September 1, 2012 12:20 AM
    love the idea, but what if you need to type a password with prying eyes?

    im not a big fan of third party software, but hopefully the software available hides characters when typing in a password.
  • 12 Hide
    balister , September 1, 2012 12:28 AM
    Learn to touch type and you'll continue to look at the screen without having to look down at the keys. You'll also be faster on typing then if you are constantly looking at the keys.
  • Display all 16 comments.
  • 0 Hide
    tanjo , September 1, 2012 12:52 AM
    With a lot of casual PC users now using tablets makes this gadget useless. Those who need to use a real keyboard are probably touch typing already. Makes you wonder who the targets are for this kind of keyboard - smart tv users?
  • 3 Hide
    livebriand , September 1, 2012 12:56 AM
    I doubt many of us will benefit from this. For instance, I keep my keyboard in the keyboard tray, pushed into the desk, where I can't see it at all, because I simply don't need to see the keys. (and I'm a little closer to the screen that way)
  • -4 Hide
    azraa , September 1, 2012 1:12 AM
    I cant help but imagine that this product will have a market with old granpas/tech impaired people. The kind of people who types with a stiff straight finger, letter by letter

    I guess its still useful in some situations, but most people that use a keybord for 1 year ends up typing ultra fast with no or near-zero mistakes.
  • 3 Hide
    xpeh , September 1, 2012 2:56 AM
    Pepperidge Farms Remembers
  • 1 Hide
    boiler1990 , September 1, 2012 3:14 AM
    I think this is just going to cause more neck pain since you have to look down. C'mon, guys...
  • 0 Hide
    freggo , September 1, 2012 3:18 AM
    Hpw about we wait until there is actually something to report.
    Like more detailed photos, specs and a price.

    I hope THG does not get into the habit of posting pre-release promos to anything that may or may not see the market some day.
  • 0 Hide
    myufox , September 1, 2012 7:49 AM
    Practice with the keyboard. If you have to look at it, then you need to practice more typing test. As for passwords, tell those prying eyes to turn around and step out for a moment. I don't see this re-inventing the keyboard for the looking up and down aspect. However, having another screen to display notifications will go well as desktop os start to integrate social media and notifications similar to mobile os does.
  • 4 Hide
    Menigmand , September 1, 2012 8:07 AM
    Could Americans launch a product without "smart" in the name?
  • 1 Hide
    uglynerdman , September 1, 2012 10:49 AM
    im waiting for a wireless condom keyboard.
  • 0 Hide
    CaedenV , September 1, 2012 12:29 PM
    azraaI cant help but imagine that this product will have a market with old granpas/tech impaired people.

    I work at a very tech-oriented place, and there are very few nerds there that actually know how to type. In fact, the finance officer and I are the only 2 that can type without looking at keys in the whole building. I think it has to do with entering in product keys all day and being paranoid about hitting a wrong key...
    menigmandCould Americans launch a product without "smart" in the name?

    It is an Israeli company/product, not American. Besides, other than smart boards and smart phones are there really that many 'smart' products floating around out there?
  • 1 Hide
    Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer , September 1, 2012 2:18 PM
    At first I was gonna be snarky and make a comment about learning to touch-type, but then I thought about the fact that there are plenty of people who really don't know how to type, and whose computer usage pattern will probably never force them to learn.

    Actually, when you think about it, as more people use phones or tablets for their computing needs, the ability to type among the general population is going to go down, not up. I'd never really thought about that before...it's funny to think that physical keyboards might be a transition technology nearing the end of its widespread use.
  • 0 Hide
    ravewulf , September 2, 2012 2:05 AM
    Back in my middle/high school we were required to learn touch-typing and increase our WPM (using some of those old typing computer games), but I suppose this does help people who never learned.
  • 0 Hide
    maqsabre , September 3, 2012 3:07 PM
    for me and people who know to touch type don't need this crap,
    as if there is shortage of such marketed useless garbage sold around the world
  • 0 Hide
    rlb408 , August 27, 2013 8:51 PM
    Serious QA and support problems with this device. I bought one and the keyboard mechanism did not work correctly. After 2 weeks of rounds with them (it took then 3-5 days to respond each time) they said I could return it ($10 shipping) and they'd send me another. The second keyboard had a different but equally bad key problem and I can't use it and so far two notes to them over 8 days has resulted in no response.

    Not a good experience. Nice idea in the keyboard but crappy quality assurance and customer support. I suspect I might not recover my investment (over $100 so far).