Art Lebedev shows off Optimus Popularis keyboard

Art Lebedev Studio garnered a lot of attention when their Optimus Maximus keyboard concept surfaced in 2005. The peripheral touted a full set of OLED keys that were 100% user-customizable and looked downright amazing. After three years in development and many, many delays to the point of actually being labeled as "vaporware," the Optimus Maximus keyboard finally began shipping in 2008 with an obscene price tag of around $1,500.

Needless to say, not too many were sold. Now the company is back with another concept keyboard -- one that is smaller, sleeker and promises to be less expensive compared to the original Optimus Maximus. The Optimus Popularis uses a "chicklet" style layout and thinner profile than its predecessor. It also drops the numeric keypad on the right, but when every key features a customizable LED display on top I guess that's less of a problem -- and it saves a lot of money.

The new Popularis keyboard will supposedly feature OLED screens that encompass the individual keys' entire physical real estate with a 64x64 pixels resolution, up from 48x48 on the Maximus. There's also a long widget display mounted between the function and number keys. Art Lebedev says it expect to ship the peripheral "at the end of this year/beginning of next year" for less than $1000. The company doesn't have a fantastic track record when it comes to meeting deadlines, so we wouldn't hold our breath on that release timeframe. As for the price, hopefully less than $1,000 doesn't mean $999.

Microsoft to ship Project Natal October 26 for $149

A "trusted source" has informed Edge-Online that Microsoft will ship its Xbox 360 motion controller worldwide around late October, and it will supposedly cost more than expected. Based on current exchange rates, Edge reports that the standalone controller will retail for £103/€121/$149, while a console and Project Natal bundle will be £207/€243/$299.

That conflicts with previous talk of Project Natal launching for $80, and if true, it would make Microsoft's peripheral far more expensive than Sony's PlayStation Move, which is expected to be bundled with a PS3 game for less than $100.

The source also said that Microsoft plans to ditch the name "Project Natal" for something a bit more market-friendly. The controller's commercial name should be revealed next month during its world premiere on June 13.

OCZ launches Enyo, a sleek USB 3.0-packing external SSD

OCZ expanded its flash drive lineup today by adding a new super fast, highly portable solid-state drive with looks to match. The company first revealed the (then unnamed) Enyo portable SSD in its CES announcements, but few details were provided.

OCZ officially introduced the USB 3.0-equipped drive today, which promises to put your external mechanical hard drive to shame with its maximum read and write speeds of 260MB/s and 200MB/s. It also touts superior power management and lower CPU utilization.

The Enyo's anodized aluminum housing is admittedly gorgeous compared to most other external storage products on the market. The drive measures 56 x 120 x 10 millimeters (2.2 x 4.7 x 0.39 inches) and weighs only 87.7 grams (3 ounces).

OCZ is currently shipping the Enyo in capacities of 64GB ($229.99), 128GB ($409.99), and 256GB ($819.99). It's worth mentioning that the 64GB model is a bit slower with read and write rates of 225MB/s and 135MB/s.

Razer intros Abyssus Mirror Special Edition

Razer, maker of fiercely named peripherals, has announced a revamped model of its minimalistic Abyssus gaming mouse, the Abyssus Mirror Special Edition. While most of the device's core features haven't been touched, its body is now coated in a black chrome mirror finish, which just so happens to match the Lycosa Mirror Special Edition keyboard, in case you're in the market.

As noted, the general feature-set is as it was last November when the Abyssus launched. The SE has the same ambidextrous design, 3500dpi, 1ms response time, mechanical dpi and polling rate switches, on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment, a 16-bit data path, 15g of acceleration, three independently programmable buttons, and a scroll wheel with 24 individual click positions.

The newly polished Abyssus is available for preorder now through Razer for the same price as the original model: €39.99 or $49.99.

Seagate releases upgradeable external hard drives

Seagate has unveiled a new line of external storage units that promises consumers more flexibility should their requirements change. Dubbed Freeagent GoFlex, they are all plug-and-play devices with interchangeable cables and desktop adapters that allow each drive to adapt to the interface being used (USB, FireWire, eSATA). The idea is that this system not only future-proofs the hard drive, but also allows it to be used on nearly any computer platform.

You can update these portable drives just by swapping out the cable adapter, so a USB 2.0 drive can be upgraded to USB 3.0, eSATA, and FireWire 400/800 connections, or with a cable that can turn the drive into an automatic backup system. Moreover, Seagate is adding a NTFS driver for Mac OS X that will let users store and access files from both Windows and Mac OS X systems.


Prices for desktop GoFlex drives with a USB 2.0 cable and encrypted backup are about $120 for 1TB and $200 for 2TB. A standard ultraportable model ranges from $100 for a 320GB version up to $200 for a terabyte, while the GoFlex Pro ultraportable spins at a faster 7,200 RPM, includes backup with encryption capabilities, and is priced at $130 for 500GB, and $180 for 750GB. The flexibility will come at an extra cost, though, and it's also the drive's biggest flaw.

The GoFlex system relies on proprietary cables, and you'll have to pay anywhere from $20 to $50 for each interface connector. This means that not only you'll have to shell out extra cash if one of these cables is lost or damaged, but you're also relying on Seagate supporting the system for years to come.

TomTom Go Live 1000 to offer capacitive touchscreen, WebKit-based UI

TomTom has just outed its new flagship PND, the Go Live 1000, and wouldn't you know it, it's the first of the company's stable to offer a capacitive touchscreen. This comes mere days after Garmin updated its lineup with capacitive options. The 1000 is a little slimmer than its predecessors, but its major feature is "instant" route planning and re-planning once it has a satellite lock -- the industry's fastest. Achieved using a custom-built Broadcom GPS module, that capability is backed up by a 500MHz ARM11 CPU (yawn), 4GB of storage, 128MB of RAM, a new WebKit-based UI, and 12 months of free TomTom Live services. Beginning in June, this suite of services will be rolled out to 33 countries across Europe, featuring local information about petrol prices, services and weather, while its headline HD Traffic -- which tracks congestion on secondary roads as well as motorways -- and safety camera alert features will come to only 16 nations. It's a decent year-long freebie to have and TomTom promises it'll cost less than €50 ($67) per annum thereafter. That's more reasonable than the previous $9.95 monthly cost, but still not price-competitive with Google and Nokia's offerings. There's also a SIM card slot, but don't expect to be developing new modes of sidetalking, it's most likely there purely to facilitate all those data transactions. Check out the new UI in the gallery below and expect the TomTom Go 1000 Live to show up in Europe some time this summer.

Sony prepares to stop manufacturing floppy disks

With another nail hammered into its coffin, the venerable floppy diskette continues its creeping but inexorable end as Sony announces the company will no longer sell the 28 year old digital storage medium in Japan.

Since their peak of 47 million units sold in 2002, Sony’s floppy disk business has dwindled steadily. Japan is one of the few remaining markets where Sony still sells floppies, where it accounts for roughly 70% of all sales. The company is not jumping ship yet though, as it plans to continue selling the 3.5 inchers domestically until March 2011.

Sony has been involved with many digital storage devices over the years, but few have been as pervasive as the floppy diskette. IBM created the original floppy disk which measured a whopping 8 inches wide. Many iterations of the device followed as companies came up with smaller and faster designs. As one of these companies, Sony introduced their own 90mm diskette in 1982, but it never took off; 5.25 inch floppies were too firmly entrenched within the industry. Despite the apparent failure of Sony’s form factor, a group of companies used it as the basis for what would become the 3.5 inch floppy, eventually ending the “five and quarter’s” reign.


As consumers' needs became more complex, the need for capacity increased and floppies were simply unable to meet that demand. Despite this crucial inadequacy, many technologies which aimed to supplant the aging medium such as Zip disks, Super Disks and recordable CDs failed to replace it entirely.

Eventually, it took the ubiquitous adoption of USB flash drives to serve as the death knell for mainstream floppy usage. However, with over 12 million disks sold in 2009 by Sony alone, it would seem floppies may be around for some time come

Asus Eee Keyboard appears on Amazon for $600 preorder

First appearing at CES 2009, the oft-delayed, netbook-infused keyboard has popped up on the radar once again -- and this time you can actually whip out your MasterCard.

Amazon is now accepting preorders for the device, which is priced at $600. That said, no launch information is given, only "You may pre-order it now and we will deliver it to you when it arrives." Considering the Eee Keyboard's near-vaporware status, we would be a little weary about forking over cash at this point -- at least not until it's officially being shipped.


According to Amazon's product page, the system packs an Intel Atom N270 (last-gen), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 16GB SSD, Ultra Wide Band built-in transmitter and external receiver, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, VGA, and three USB 2.0 ports. Alongside the keyboard is a 5-inch 800x480 LED multitouch display, and Windows XP Home is preinstalled.

Asus reportedly plans to release the Eee Keyboard sometime this month, but the end is drawing near and we've heard the same song and dance many times since January 2009.

Victorinox intros unhackable, self-destructible USB drive

Victorinox, known for making Swiss Army Knives, has announced a new "unhackable" USB flash drive that MacGyver would be proud to own. Claimed to be the best of its kind, the Secure Pro drive uses several layers of security, including AES256 encryption, and fingerprint identification with a thermal sensor -- you know, in case someone's desperate enough to lop off your pointer.


If that weren't enough, the drive is also "tamper-proof" and any attempt to open it by force triggers a self-destruct mechanism that irrevocably burns its CPU and memory chip. During the Secure Pro's two-hour launch event, Victorinox challenged a team of professional hackers to break in for a prize of £100,000 -- a sum that went uncollected.

The Secure Pro drive is available in three capacities ranging from 8GB (£50) to 32GB (£180), which also includes a built-in LED light, as well as a retractable ballpoint pen, blade, scissors, nail file, screw driver, and a key ring.

Sony intros four new made for iPod / iPhone headsets

Sony's already kicked out some decent looking PC gaming headsets this month, and it's now followed those up a new batch of 'buds (and one set of over-the-ear headphones) that are "made for" for your iPod or iPhone. The earbuds come in the form of the DR-EX300iP, MDR-EX38iP, and MDR-E10iP, which pack either 9mm or 13mm Neodymium drivers, along with in-line controls, a built-in mic and, in the latter two cases, your choice of two different colors. They're joined by the DR-V150iP headphones "tailor-made for DJs," which pack the same in-line controls and mic, along with a 30mm ferrite driver that promises "deep bass and generous power handling." Of the lot, only the MDR-EX38iP is available now (for $40), with the rest due out in May.