This small USB keyboard from Brando combines a keyboard, mouse, and multi-touch functions into one compact device. The FelTouch Bonepad 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard is 5.9″ X 3.3″ X 0.7″ and weighs only 3 ounces. It comes with a USB dongle to pair the Bonepad with Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac, or Linux computers with USB HID keyboard/mouse, media control classes. You can pair up to five FelTouch accessories with a single USB dongle. The Bonepad has standard keyboard mapping and PC mouse functionalities. The capacitive multi-touch screen is used for typing or for gesturing to zoom in/out, rotate, or scrolling. The two buttons on the top of the Bonepad can switch modes, so they can be used as right and left mouse buttons or for other functions. The Bonepad is $55.00.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
So just out of curiosity, where is the touchpad (mouse area)? I can’t really tell from the pictures. This looks like it might work well with my XBMC Media Center PC.
I currently use a Motorola Nyxboard Hybrid but it suffers from less than stellar performance.
@AngryFish This is just a news item, so I haven’t had any hands-on time with the Bonepad. I believe the keyboard area is also the touchscreen area.
This seems like a bad idea to me. I don’t see how I could type accurately without tactile or visual feedback.
I can touch type on a standard keyboard because I have tactile feedback from the keys and can see the screen to correct mistakes.
I can thumb-type on an iPhone/android because I have visual feedback directly from the keyboard as keys get highlighted, auto-correct works reasonably well, and the screen output is at most 2 inches from the keyboard making it easy to check.
This seems to combine the worst of all worlds:
1. no tactile feedback
2. no visual feedback on the keyboard
3. The output feedback requires glancing way-away from the input device so I have to completely refocus to check.
I can see it might work if you’ve got an OS that support auto-correct for text input…. Maybe it’s primarily useful as a mouse with the keyboard as an “if you must…” afterthought..
The entire typing area is the touchpad. I’m looking for a good review. Best, Glenn