Portable Keyboard Sports Trackpad Underneath
There are few peripherals more personal than the lowly keyboard, something that hasn’t changed in a very long time. Look at the keyboard on any gadget, and you’ll find a contingent of folks who love it and an equal group who find something wrong with it. The only thing that everyone seems to agree about a keyboard is that every computer must have one. Smaller gadgets have a tougher row to hoe, given the need for a keyboard, which is one of the reasons that netbooks have grown larger.
Trackpads
Trackpads are peripherals that generate feelings just as strong as those about keyboards, and there are many who cannot live without a nice, big trackpad to drive their notebook. Ultra-portable notebooks sacrifice the trackpad altogether or, in the case of netbooks, put a small, thin one that has buttons on the side. People grouse about trackpads as much as they do about keyboards.
Road warriors who are particular about both keyboards and trackpads may want to take a look at a new portable keyboard by Econo-keys. The EK-76-TP fits a full keyboard in a form with no wasted space to keep it as small as possible. The unit is as light as can be for ultimate portability. What really sets this keyboard apart from the crowd is the big trackpad on the bottom of the keyboard. By bottom of the keyboard, we mean you flip the whole keyboard over and find a full trackpad with buttons underneath. It’s not clear how practical this thing will be to use, but hey, it’s a full portable keyboard with a full trackpad ($146).
(via engadget)
really??? On the bottom!
Only time that I would be a heavy user of the trackpad (whilst only needing an occasional key press), is photo editing, and then I tend to wait until I can dock to a large screen.
So this is not for me.
Now if the trackpad slid or flipped out from the base, maybe then.
Not a bad idea, but expensive.
Much more practical, and cheaper, is the Lenovo “Thinkpad Travel Ultranav USB Keyboard”. it is essentially the keyboard of a Thinkpad laptop.
Light in weight, it has both a trackpad and a trackpoint, and comes with a protective sleeve. It costs $99.00 (US), but can sometimes be found on sale.
I use one for a media server in a tight space, but sometimes take the keyboard with me for travel.
Yeah but I just looked at the site and looks like they’re doing a special for $76, so it really isn’t a bad deal at all.