Keyboard vendors ready innovations for Comdex

Electronic News, Nov 11, 1996 by Cynthia Bournellis

Computer keyboard technology may rarely change, but don't be too quick to nix the keyboard vendors off your list of booths to visit at Comdex next week. Some surprising innovations will be on display.

A pocket-size computer mouse that is designed for mobile computers will be demonstrated by Fujitsu Takamisawa America, Inc. Fujitsu has enhanced its line of input devices for portable systems that have a PS-2 mouse port.

The new Palm Mouse offers users single-handed cursor control independent of a mouse pad. It measures 2.81 inches in length and is 1.94 inches wide, with a height of 0.93-inch. It weighs less than 30 grams and includes a six-foot cable.

Palm Mouse works when subtle thumb pressure is applied to the device's navigation dome, located on the top of the mouse. An acceleration mode changes the speed of the cursor according to the degree of the dome's tilt angle. When thumb pressure is released, the dome automatically returns to a home position. Operation is maintenance free, because the mouse uses a non-contacting magnetic technology.

A button on the front of the Palm Mouse functions as a left button, while a smaller button on the top of the device operates as a right button. The user can swap the function of these two buttons and adjust cursor response through the Windows mouse control panel.

Palm Mouse works with any Windows-compatible mouse drive. It operates at 5 volts and has a maximum power consumption of 10 milliamps. Palm Mouse comes in four colors and has a suggested retail price of $36. In addition to dealers and retailers, the new device is also available to OEMs for private labeling. Current OEMs include Fellowes Manufacturing, which will sell Palm Mouse under the trade name Tracker.

In addition, Fujitsu will also release its new hubless Universal Serial Bus (USB) keyboard for desktop computers. The FKB8760 is a 104-key Windows 95 keyboard that features a three-foot cable with a USB connector attached to the back of the device. Once the keyboard is connected to the PC or another hub, the host system will automatically configure itself to the keyboard interface without any input from the user.

FKB8760 is designed using membrane technology, which features ultra-silent, soft, tactile keyswitch feedback. The keyboard's overall footprint is 22 percent smaller than most full-size keyboards. The FKB8760 is currently available as a semi-custom product for OEMs. Standard products will be available for dealers and resellers in the first quarter of 1997. Pricing was not disclosed.

In addition, Fujitsu will release a value-added keyboard, the FKB8753-651 series. The new series will feature the standard Windows 95 104-key layout, with a two-button pointing device that is embedded above the inverted "T" cursor keys. Also smaller than standard computer keyboards, the new series has a single cable off the back of the keyboard, which splits into a nine-pin serial connector for attaching the pointing device to a communications port and a circular DIN keyboard connector. Suggested retail price is $44.95.

Also addressing the Windows 95 market is Sejin America. Sejin will release its new FreeBoard Beamer plug-and-play wireless keyboard, which emits broad infrared beams from the front and from both sides of the keyboard.

FreeBoard is designed for use on desktops and for use in the user's lap to do applications such as business presentations, PC/TV, Web browsing, training and education. The new keyboard comes with a trackball and mouse-click buttons. Palm rests are built in to provide support for the user when the mouse is being used. The keyboard design is sculpted on the bottom so that it can easily fit in the user's lap.

Sejin's FreeBoard technology offers fool-proof operation when the keyboard is moved during use to ensure that characters are not omitted or repeated or that the keyboard does not lose synchronization or freeze up the system. The FreeBoard SPR-869WT model has a suggested retail price of $169 and will be available through distribution in January.