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Art Lebedev Studios has offered up a new image of their Optimus AUX keypad.  The new photo (above) is said to be a glimpse at the final pre-production prototype, and, in addition, they have given some idea of a price point.  Sadly, the price, just like many of the other Art Lebedev items, will be out-of-reach for many customers.  The Optimus AUX is expected to retail in the ballpark of $650.

Of course, one of the original concepts behind the Optimus AUX was to have it used as a supplement to the Optimus Maximus keyboard, and if you can afford to shell out $1,590 for a keyboard, then this may also be in your budget.

Personally, I will be thankful for the nice pre-production image that they have supplied, because that is about as close to it as I will be getting.  As for availability, that has yet to be announced.

Read [Art Lebedev]

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The Optimus Maximus is one of those gadgets that is so neat, that it can’t help but be all over gadget blogs.  Gadgetell has covered it quite a few times, most recently in April, when it finally appeared for sale on ThinkGeek.  I think we can all see why its such a hot topic, because not every keyboard has a fully animated display on each individual key. 

Of course, the Optimus Maximus has a pretty el guapo price of around $1,589.99.  The Optimus Mini, a smaller version of the Maximus that only has three animated display keys, will cost about $134.99.  Now the Optimus family has a new member with the Optimus Pultius. 

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ThinkGeek has begun to offer the highly desired Optimus Maximus keyboard, although currently out-of-stock, the item can now be ordered by anyone. Of course we say anyone with a little bit of sarcasm because not everyone is going to be willing to shell out the $1,589.99 that it retails for. The keyboard has 113 keys that are actually all individual OLED screens and each one can be programmed to do just about anything you can think of. The keyboard also has two USB ports and a SD card slot that is used for storage of the keyboard settings.

Just in case the keyboard is a little pricey for your budget, ThinkGeek is also carrying the Optimus Mini Three keyboard, which is a mini keyboard with three programmable keys. While not quite as cool as the full keyboard it retails for a much nicer $134.99. Sadly both items are currently listed as out of stock.

Product [Optimus Maximus keyboard] Product [Optimus Mini Three keyboard] Via [Wired]

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Seems like a lot of brilliant ideas abound in the mind of desktop computing visionary Art.Lebedev. After giving us that funky, interactive, and slightly over-priced Optimus Maximus keyboard, he now plans on making an entirely new type of keyboard to remedy the lack of physical keys in the Maximus. This year, he says their team’s goal is to create a prototype of a keyboard with transparent keys overlayed on a single display. Basically, what they’re trying to do with this is create an entirely visual keyboard, but instead of patching together hundreds of different screens for keys, they will use only one big screen. Trying to picture this thing working is hard in itself, so I won’t count on this project to be completed any time soon. But they are aiming to have this completed before the year ends and hopefully start production of it at that time as well. Or if not, then production will start in early 2009.

Read [Optimus Project] Via [Gizmodo]

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The Optimus Mini 3 is one of cool devices that one can either live with or without. It is a nifty device that connects to your PC via USB. It has 3 keys which you could assigned to control various desktop tasks. Adding even more useful functionality is the Optimus Mini’s own backlit OLED screen that displays the tasks you assigned to each of its three keys.

The good thing about the Optimus Mini is that you can switch from 3-sets of function keys to another set anytime you want to. It has six different key layouts triggered by pressing CTRL, Shift, or Ctrl+Shift on your regular keyboards. The Optimus Mini keypad allots hotkey functions for launching such programs as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, Outlook Express and Windows Media Player.

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After many delays, the Optimus Maximus keyboard has finally begun shipping. Now don’t get that excited yet, because they are not shipping on a regular basis, those who ordered last year will soon be receiving their keyboard.

In addition to those lucky ones who will be getting their keyboard, the Optimus Configurator software utility is also available. This software will allow you to customize your new keyboard and is available in both a Mac and PC version.

Via [Optimus Project]

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Remember that Optimus Maximus keyboard auction we showed you a little while back, well the auction has ended, keyboard has sold and we can only imagine the seller was very pleased.

With a final bid of $2,750 it has sold for quite a bit over the regular retail price of $1,564.72. Wonder if the buyer will follow through with the purchase or if this will have to be re-listed for another attempted sale.

Read [eBay] Via [Engadget]

• Optimus AUX pre-production image released, set to cost $650
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You now have your chance to be amongst the first to get your hands on an actual Optimus Maximus keyboard. Currently up for auction is just that, assuming you are willing to pay the premium price. We had thought people would be crazy to pay the $1,564 that it will retail for, but this auction seems to be taking that to another level, currently with 62 bids the auction sits at $1,900 with about 5.5 days left to bid. Of course the seller is kind enough to include free shipping. Winning this auction will either help you to impress your friends or possibly have them set up an intervention for spending so much money on a keyboard.

Read [eBay]

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Again.  The once great, now non-existent Optimus Maximus keyboard from Russian designer Art Lebedev has been delayed. This is not the first time that such delays have happened; the name of the device is practically synonymous with vaporware.

To put things in perspective, the Maximus was first announced right around July of 2005. Since then, it’s release has been marred with delays due to lack of OLED keys, and so on.

This time around, the delay is a result of Lebedev wanting to completely finalize the firmware of the keyboard. The keyboard is said to be ready by February. For those who can’t wait, you could buy the keyboard now, and figure out to download the software when the time comes.

Via [Engadget]

• Optimus AUX pre-production image released, set to cost $650
• The new failure of a keyboard
• A hot keyboard always needs a partner…