Keyboards, art, decoration, gadgets, japanese keyboards, peripherals, traditional japanese...

Japanese-Style Keyboards Look Almost Too Good for Typing

These traditional Japanese-style keyboards are a class apart from the grey or white boringness of the average keyboard. As well as looking different, and neat these devices are even handmade for that extra "creative" touch. The gold one's damn attractive and would look cool on many a desk: but not the green "kara kusa" one... that just looks like a typing nightmare. That attractiveness costs, mind you, as they're available for $154.90. Except the gold "Zip-Ang" one, which is a whopping $214.21. [Akihabaranews]

4:03 AM on Tue Apr 8 2008
By Kit Eaton
67,901 views
18 comments

Comments

citizen024 at 05:25 AM on 04/08/08
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$214 for a $20 keyboard and some spray paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG! Ponies! at 06:24 AM on 04/08/08
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I see TokyoFlash has gotten into the keyboard biz
aardvarked at 07:04 AM on 04/08/08
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They all look vile.
effingcrazy at 07:14 AM on 04/08/08
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Disgusting...suddenly my dell keyboard looks so much better to me
strider_mt2k at 07:15 AM on 04/08/08
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Make a kid laugh while he's drinking juice and you've got that one keyboard.

Sure they look too good for typing.
You're afraid you'll smudge the finger paint!
robo at 08:48 AM on 04/08/08
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Are those rabbits or alien heads?
flyboy at 08:51 AM on 04/08/08
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@robo: they are rabbits - like at the side views.

heh they're cute - do they do whole laptops like this?
PJK at 08:54 AM on 04/08/08
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They are all profoundly hideous, their creators should fall on their collective swords immediately.
NNTPgrip at 09:22 AM on 04/08/08
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@PJK: Agreed... "ribbons of shame" for the designers
TheAdAgency at 09:32 AM on 04/08/08
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I'm fairly sure the designer of the black/gold monstrosity is responsible for the family of hideous riced up Toyotas down the lane.
jamar0303 at 09:39 AM on 04/08/08
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Hey... @ is its own key. Great for people who e-mail a lot, I guess.
xboxishuge at 10:14 AM on 04/08/08
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Yeah, those totally do not look like roasted shit. Totally.
ideaman2020 at 10:37 AM on 04/08/08
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"What? Have you got a gold one?"
DeadWriter at 11:37 AM on 04/08/08
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What no shokushu goukan theme?
I can see why they are attractive. Likely they add to peoples internal decor.
I think I'll go more minimalist and wait for the Bluetooth DasKeyboard II.
LastAndLeast at 08:10 PM on 04/08/08
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You think they look bad now...imagine how they'd look a year down the road once all the paint's come off and been replaced by that nasty combination of dead skin cells and oils that always accumulates on input devices.
human3rror at 08:46 AM on 04/09/08
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@effingcrazy: Haha. True dat. And more confortable.
ShariC at 09:32 AM on 04/09/08
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Yes, many a collector has been known to scour the antique shops of downtown Tokyo for woodblock prints of "traditional" Japanese keyboards from the Edo period.

Seriously, "traditional"? These are Japanese layouts of keyboards with some Japanese designs on a few of them, not traditional keyboards. The designs are highly atypical and likely not even sold to the mass market. Your average keyboard in Japan is just as grey and boring as your average keyboard anywhere in the world. If you don't believe me, search amazon.co.jp for keyboards and experience the blandness for yourself.
dasnake at 10:17 AM on 04/10/08
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only one word falls into this:

LAME!