Gizmodo: keypads

Samsung U750's Dynamic Keypad Takes It Two Ways

John Herrman — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:45:06 EDT

The U750 is your standard free-on-contract feature phone—except for one thing: when the dual-flip-action display is rotated and folded into landscape mode, the keypad buttons switch assignments (and looks!) to create a QWERTY layout. Witchcraft!

Rather than just stamping two decals on each button like it did with the same-shaped U740, Samsung opted to put some kind of display technology into its keypad. But what? Phonearena optimistically speculates that they keys could be e-ink, but that's and expensive and unlikely possibility. Plus, the folding design makes e-ink's power-saving properties more or less pointless, since they keypad will only be in use when the phone is engaged. Theories?

Badged with the Alias2 carrier name, this little weirdo is coming to Verizon at some point in the near future. [Phoneareana]

Old American Telephone and Telegraph Report Shows What Keypads Could Have Been

Jack Loftus — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST

You probably don't think about it much, but there was an intensive selection process that went into the telephone push button keypad. Ironically, the one we use today featured a fairly high error rate.

The second chart above shows the four finalists and the original rotary design. Crosses and asterisks denote error rates, keying speeds and aesthetic preferences. Anyone sad the rotary didn't stay in use? Yeah, me neither.

But still, if history were a bit different, and the tastes of a few focus groups in the 1960s were more forgiving, we could have been drunkenly hammering out phone numbers in the bar on a triangle or old half moon rotary-esque set up. Alternatively, drunk dials would require slightly more effort than they do today. It's a mixed bag, really. Thanks, focus groups! [Mental Floss]

Art Lebedev's Optimus Aux Keypad Finalized, Priced at Around $650

Sean Fallon — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:25:00 EST

Art Lebedev has been teasing us with details about their upcoming Optimus Aux keypad (previously known as the Pultius) for some time now, but it two pieces of evidence have us thinking that a production version will be on its way shortly. Exhibit #1: A final pre-production photo of the keypad in its aluminum case (Verbarius is in the background). Exhibit #2: The Aux has been priced at around $650 US. [livejournal]

Telephone Tone Musical Puts Some Real Life Musicians to Shame

Jack Loftus — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:30:00 EDT

This video makes the 15-odd years I put toward practicing and performing with a musical instrument to shame, and I'm pretty sure this guy probably set this all up in an afternoon. Sick, nevertheless. [ExciteChina via Random Good Stuff]

Cyber Snipa USB Keypad

Travis Hudson — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 13:25:28 EST

Those companies sure do know how to appeal to us gamer types. We thrive on purposeful misspellings! The Cyber Snipa is a USB keypad that was designed with the first-person-shooter in mind. It is essentially replicating the left side of your already existent keyboard to accommodate to gamers. Anybody out there actually use keypads for gaming and notice a preferred difference? Why not just use the keyboard? You have more buttons, save a USB port and save upwards of $32 that these devices generally cost.

Cyber Snipa Keypad [Red Ferret]