CES 2008: Optimus Maximus OLED Keyboard

The Optimus Maximus of Keyboards

Art Lebedev is showing off their new soon-to-be-released Optimus Maximus Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) keyboard at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show. Legit Reviews first covered the Optimus Maximus OLED keyboard back in 2005, so if the name is familiar, this is why. It has been a few years and this innovative keyboard is still yet to be fully released, but it is getting closer. Back in 2005, the keyboard was said to be right around $200, but it seems that is not the case today. The current pre-order price tag of the Optimus Maximus is $462.27 and can be ordered here. Why so expensive? The Optimus Maximus OLED keyboard features a physical OLED screen embedded in each individual plastic key.

This keyboard is fully configurable with Art Lebedev’s Optimus Configurator software. Users will be able to drag and drop any image edited by any imaging software like Photoshop.

Users will also be able to program 10 keys on the left side of the keyboard to launch programs or show items like CPU load. Their demo keyboard showed applications like Skype, Powerpoint, Half Life 2, and music applications all having their own key with their respective logo displayed on the OLED screen.

Each key on the Optimus Maximus is also removable for replacement or cleaning.