Handheld Gaming Prototype Displays Gaming Controls on Keyboard With LCD Displays -- Please Make Standard!

The Razer Switchblade is a prototype handheld, 7" PC gaming device that was unveiled at CES last week, and while it's still uncertain if it will ever reach the market, it comes with an exceptionally sweet feature I'd love to see standard on laptops in general: There's an LCD display on each keyboard button, so when you're playing a PC game, the game's control buttons are displayed as icons on the appropriate keys. So instead of having to learn all the different keys when you start a new game, those keys light up with clearly visible icons. (No more having to refer to a paper keyboard chart.) It's be even more of a boon for virtual worlds and MMOs, which typically have a lot more controls than other PC games. Imagine how much easier it'd make learning to play Second Life or World of Warcraft for the very first time.

Video after the break, for maximum geeky fetishism:

Comments

[Arcadia Codesmith]

It's a cool idea. The first question that pops into my mind is how do the keys hold up in the field when you're down to one life and you're squeezing the fire button like a python with abandonment issues? The second is, how much more expensive is a keyboard like this over the traditional model? And third... you mean people actually look at the keyboard? Wow.

[Botgirl Questi]

I was told this was a "concept" not a prototype. (Not sure of the exact difference) :)

Razer is doing some pretty innovative UI work that they also displayed at the show:

- a keyboard for StarCraft using back-lighting colors to indicate various realtime play stats, augmenting the on-screen displays.

- a working versions of Sixense, a motion controller for PCs that used magnetic sensors.

I have a couple CES related posts on my blog.

[Alvi Halderman]

Actually, this is not the first Mini-LCD keys keybard, there has been one for a few years alredy that is like 1000$
Can it run SL? if it can, properly of course, I'll just scream at Razer to take all my moneh!

[Silver]

Stickers can't break, only fade. Cost to replace: a few cents. LCD? Nice idea, most expensive keyboard ever.