e-Ink Holdings is best known for producing the easy to read screens found in your favorite e-readers. Everything from the Kindle Paperwhite to the Kobo Glo all use these screens. They draw less power and are able to display images without hampering battery life. Typically, an e-reader lasts months without a re-charge. Concept design firm Yanko might have developed the next mega Kickstarter project by utilizing e-Ink technology.
Keyboards have come a long way from the cheap ones you would find in an electronics store a decade ago. Mechanical, Wireless, Backlit, and gamer keyboards abound. One good thing about Yanko’s concept keyboard is that each key can be mapped with any type of symbol or functionality that you want. If you speak another language, your e-Ink keyboard could update all the symbols to your mother tongue. Sure some keyboards have LED or OLED keys to do this, but the e-ink edition virtually draws no power and is more affordable to produce.
Th e-Ink concept keyboard was originally designed by Maxim Mezentsev and Aleksander Suhih. At this point, it is basically a proof of concept, but I think something like this would really take off. Many people would love a chance to get a wireless keyboard that lasts for three or four months. Many people would also love to map MMORPGS with symbols and macro keys, then switch back to their regular keyboard on the fly. Simple and elegant.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.