+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted February 16, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted February 16, 2010 The Fast Finger keyboard was made for people, mainly children, who are not yet comfortable with the QWERTY layout of most keyboards. It's also made for people who'd love to use just one button to type TTYL, L8R or BRB. I saw this keyboard at Toy Fair 2010 in New York City yesterday in one of the aisles that had educational games for kids. The keys on the Fast Finger keyboard are laid out in alphabetical order, though a press of one button can rewire those keys to work in the standard QWERTY order instead. As you can see, it's simply a matter of the keys functioning based on the white characters printed on them or the red ones. But look at the function keys at the top and you will see that with this keyboard you will no longer need to waste energy making four finger-taps to type ASAP. Nope. Just activate the red-letter functionality and you'll be typing ASAP with the single press of the button formerly known as F1. Type F4 and... CYA! Imagine the added convenience to, I don't know, typing a comment here on Kotaku or chatting with someone in a gaming chatroom. (I do feel a bit out of the loop in terms of what HOAS and HRU would mean, so I wouldn't press those buttons.) Here's a dramatic video pan of the keyboard. Apologies for the misspeak at the end. Turns out that the Fast Finger keyboard can be obtained through Amazon, but for a shade over $20, not a shade under. Video: http://kotaku.com/5472714/at-last-a-keyboard-with-a-lol-button Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorwing Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 epic facepalm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green_Eye Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 That is incredibly sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patconn87 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Built for kids and lazy people. ಠ_ಠ Sethos 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Built for kids and lazy people. ಠ_ಠ Indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjoswald Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I can't believe we've come to this point. Might as well make the official language "L33T 5P34K" and start pressing new textbooks now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Paliath Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 God I hate it when people talk online with some of those abbreviations. How are you not retarded when you're running around saying "L8r"?! Not to mention this just goes to show how lazy the world is getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted February 16, 2010 Veteran Share Posted February 16, 2010 Yay, more "LOL" when people aren't actually laughing. Might as well type "LOLIMM" (laughing out loud in my mind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhearted Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Needs an 'ORLY?' button, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patconn87 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 God I hate it when people talk online with some of those abbreviations. How are you not retarded when you're running around saying "L8r"?! Not to mention this just goes to show how lazy the world is getting. Man, I remember when that's all I used to use when I was talking with my friends online. Now that I've improved my typing skills and such, I don't need those damn shortcuts anymore. I find myself typing out the entire words instead. Takes less effort for the person on the other end to figure out what you're saying. It also doesn't make you look like a lazy fool. I kinda feel like an idiot now for having spent all that time talking like that :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhpuqrgrpgvirzhpujbj Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 O RLY? and lol are the only abbreviations worth using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subject Delta Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 A whole generation of keyboard warriors are going to grow up using crap like this. The English language is slowly going down the pot :( The_Wizard 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 For $20 the kidz will pick this up for sure. The alphabet-ised layout might appeal to adults mistakenly thinking this might help little Johnny with his typing. Unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Teej Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 This was apparently on an aisle in educational games for kids. What the ****. Why don't kids learn to type fast and spell correctly, it's honestly not THAT hard. Just takes practice. Oh, and the irony is someone who's used to typing fast will probably be able to type in "ttyl" quicker then it will to actually remember they have a "ttyl" button and press it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billus Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I've always figured that typing words out long hand was just quicker and much easier to be honest. Lol would have to be the only real abbreviation I use excessively and from time to time ASAP etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamwhoiam Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 A good way to help raise even more illiterate and lazy people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvllsvm Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I'm not a prodigy and I learned how to type on a QWERTY keyboard when I was in preschool. Besides, why make a kid learn something pointless just to learn the standard later on? Either way, they will be looking down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereopixels Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 So the point of this keyboard is? Looking beyond the ridiculous short cuts, it's surely harder to later unlearn using ABCDEF and learn to use QWERTY than it is to just learn QWERTY in the first place - and the manufacturers seem to be forgetting there are reasons why the letters are in a certain place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Teej Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Oh god I didn't even notice the different letter arrangement (gee silly me for assuming it wasn't different) - that's diabolically awful. I hate it when on-screen keyboards are arranged like that - it's going to become a nightmare for people if they grow up with a keyboard like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-uk Veteran Posted February 17, 2010 Veteran Share Posted February 17, 2010 F10 @ that :p :laugh: The_Wizard 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Hey, if they can make money out of it, then all the more power to them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ylcard Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I'm still waiting for a keyboard that allows me to stab someone in the face across the internet, or at least bitch slap them ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMELTN Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I love the red color !! F4!!! oh crap I mean LMAO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalalawawawa Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 The shortcuts are somewhat okay, but the way how the letters are laid down, that's just... weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argonite Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 The shortcuts are somewhat okay, but the way how the letters are laid down, that's just... weird. Yeah, why is the default configuration (assuming red is the alternate) in alphabetical order? Kids using this keyboard are going to be so lost when they're on a QWERTY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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