Smart fabric keyboard is available to license

Eleksen has developed licensable reference designs of its Bluetooth smart fabric keyboard for smartphones, PDAs and handheld devices.

Eleksen has developed licensable reference designs of its Bluetooth smart fabric keyboard for smartphones, PDAs and handheld devices.

The reference designs are suitable for OEMs and ODMs who are interested in designing or manufacturing smart fabric keyboard interfaces for the growing market of highly portable and mobile computing devices for consumer and industrial purposes.

An ElekTex keyboard reference design offers manufacturers and designers a unique, flexible and durable interface for high value accessories in the growing market for smart mobile devices - global shipments of converged devices (smart phones and wireless handhelds) were up 137% year on year in Q1 of 2005.

The reference design solution offers a quick time to market and includes sensor designs that support full laptop size input, all required electronics designs including the design for the Eleksen Bluetooth module and USB connection options, plastics designs and a suite of drivers suitable for connection to smart phones and Microsoft Windows based smartphones, PDAs and handheld devices.

The keyboard designs can be licensed for use with any operating system and an API is available for developers looking to support additional device types.

Weighing less than 68gm (without batteries) the standard ElekTex keyboard design can be rolled up when not in use to fit easily in a pocket or handbag.

The design can be scaled to support different keypad sizes and to support a range of covering materials from 100% fabric solutions to more tactile solutions supporting highly flexible short travel keypad options and differing portability options.

Where existing key pads on many smartphones and PDAs make typing anything longer than a message impractical and uncomfortable the laptop-sized ElekTex fabric keyboard enables consumers to easily and more comfortably type longer documents on their phones and handheld devices.

This is especially welcome news as reports of worries about repetitive stress injuries from overuse of small embedded keypads is growing.

Andrew Newman, Product Manager for the keyboard explains: "The keyboard showcases the benefits that smart fabrics such as ElekTex can offer product designers".

"With its key properties light weight, low power, high flexibility, exceptional durability and high portability smart fabric devices make compelling, highly differentiated products for highly competitive peripherals and accessories in after market retail sales".

"Opening up the ElekTex keyboard design to OEMs and ODMs for technology licensing affirms our interest in developing product design to the next stage of evolution with smart fabric touchpad designs more accessible to a wide selection of consumer electronics focused businesses".

The keyboard is available to order now.

Pricing for OEMs and ODMs will be negotiated on a case by case basis taking the following dimensions into consideration: size of the sensor, number of units, type of material and whether the customer is purchasing a licence for the reference design or requires a finished product.

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