Friday, January 20th 2012

Sanwa Supply Combines Mini-Keyboard with Gamepad and Tracking Device

by
btarunr
 Discuss (9 Comments)
Japanese company Sanwa Supply probably wondered that if mini-keyboards are going to resemble those from smartphones and PDAs, why make them boxy, why not curvy and ergonomic. It came up with the SKB-WL16BK, a wireless mini-keyboard with a 2-axis joystick that can double up as a tracking device. It would make for a nice input-device for HTPCs, on which human-interaction is far limited compared to on desktop PCs.

The SKB-WL16BK gives you a QWERTY keypad with 76 keys, multimedia keys, a D-pad that doubles up as the keyboard's arrow keys, a 2-axis thumb-stick, and two triggers that double up as left-right clicks. The main unit measures D145 x W90 x H28 mm , weighing 168 g (including two AA batteries). It communicates to the PC over 2.4 GHz radio band. On sale, the SKB-WL16BK from Sanwa Supply is priced at 13,440 JPY (about US $174.3).
Source: Hermitage Akihabara

Related News

Add your own comment

9 Comments on Sanwa Supply Combines Mini-Keyboard with Gamepad and Tracking Device

#1
HossHuge
I love the idea but that price is ridiculous.
Posted on Reply
#2
DigitalUK
this isnt new ive had one of these on my htpc for afew years, you can buy them for £30 on ebay?

Here
Posted on Reply
#3
meirb111
DigitalUKthis isnt new ive had one of these on my htpc for afew years, you can buy them for £30 on ebay?

Here
the one in the article is new not the one from your link but its very similar to the overly priced one in the article
Posted on Reply
#4
DigitalUK
meirb111the one in the article is new not the one from your link but its very similar to the overly priced one in the article
its exactly the same both 2.4ghz wireless both 76 buttons with touch sensor on side, all buttons are in exact same place. also on/off button and connect button on back the only problem with these is the thumb mouse starts to move slow after some time in one direction which is easy to fix just take apart unclip the mouse thumb and bend contact pins out abit, ive also had to replace the right click micro switch after about a year.
Posted on Reply
#5
meirb111
DigitalUKits exactly the same both 2.4ghz wireless both 76 buttons with touch sensor on side, all buttons are in exact same place. also on/off button and connect button on back the only problem with these is the thumb mouse starts to move slow after some time in one direction which is easy to fix just take apart unclip the mouse thumb and bend contact pins out abit, ive also had to replace the right click micro switch after about a year.
maybe this is the first time a japanese company copy's from a Chinese company
the result is 5 times higher price than the orginal:)
Posted on Reply
#6
DigitalUK
must be because i paid about £30 (about $45) for mine which i thought was abit pricey at the time but it was perfect for what i needed, maybe the htpc is included as well in the price.
Posted on Reply
#7
brandonwh64
Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
It would be cool but they put the joystick on the wrong side
Posted on Reply
#8
DigitalUK
it is a really good controller (not at that price), and is good with your media centre add some retro emulators which you can use the dpad on the left. the worst thing is no "function keys" so you have to hook up a usb keyboard to your htpc if you want to get into Bios (unless Del is your bios entry)
Posted on Reply
#9
eidairaman1
The Exiled Airman
accidental key press anyone.
Posted on Reply
Apr 25th, 2024 19:48 EDT change timezone

Latest GPU Drivers

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts