Combimouse is an unusual looking input peripheral which combines a keyboard and mouse into a single yet divided entity. Just look at the picture and you will know what I mean... The right part of the keyboard is movable and has a mouse integrated into it while the left section remains stationary but includes a thumb scroll-wheel in a natural position near the space bar.
The functionality and utility value of the Combimouse is described as follows; “You don't have to move your hand off the keyboard to operate the mouse. You just drop your hand, grip it and move the mouse making Computer usage more efficient and less tiring. This is main advantage of the Combimouse. The right part works and feels exactly the same as a regular mouse.” Also the latest prototype has ironed out some movement issues of the earlier version; “Thanks to patent pending technology, the right part doesn't move around during typing.”
The Combimouse project has been attempting to gain traction for a number of years. Inventor Ari Zagnoev came up with the hybrid design and patented it in 1999, the PC era of Microsoft Windows 98 SE! Since that time it’s been, slowly, tested and refined and now a new prototype is ready.
Zagnoev has now launched a two-part Indiegogo campaign (like Kickstarter) to help get the Combimouse into production and into retail. The first round of fundraising, for $20,000, will fund a thorough independent evaluation of the latest Combimouse prototype by Curtin University in Perth, Australia. When/if that goal is achieved, and it shows the Combimouse to be an input peripheral that does indeed lead to greater productivity and efficiency, a second round of Indiegogo fund raising will take place to fund the manufacturing.
Explaining the very long time this project has been in development, the Combimouse FAQ says “Technology is only now available to make it feasible - including thin wall plastics, plastic mould flow analysis software, light weight notebook keyboard technology and ultra low power electronics.” Furthermore “Overcoming design problems has taken time. Especially making it light and mobile as a mouse AND immobile as a keyboard and at the same time making it manufacturable.”
Key arrangement
If you are interested in the Combimouse and wish to back the project, the minimum contribution to this phase is $10 for which you will “accumulate $11 towards the purchase of a Combimouse”. This lowest level of funding that could secure you a finished product from the first production run is $110. For this pledge the Indiegogo site says you will receive a “signed Limited Edition Combimouse for free”. If everything goes to plan then the first Combimouse peripherals will start to ship during February 2014.
So far the first stage Indiegogo funding project has reached $3,705 with a target of $20,000 and 35 days left.
