Maglev keyboard promises to result in smaller laptops

Maglev Keyboard uses magnets to pop your keys right back up. Darfon has presented a super-slim Maglev keyboard that uses magnets instead of the standard rubber domes found on normal keyboards. Darfon claims the key's resistance can be tweaked electronically, so it's possible to have various degrees of pressure depending on your preference.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- It's pretty hard not to give this super-slim Maglev Keyboard some attention. Like Japanese bullet trains, the Darfon keyboard uses the magic of magnetism to do away with the standard rubber cups found on normal keyboards.

Since the Maglev lacks rubber cups, the keyboard is noticeably thinner too. On the demo notebook that the company set up to show off the slimness, the keys were so close to the notebook that it was quite hard to type with.

On the standalone keyboard, however, I found the pressure and "clickiness" to be just about right. Darfon says it is also able to tweak the resistance electronically, so the keys will have various degrees of pressure depending on the preferences of their customers.

Obviously, the Maglev won't have the feel of a mechanical keyboard, but it will help in making notebooks even skinnier. Perhaps the newly announced Asus Chi is using the technology in its super-thin keyboard dock, though that's speculation on my part.

Darfon's spokesperson declined to reveal which manufacturers have ordered the Maglev, but says that we will see notebooks with its technology some time in the second half of the year.