United Keys OLED Keypad: The Optimus’ Schlubby Cousin

Engadget got themselves a United Keys OLED Keypad, which may remind you of a crappier Optimus Aux keypad. And, well, they found it to be a crappier Optimus Aux keypad.

On the upside, the keypad by itself, without its cheap attached keyboard, will only run you $US200. Compare that to Optimus’ baby, which goes for a rent-replacing sum of $US650. It’s plug-and-play with Windows, and the software is easy to use and pretty full-featured. It’s more than just nine shortcut keys, including context-specific shortcuts and “‘nested’ command trees.”

Unfortunately, those little 64×64 monochrome keys look exactly as awful as you’d expect, and the keys themselves are apparently pretty mushy and unappealing. The worst crime? It’s Windows-only for now, though United Keys does promise that Mac and Linux support will roll out soon. My opinion? If you really want an Optimus Aux, go buy one. And if you can’t afford one, maybe this isn’t the gadget to cheap out on. [Engadget]