Apple files a patent for a keyless keyboard. They would.
Steve Jobs hates buttons like most people hate having their balls set on fire. The iPhone, the iPad, every version of the Apple mouse has had the absolute minimal number of clicky parts. But keyboards… you really can’t get away with a keyboard without keys without it sucking royally. But Apple recently got a patent signed for one, so they might give it a shot.
The keyboard in question is designed to streamline the multi-part design of your regular keyboard by getting rid of those pesky buttons. Various design options include surfaces made of plastic or metal with a micro-perforated keyboard layout, or (this is the exciting one) a glass-topped version with an LED display that can change from your traditional QWERTY setup to limitless alternatives for gaming, music, and who even knows.
To eliminate the unreliable nature of touch-sensitive interfaces, where errant keystrokes and taps are read as deliberate because the technology isn’t yet advanced enough to distinguish between intentional and accidental input, Apple’s patent indicates that input is received via pressure-sensitive piezo-electric sensors that pick up acoustic pulse. Also included in the patent is a haptic or tactile response to keystrokes, which will be useful especially for the glass version for giving the user feedback while typing.
Many of Apple’s buttonless inventions work really well. I recently got a Magic Mouse and I was surprised how much I like it considering how awful the Mighty Mouse is. But a keyless keyboard just sounds awful. I guess it will depend on how well the feedback works so that you can distinguish where your fingers are on the keyboard without looking.
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