At CES on Tuesday, third-party accessory maker Matias announced an RGB-backlit wired aluminum keyboard for Mac. Inspired by Apple's own, now defunct wired keyboard, Matias' silver and space grey versions look almost identical, except for the addition of a "color dial" on the back and a dedicated key on the layout that allow users to incrementally shift the backlighting through the color spectrum.
Citing a Harvard sleep study, Matias notes that too much blue-light exposure at night is known to negatively impact melatonin levels, which can shift the body's natural time clock — leading to poor sleep and various other health issues. However, the existence of the rotary color dial on its latest keyboard means users can dial back the blue component of white light when they're working late into the evening.
The RGB keyboard features Apple-style function keys to let users control screen brightness, volume, iTunes, and so on, and also includes a built-in USB 2.0 port underneath on the right hand side, for connecting a wired mouse or wireless dongle.
The keyboards cost $99 each and will be available in a wide range of international layouts (US, EU, and Asian). They can be pre-ordered now from the Matias website, with free shipping to the U.S. and Canada, for delivery in late February.
Top Rated Comments
Not even clear why wireless is a must-have on a desktop keyboard, either... solve the problem with backlights sucking power, and it is jolly useful to have a couple of extra USB-A ports on the desk, esp. with an iMac where all the ports are tucked around the back.
...quite possibly a "thing" in the case of that ultra-bright 27" rectangle that you're staring intently at, but methinks that if your keyboard backlight is disturbing your sleep then you're holding it wrong...
A classic case of "It ain't broke: don't fix it!"
True.
Unfortunately, the old Aluminium wired keyboard was a really, really good example of how to make an acceptable short-travel keyboard. Fortunately, I have a couple of spares...
Chinese Quality
The travel on the "magic" is somewhere between the "butterfly" and the "classic" key - but it ain't Goldilocks.
In this case, though, it's just a "lowest common denominator". If the iMac had a wonderful keyboard with tactile response and decent key travel, people would start wondering why they put a trash keyboard in the MacBook just to save a millimeter on the thickness of the device. So everybody gets the same ****y butterfly-switch keyboard that feels like you're hammering your fingers on a piece of hard metal.
Fortunately, it's a very easy problem to solve on the iMac -- just plug in [nice keyboard of your choice] and never look back. On the laptop side... well, let's just say I'm still rocking a MacBook Air because it has somewhat real-er of a keyboard.