Infinium Phantom Lapboard Coming to PC?

JamesO writes to tell us that Infinium Labs has announced the release of their "Phantom Lapboard" for later this year. From the article: "Infinium Labs' Phantom game service is still to launch, despite claims years ago that it would appear at Christmas 2004, but this hasn't stopped the company from continuing with the system's development. One of the most talked about aspects of the system is its wireless keyboard and mouse combo called the Lapboard. Infinium Labs has decided that the Lapboard is so good that it will be released as a peripheral for PC users in quarter-two 2006. What makes the Lapboard unique is that the keyboard can be angled upwards to create a surface for the mouse to operate on underneath. The device is also wireless and can operate at a distance of up to 30 feet."

Comments

MouseBoard?

[biocute]

You mean like the MouseBoard?

So fucking what?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a fucking keyboard and mouse with integrated mouse tray.

It isn't exactly a next generation console is it?

I mean, that'd be like the Sony PS3 being a budget DVD player. Or something.

The jokes write themselves

[Rude Turnip]

"What makes the Lapboard unique is that the keyboard can be angled upwards to create a surface for the mouse to operate on underneath."

So let me get this straight...this keyboard will cover my lap and my right hand will be moving around on a surface underneath the keyboard? I can already imagine mothers everywhere fainting when they accidentally walk in on their kids playing games. "Honestly, mom, I was just playing with my mouse!" "Oh my God!, is that what you're calling it these days?!?!"

Re:The jokes write themselves

[flynt]

One hand on the mouse, one hand on the snake.

Re:The jokes write themselves

[SatanicPuppy]

I think by "Informative" they meant "Too much information"

Can't wait ...

[dc29A]

2006 is the year!

Can't wait to play Duke Nukem Forever on my Phantom Game Console!

Hmm

[thesnarky1]

I don't know about you, but I don't like hitting my hand every time I bring it up to type. My roommate has a desk with the mouse lower like this and boy does it suck. If anyone here has ever played a game where you have to switch between the mouse and the keyboard (say for chatting between you and teammates) this not only kills the time it takes to get up to the keyboard, but you DO hit your hand a lot.

Not to mention the fact that you arms are going to cross in this case with the mouse directly below the keyboard.

If this is any indication of their console, they shoulda just launched years ago with two paper-cups and some string... their launch title? Telephone. Multiplayer, you just have to pass the controller between each pair of players. But look, no limit on amount of players!

So...

[faloi]

Instead of a console that doesn't technically exist, they're shipping a keyboard that has no possible value whatsoever. I know that their VC's must be chomping at the bit to get something out of 'em, but c'mon.

How did this land on /.?

[mmell]

Are these guys paying for advertising? This isn't some new technology, nor even an emerging piece of standard hardware. This is just a wireless keyboard/mouse combo with what (to my eye) looks to be a cheap plastic lapboard.

I'd be more inclined to pick up a cheaper wireless keyboard/mouse set and grab one of those ancient Sun mousepads (remember Sun's optical mouse, the one which required a metal mousepad with a grid painted on?).

Don't have an antique Sun mouse pad? I suspect any old clipboard or other flat surface will do nicely.

Re:How did this land on /.?

[Roblimo]

It's sort of an in-joke. Look at the 2004 article on ITMJ ScuttleMonkey's post links to, which was my final debunking of the whole Phantom/Infinium business, written immediately after a banquet Infinium held for "investors and friends" at Michael's On East, an upscale restaurant in Sarasota, Florida.

During the banquet, which Infinium founder Tim Roberts *insisted* I had to come to (possibly because I'm the only tech journalist in or near Sarasota), he and former Microsoftie Kevin Bachus, who was Infinium President at the time, kept asking me what I thought of their latest business and marketing plan, as in, "Would it succeed?" (Also, Tim kept asking, "How's the food?" which was decent but not great.) And did my much younger friend, Matt Moen, who came with me, think he'd be interested in the Phantom, being he was the "target" age for their marketing program?

As it says in the article, the only interesting or potentially marketable product Matt and I saw from Infinium at that point was their keyboard/mouse thing, which looked like it would be kind of cool for couch computing. Kevin told us they weren't interested in the lapdesk as a product, that they were concentrating on the console and game service, which would debut shortly. Remember: this was in *2004*, and they'd already been saying "Next month, really, we promise, we'll have a product to show you" for nearly two years before that.

Now the lapdesk seems to be the only product the company is actually able to bring to market. So Matt and I get to have a big laugh (which you are free to share), and say, "We told you so!" :)

- Robin

Few Ideas

[everphilski]

Uh, big screen TV or projector. Had a LCD projector back in college, I had a computer wired to it and friends would bring over consoles all the time for gaming sessions. You could easily sit 15-20 feet away and still have a good view...

-everphilski-

Angled Keyboard?

[XMilkProject]

So I looked at the picture and the first thing I think to myself is "How the f*ck am I supposed to type efficiently with my keyboard at a huge angle"

So I sat for a moment, puzzled as to how they thought this thing would be useful...

Then I decided to try it myself, So i've propped my keyboard up at a comparable angle, and I'm typing on it right now... I've got to admit it hasn't slowed my typing down at all, or decreased my accuracy (Although it does obviously take longer to make the keyboard->mouse->keyboard transition with the right hand)

While I'm still able to type quite well, I can't help but get the feeling that this could be a near-instant cuase of a significant repetitive stress injury, with all the odd angles and such.

Also, if the keyboard is in your lap, how do you get to your ........

Not a wireless mouse

[Qubit]

If you look at the picture in the article, it sure looks like there's a wire coming out of the mouse.

For a product from Infinium Labs, I'd expect both the keyboard and the mouse to be wireless. Hell, I'd expect the dang thing to READ your friggin' MIND and move itself around FOR you.

Besides, I heard that their CEO strangles puppies to get off.
I mean, that's just something I heard somewhere.

It should be noted

[Anonymous Coward]

That Infinium Labs is looking for ANOTHER $2,000,000 in funding in order to manufacture these. This isn't so much a press release as it is a plea to investors to give them more money. You will never see these in stores, at least not from IL.

You just can't make this stuff up!

[binaryDigit]

The Phantom game service is still very much something Infinium Labs wants to pursue in the future and Infinium Labs CEO Greg Koler believes the release of the Lapboard is "the perfect stepping stone and bridges the subsequent launch of the full service further down the line."

Perfect stepping stone! Subsequent launch, further down the line. Man, this guy just cracks me up. Did he actually make this quote with a straight face? Because I couldn't stop myself from laughing just reading it.

Oh, and anyone else amused by the fact that they have apparently been working on this keyboard for over three years now, but yet it's STILL going to take them another 6 months to get it into peoples hands! If they were that far behind with the keyboard, just imagine where they are with the rest of the system :)

Re:When do they get charged with fraud?

[Roblimo]

I don't have an answer to this question. It might be tomorrow, it might be next year, and it might be never.

I am neither an investor nor a prosecutor.

My only contact with Infinium has been to interview several of its CEOs, corporate officers, and board members, read all available information about the company (including SEC filings and its own promotional material), and analyze the company's prospects the same way any competent reporter or analyst would, using provable information instead of rumors, gossip, and hearsay.

If Infinium, its founders, or its major shareholders are ever sued or indicted, I'll probably be subpoenaed as a witness. If that happens I'll let you know.

One word of advice: if you ever think about investing in a tech company (or any other kind of company), check not only the company's obvious financial track record but how well it keeps commitments, including but not limited to releasing products and paying suppliers on time. Information about a company's bill-paying history can be obtained -- for a fee -- through Dun & Bradstreet and other corporate credit reporting agencies. In the Internet age, information about how well a company keeps its product release promises can be obtained free through Google and other search engines.

- Robin