The A1Pro selling for only $25.48 is a hybrid keyboard of sorts which incorporates a writing pad. Unfortunately, it sits in the very spot the rest of us find our 10-key pad, which is not such a good idea.

Regardless, the idea of have a writing tablet or perhaps a small graphics tablet designed right into a keyboard is a great idea! I would buy that product.

Usefulness and such aside, Dust-Off at least gave their keyboard (and stuff) case a great name. "Keyboard Quiver"; gotta love that. It can hold a variety of gadgets in addition to a keyboard, including (of course) a mouse, a cell phone, etc., etc., measuring 21X12X6 inches. Looks plenty comfy, too. It’ll be $70 when it’s released in October.

Apple’s released the new iMacs, and they’re beauties. Coming in 20- and 24-inch versions, built from aluminum, and sporting  the new Apple metallic keyboard (which is a negative for me), the specs are moderately impressive:

• Up to 2.4GHz Core 2 Extreme
• ATI Radon HD 2600 Pro
• Up to 1TB of internal storage
• 802.11n
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 8X Superdrives,
• 1GB RAM standard

But, the totally new design is just gorgeous, and sports some nice design features. For example, the entire unit is made from a single sheet of aluminum, so seams are a thing of the past. One negative: as far as I can tell, it’s not Santa Rosa, so it’s a step behind.

Pricing starts at $1,199 for the stock 20-inch to $1,799 for the 24-inch. Of course, options could take that higher.

I’m a fan of flat keyboards, but not chiclet-style keys, so I’m torn on the new Apple keyboard. Those who desire more tactile feedback might not be such fans. But, finally, Apple’s announced that they new keyboard is, in fact, real, and so that rumor mill can finally close up shop.

Does usefulness trump image / design?

Wibrain has unveiled a product sample of its business UMPC B1(project name)™.

With a 4.8-inch touchscreen 1024×600 resolution LCD with a Via C7m CPU up to 1.6GHz, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, a 0.3M camera, HSDPA, and a full QWERTY keyboard and trackpad. User options include CPU (from 1GHz, 1.2GHz and 1.6GHz), memory (512MB and 1GB) and HDD (30GB, 60GB and 80GB).

Price will be 600 or 700k Korean Won (about $650 – $760 US)