Das Keyboard earlier this year turned to Kickstarter to fund its latest venture, a mechanical keyboard called the 5Q that is billed as the first in the world to be cloud-connected. It smashed its modest funding goal of $100,000 by more than 580 percent and will be widely available very soon.
Das' pitch is that the 5Q transforms your keyboard into a "dashboard" keyboard. Instead of a simple input device, Das' vision for the 5Q was to create a keyboard that also serves as an output device by using the board's RGB LED lighting system to convey messages to users.
The clip above does a pretty good job of explaining exactly what the 5Q is and does.
Visual cues aside, the 5Q is at its heart a mechanical keyboard from one of the most popular and respected brands in the industry. Das worked with Japanese switch maker Omron to develop a switch capable of withstanding 100 million actuations, actuates at 1.5mm and requires 45 grams of force to actuate with 3.5mm of total travel. Das says the switch, dubbed Gamma-Zulu, is modern and fast with a tactile feel that is "incredible."
Das says it has limited quantities of the 5Q on hand meaning if you want one, you'd be best served to get your pre-order in ASAP. Keeping its word, the Das Keyboard 5Q will indeed retail for $229. That's quite a bit more than the $109 that early bird backers were able to lock in at but such is the case when arriving to the game late.