腿上键盘
Ghost is the Machine: The Phantom Lapboard Review


如果你不知道传说中的雾件公司Infinium Labs和他所谓的Phantom游戏主机，你没必要在这些细节上听我唠叨。不想再对该公司著名的食言评论什么，这次他们是真的推出了一款相当不错的游戏键盘和鼠标。Phantom Lapboard原本是为了某个从未面世的游戏主机设计的，他符合人体工程学的设计和吸引人的外观足以让其他同类产品靠边站了，除了最新的苹果公司的产品以外。

顾名思义，Phantom Lapboard是设计成放在腿上用的。他有着两个出众的特色。一个是键盘可以360度自由旋转，这样大大地方便了左撇子用户。另一个就是键盘可以从底座上拉起来与底座呈大约22度的倾斜角，这样使得你在沙发上使用时更加舒适。当你躺在沙发上的时候，把键盘放在腿上然后拉起22度的倾斜角，使键盘刚好仍然是水平的，同时转动键盘让出水平的空位用来放你的无线鼠标。我现在就用Phantom Lapboard在沙发上打这篇文章，实在再舒服不过了。如果非要对他挑刺的话，我觉得鼠标看起来做工粗糙，不耐用，跟键盘不搭调，另外考虑到在客厅里使用，如果按键有背光灯会更好。

总之，厂家总算是兑现了这款键盘的承诺，将他呈到了玩家的手中。这款键盘是Infinium Labs公司迄今为止的第一款产品也是唯一的一款，不过总算是开了一个好头。在游戏主机夭折的情形下推出这款支持PC的键盘的确是个聪明的做法。Phantom Lapboard另外还兼容MAC机，附件有无线鼠标和USB软件狗。

If you don’t know the now legendary story of the mother of all vaporware companies Infinium Labs and their fabled Phantom Gaming Console, I won’t bore you with those details. Suffice to say the company famous for not delivering on a gaming dream has delivered a pretty decent gaming/multimedia keyboard and mouse. The Phantom Lapboard was originally designed to accompany a console gaming system that never arrived. But in the aftermath of that car crash, a shining little hubcap rolled out of the wreckage in the form of a keyboard/ mouse combo that is both ergonomically sound and aesthetically pleasing enough in comparison to all other keyboards outside the latest Apple creations.

As the name implies, this “lapboard” is deigned to sit on your lap. The keyboard/mouse combo has two unique features that set it apart from all the others. It has the ability to rotate 360 degrees in any direction. This is helpful for left handers (Including me) that tend to do our point and clicking on the other side of the playing field. Another key design feature is the keyboards ability to not only rotate a full 360 degrees but also tilt forward to what seems to be a 22 degree angle. This is perfect for sitting on your sofa while surfing the internet. When the lapboard is in its tilted position, a flat surface is revealed underneath giving you a perfect place to place the included wireless mouse. I am typing this review on the Lapboard and am trying to find something of note that I am not pleased with. If i wanted to get picky I might complain that the mouse seems a little cheap with fit and finish and a little flimsy. I may also whine that for a keyboard designed for casual living room use, the inclusion of backlit keys might have been a consideration.

All in all, this lapboard design does provide you with everything promised by the manufacturer. It is the perfect keyboard/mouse combo for gaming casually, not to be confused with “casual gaming”. Gaming casually is being able to play your favorite game while sitting comfortably at your sofa or bed. “Casual gaming” is a whole other post and has nothing to do with this review. The Phantom Lapboard is the first and only product from Infinium Labs to date and a healthy start. It is not the latest in technology (but they never promised that). It is however a clever and useful design for anyone looking to have a solution for computing casually. Both PC and MAC compatible, the Phantom Lapboard comes with a wireless mouse and USB dongle.

Buy It Here

(Retailed at $129.00 USD)