Military-grade keypad used for wearable wrist computing

If you’ve been reading CrunchGear since this past summer, you should probably call a psychiatrist immediately may remember the iKey AK-39 military-grade wrist keyboard, which was basically a small-ish keyboard made for a soldier to wear on his or her wrist in order to manipulate a rugged, portable computer. Well iKey’s got a new keypad now, and it’s an OEM product meant to integrate directly with wrist-worn computers.

The KYB-170-OEM (cute name!) “features a 17-key keypad that functions just like a cellular phone does when texting.” There’s also an integrated pointing device, dedicated mouse-click button, and an Enter key. No word on pricing unless you’re a system builder working on a sweet wrist computer, but I’d expect it a little on the pricier side since it’s military-grade and sealed to keep out dust, dirt, and debris.

Here’s a close up of the computer from the above photo:

Old school. I like it.

KYB-170-OEM [iKey.com]

Press Release