Wired.com Review All-New BulletTrain eXpress Keyboard Platform

Wired.com Review

All-New BulletTrain eXpress Keyboard Platform

Wired.com's GeekDad wrote a review of the all-new BulletTrain eXpress Keyboard Platform they say previewed at CES 2012, and they said:

"This is a beautiful little device–it's a shell that allows an Apple keyboard and Magic Trackpad (sold separately) that creates a pseudo laptop/desktop pad. It then connects via Bluetooth to either an iPad, Apple Mini, or any other computer/device that is connected to you television. It basically turns your TV into a smart TV, allowing you to access the Internet and use apps and programs installed on the connecting device."

All-New Caribbean Blue BulletTrain eXpress Keyboard Platform Pictured above.

"It comes in a variety of colors as well as some skins, and they told me you can also have your own graphics added to the completed platform. They also demonstrated keyboard overlays that relate to different apps–the image here shows the overlay for Apple's video editing software Final Cut Pro. The platform is very light weight, and the keyboard and trackpad felt solid and locked in."

Wired Aluminum Tray Turns Desktop Keyboard Into Laptop Keyboard

WIRED Magazine

Aluminum Tray Turns Desktop Keyboard Into Laptop Keyboard

Wired Magazine Gadget Lab published this very nice review in their Gadget Lab on November 2, 2010

I have been looking for something like the BulletTrain Express Keyboard Platform for years. It is little more than a mock lower laptop-case into which you slot your Apple bluetooth keyboard and Magic Trackpad. Thus appointed, you now have yourself a rather comfortable, notebook-like setup.

I find a notebook layout way more comfortable than the standard desktop layout. The trackpad is always ready to hand below the keyboard, so you aren’t forever reaching off to the right or left to mouse around. I actually tried to use my Magic Trackpad below my keyboard in this manner but it just gets in the way of the spacebar.

The Express has a hole for the trackpad and a cutout for the battery-holding cylinder at the back of Apple’s keyboard. In this picture you can see how much it resembles the top of a MacBook Pro, only with a way bigger trackpad:

It does add some thickness to the keyboard, but no more than a laptop does already. Hell, you could even lean back and use this in your lap.

The only thing putting me off is the price: It costs $100, enough to buy a second Magic Trackpad and let me double-fist my mousing setup to bet RSI. Well, there’s one more thing: Unlike the MacBooks, there is no option on the desktop to ignore the trackpad while you type. That could get old, fast.