Art Lebedev today said that the upcoming Optimus Popularis keyboard might actually be easier to use than its larger Maximus sibling. Each key is fractions of an inch smaller in every direction and the actual touch surface will run nearly to the edge of the key.

This will guarantee that the keys will be easier to hit as it will be virtually impossible to miss the sweet spot. The Popularis is expected to ship in 2011 and should be physically smaller …

Feeling like it’s time to upgrade that Optimus Maximus keyboard? Maybe something a bit smaller? Well, the Popularis, which was announced about two years ago is coming along nicely and on target to start production later this year with a release in 2011.

The Popularis will have full-color keys, but apparently they are not OLED this time. We won’t know an exact price until it arrives, but we are hoping it’s cheaper than the $1,000 price they originally quoted.

The Sabre OLED gaming keyboard takes Art Lebedev’s OLED-in-each-key keyboard concept and adapts it for the mass market to enjoy. But it does have a lower price and a less impressive feature set. Only the numpad keys feature the OLED magic and the keys don’t display color.

OCZ tries to make up for the lack of OLED keys with a layered shortcut system and blue LED sidelighting. In the end we can only state the ovious, that the Sabre is no Optimus Maximus. Then again, the Optimus is huge and hard to type on. So maybe it’s for the best.

This interesting concept comes from designer Billy May. The OLED Blackberry is a combination of a Blackberry 7130 and an Optimus Keyboard. This OLED Blackberry was designed for the Mozilla Phone project, and obviously it takes the best of both devices and creates this stunning concept seen above.

The OLED keys, just like on the Optimus Keyboard can be programmed and change their look. It looks stunning and the minute you see it, you realize that you are looking at a device that has some actual richness of personality and could provide a richer experience.

The Folderix USB flash drives from Art Lebedev, the team behind the Optimus Maximus keyboard, are designed to look like a folder icon, and feature 4GB of storage space. We told you about these when they were still in the concept stage. The good news for those of you who want them is that they are now available from the artlebedev.com website. The price is $55 and you get three colors to choose from: yellow, pink or blue. The case material uses multiple colors of aluminum with a laser-etched logo.

The Luxeed multi-color LED keyboard is pretty awesome looking, but it’s been impossible to get outside Korea until now. Thanks to the folks over at ThinkGeek, you can bring one home. The keyboard is powered by 430 individual colored LEDs, which can all be sequenced using the included Windows software.

You can make any of your own colorful keyboard creations and it’s available in a black or white for $199.99 each. If you want a numeric keypad, it will cost an additional $34.99 to get one with no LEDs. It’s not the Optimus Maximus, but should make typing fun again. Check out a video below.

Sometimes keyboards don’t look all that typical these days. Just looking at this bright-colored flowery thing, I’m half blind and now feel all girlly. Where are my Polly Pocket toys? hmmm. I’d say this is a good alternative for those who don’t like the Optimus keyboard from Art Lebedev, but want something outrageous still.

The Nishi-Ki keyboard will save you a bundle in the process as it retails for $153. Each and every butterfly-lovin’ key is painted in tiny flower scenes, and the whole thing measures just a foot long, so it’s not for those with large hands. It looks like a large tile game.

Now you have no excuse, except for maybe the price, not to pick up one of those Optimus Maximus keyboards for yourself. ThinkGeek is now shipping the Art Lebedev creation for the incredible price of $1589.99.

If you pre-ordered one of those Optimus Maximus keyboards last year then you might be seeing it on your doorstep soon as the Art Lebedev studio has finally started shipping them, at least the ones without the passive keys. In case you don’t remember, this keyboard is the one that has an individual OLED display for each key, letting you customize each display and function the the Configurator software which is also available for download now.

The Art Lebedev site is showing four different configurations of the keyboard ranging in price from about $1560 USD for a keyboard with all 113 active keys, down to just $462 USD for a keyboard with just the spacebar active. The company says you get sucked in with just the one key to start with and buy more active keys to replace the passive ones as you can afford them. The passive keyboard models will be available in another month.

The team behind the Optimus Maximus OLED Keyboard, has another cool concept for another keyboard. It doesn’t have actual keys, which means no restrictions on their shape and size.

Any part of the keyboard is fully programmable and capable of displaying an image. It would also feature a typing mode and a video mode. Very awesome indeed. It really opens up the interface to all kinds of possibilities, literally putting everything at your fingertips.

If space travel were as easy as driving to the local Kwik-E-Mart then this is the device that would have to be in our ship’s cockpit. Say hello to today’s new sexyness, the Eagle Neo-Retro CD Player from Loit, a Singapore-based electronics firm.

Designed by Art Lebedev, the same house that brought us the $1,500 OLED keyboard Optimus Maximus, this CD player looks more like a nice piece of art than a means to play your tunes. I mean, just look at it: if that doesn’t say “HAL, play me something like Dirty Vegas meets Justin Timberlake and make it fresh,” what does?

One of the latest creations from Art Lebedev, the maker of the Optimus Maximus keyboard, really needs no explanation. Adding a little nostalgia to a Flash memory USB drive this one is shaped like a classic manila folder, and also not unlike the folder icons you would find on a Windows OS. With this file folder shaped flash drive you can make it clear from looking at it that this thumb drive is all business, but getting a tiny little label on the folder tab to identify which business might be a …

This Ci70 wireless desktop set from Kensington has got to be the sleekest and thinest we’ve seen, and definitely had the minimalist in mind when designed.

The footprint on the keyboard is 40% smaller than standard multimedia keyboards and even the mouse runs anorexic at 35% of the average size. When not in use the mouse docks neatly in the keyboard to save space and conserve power. An automatic sleep timer also helps conserve energy and saves on wear of the optical sensor.

The wireless desktop works with Windows and …

As of today the Optimus Maximus keyboard is ready for pre-order, but remember that there are a limited amount and only 200 orders will be available for early December, and in fact it appears from the pre-order page that as of this afternoon those 200 are already spoken for.

There will be another 200 available at the end of December and 400 ready to ship in early January. So, there is still hope in getting one but you better hang on to your hat because the price tag to pre-order an …

It’s getting closer and if you’ve been saving your pennies to purchase one of the few Optimus Maximus keyboards that will be made at the start of the product launch you only have two more days to go. On May 20 beginning at 3:00 PM Moscow time (that’s 7 AM to those on the east coast of the U.S.) Art Lebedev Studio will begin taking orders for its $1,536 OLED keyboard.

Only 200 of the Optimus Maximus keyboards will be made at the start of December, then another 200 more in late …