Sonder Design

Overview

In March 2017 the company has still not confirmed the release date of the Sonder Keyboard, however it looks like they are taking people's money by pre order on their website. The company keeps pushing the launch date to a future time not specified. In early 2015 the company's website said that the keyboard would be available mid 2016, where after they change the launch time to 4'th quarter of 2016. In March 2017 their website have updated and says now the keyboards is going to be available in 2017 and they keep taking pre order sales.

It looks like they are a hoax company and it looks like they are trying to scam people with fake news about their meetings with top executives from Apple and other top tech. companies etc. simply to keep traffic directed to their website for more pre order sales.

Their Facebook page keeps getting cleaned for bad posts and there are no real communication from their CEO Francisco Serra-Martins. Everything they explain of technical specifications are based on fake pictures and poorly made muck ups. Everything is rendered pictures and noting is based on real working models.

The idea of the company is great, however nothing they have stated has come to facts or is showing signs of being true 2,3 years after they first launched the news of the Sonder keyboard.

The production model uses a single E ink display from E Ink Holdings. The design featured on the design studio's website received attention on the web when it was featured on Wired in July 2015, and afterwards for two months on other technology websites.

The Sonder keyboard allows for greater user interaction, by dynamically displaying the current function of the keys. For example, when the user presses the shift key, the pictures would change to upper-case versions. It would also make switching between different keyboard layouts (such as English and Cyrillic) rapid, and could make the switch to alternative layouts such as Dvorak easier for people who only have a QWERTY keyboard with no possibility of rearranging the keys.

Sonder keyboards are scheduled to be integrated into laptops.

Apple acquisition rumors

According to a report by the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal, Apple had approached the startup for acquisition with the assistance of Foxconn. The Guardian confirmed that Apple CEO, Tim Cook, met with Sonder CEO Serra-Martins; Sonder issued a press release stating Serra-Martins did not meet on Cook in Shenzhen, China on October 26, 2016 as reported.

Production schedule

Some reports indicate that the keyboards will start shipping during 2017. The keyboard is being manufactured by Foxconn.

Similar keyboards

The patent for this "Display Keyboard" (U.S. Patent 5,818,361, filed 1996, published 1998) is held by inventor Elkin Acevedo.[12] However, the first programmable LCD keyboard [13] was developed in the mid-1980s in Germany. This keyboard, sold under the LCBoard name in the U.S. until 1999, contained many of the features of the Optimus keyboard including monochrome graphic icons on each keyboard key, macro programming, context sensitive and application dependent switching between functions. S. Bigbie et al. published related ideas in an IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin (Vol. 21 No. 2 July 1978), as did Alan Bagley of Hewlett-Packard in (U.S. Patent 4,078,257).

A concept design using E Ink technology was created by Maxim Mezentsev and Aleksander Suhih in 2013.

A patent application filed on March 13, 2007 suggests that Apple Inc. may be working on a similar dynamically changeable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) keyboard.

Name origin

The design studios name relates to a neologism from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and defined as; n "the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own."

Awards

2015 Press Choice at the closing ceremony of Zhongguancun Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2015 in Haidan District Beijing, the Silicon valley of China.

2015 University of Sydney Union INCUBATE alumni.

2015 Good Design Australia Hills Young Australian Designer of the Year, People’s Choice.

2015 Winner of 1776 Challenge Cup Australia Finals