Tray to hold Apple Wireless Keyboard + Magic Trackpad?

[bakerzdosen]

Your explanation of the time/effort put in has no impact on the customer who visits your site, gets overwhelmed by the product description copy, sees the pricetag, and says, "Yeah, no thanks."

BTDT.

Now, maybe I personally will finally suck it up and get one (I doubt it, but you never know - I just get annoyed by price increases) but a 3 to 4 week backlog speaks volumes too. If people are willing to buy as many as Jake can produce, why not charge that price?

That's Econ 101 stuff right there.

 

[bakerzdosen]

One more option.

Just one more option to consider I suppose:

Magic Wand

I think I'm going to give it a shot. I feel better about this one than the "double sided tape" ebay option and at $30 shipped, it's more in line with what I'd wanted to spend (as opposed to $140 for Bullettrain or $126 for combinecollective).

Just FYI for those who are still looking.

 

[Voondebah]

I made my own with a piece of 3/4" birch wood and a router.

 

[hitek79]

I want something for the full size keyboard with the number pad. I use my number pad all the time, so the bluetooth keyboard isn't a good fit for me.

 

[bakerzdosen]

I made my own with a piece of 3/4" birch wood and a router.

I like that. You should market and sell it for $100... Somebody's gonna buy it.

 

[Voondebah]

I like that. You should market and sell it for $100... Somebody's gonna buy it.

Haha, if only I had the time and some better tools

 

[ActionableMango]

MagicWand does this for $30.
http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/magicwand/

 

[bakerzdosen]

MagicWand does this for $30.
http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/magicwand/

LOL. You might want to read 5 posts up (let alone the whole thread) before posting if you don't want to look foolish.

I already have my tracking number.

 

[CL6315]

Bullettrain Express in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnqGLivZEv8

 

[maw4bc]

BTDT.

Now, maybe I personally will finally suck it up and get one (I doubt it, but you never know - I just get annoyed by price increases) but a 3 to 4 week backlog speaks volumes too. If people are willing to buy as many as Jake can produce, why not charge that price?

That's Econ 101 stuff right there.

curious as to how many this guy has actually sold? It's great that he makes the product in the USA but if you can't make the product cheap enough to price it decently then he is doomed. If he has to order by the 1,000 from the manufacturer (as he stated previously) then why is there a backorder? What is the actual market for people paying 150 for a keyboard/mouse connector?

Just because there is a backorder of 3-4 weeks doesn't really speak in volumes. If they don't produce enough than that is the reason they are in back order, or if they wait for the order to come in then have it made and shipped?

Just thinking out loud.

 

[tjb1]

Dont let Jake fool you with the 5/1000th of an inch crap. Thats a standard in the machining world and nothing special that should raise the price, 95% of cnc machines can hold that quite easily and most of that tolerance is lost in the tool anyway...not the machine. What kind of cnc machines are you making these on and what specialized tooling are you using? And is the Acrylic also made in San Francisco?

 

[maw4bc]

Dont let Jake fool you with the 5/1000th of an inch crap. Thats a standard in the machining world and nothing special that should raise the price, 95% of cnc machines can hold that quite easily and most of that tolerance is lost in the tool anyway...not the machine. What kind of cnc machines are you making these on and what specialized tooling are you using? And is the Acrylic also made in San Francisco?

Yeah I mean im not knocking the guys product but when you can buy an ATV for that price and still have 50$ in your pocket just doesn't make sense to make a product that holds a keyboard and mouse for that much money. Like i said, would be interesting to see how many he has sold.

 

[Henry Ford]

LOL. You might want to read 5 posts up (let alone the whole thread) before posting if you don't want to look foolish.

I already have my tracking number.

Can you give your thoughts on it when you receive it? I'd appreciate it.

 

[CoreyHendo]

Dont let Jake fool you with the 5/1000th of an inch crap. Thats a standard in the machining world and nothing special that should raise the price, 95% of cnc machines can hold that quite easily and most of that tolerance is lost in the tool anyway...not the machine.

I have to agree with tjb1. We regularly measure and machine items to less than 5/1000th of an inch (0.005). In fact, I worked on an item that had a tolerance of 0.0005" recently. That's substantially smaller than jakes "claims". I'm not knocking his product -- it is nice, but I don't think I'd even pay half that for an aluminum tray.

 

[Signal-11]

LOL. You might want to read 5 posts up (let alone the whole thread) before posting if you don't want to look foolish.

I already have my tracking number.

The MagicWand definitely looks nice. Reasonably priced and definitely very Mac-ish. (Also, their website doesn't scream "Late Night Infomercial with Billy Mays") I didn't know I wanted one until I saw the Engadget article today.

Definitely tell us more when you get it. Personally, I'd like to know if the mounting mechanism leaves any scratch marks and if there's any play around the cylinder once it's mounted, particularly if it's used on the lap.

 

[slipper]

I was in the market for a keyboard/trackpad tray but every tray on the market had some quirks i didn't like. So i decided to make my own.

It's made of Koa which is indigenous and unique to Hawaii where i'm from. Due to excessive deforestation Koa is now somewhat rare and very expensive. This tray is made from a Koa tree that was either near the end of its life or has been knocked down due to storm. Koa is a hard wood known for its light weight characteristic which is ideal to keep the trays weight down.

A couple of the cheap keyboard trays in this thread did not have a palm rest. I felt this was absolutely necessary for comfortable typing.

And i decided to keep the keyboard and track pad butted together as i felt a wood space in between them was unnecessary and just added bulk. I also felt that a under keyboard storage was impractical.

If i do make another one though, i will add a relief for Velcro to secure the keyboard.

Anyway here's the pics.

 

[CoreyHendo]

I was in the market for a keyboard/trackpad tray but every tray on the market had some quirks i didn't like. So i decided to make my own.

It's made of Koa which is indigenous and unique to Hawaii where i'm from. Due to excessive deforestation Koa is now somewhat rare and very expensive. This tray is made from a Koa tree that was either near the end of its life or has been knocked down due to storm. Koa is a hard wood known for its light weight characteristic which is ideal to keep the trays weight down.

A couple of the cheap keyboard trays in this thread did not have a palm rest. I felt this was absolutely necessary for comfortable typing.

And i decided to keep the keyboard and track pad butted together as i felt a wood space in between them was unnecessary and just added bulk. I also felt that a under keyboard storage was impractical.

If i do make another one though, i will add a relief for Velcro to secure the keyboard.

Anyway here's the pics.

http://zclee.com/random/keyboardtray1.jpg
http://zclee.com/random/keyboardtray2.jpg
http://zclee.com/random/keyboardtray3.jpg

This is extremely nice. While not my taste style-wise, it's very pretty. My dad travels to Hawaii quite often for work and they have quite a few paintings from Hawaii that use Koa for the frame. It's a beautiful wood. In fact, they have Brazilian Koa hardwood floors in their house.

 

[jazz1]

Really Digging The Magic Wand

I ordered this a couple a days ago and the free shipping was a plus. I really like the utility of this. I was forever pushing my track pad around on my desk and away from my keyboard. Now the trackpad doesn't go wandering.

The 3/4 aluminum tube looked a little warped out of the box, but it worked just fine as I popped the keyboard and trackpad into the open slot. The silver gap filler plastic piece is a must unless you want a floppy connection between the two units.

I had some vision of this sitting on my lap to type as I sat in a desk chair. But the downward rake of my legs really doesn't allow it. You may be built different so the on the lap keyboard and track pad fusion might work for you.

Moments after I "welded" the keyboard and track pad together using the Magic Wand the battery level menu bar icon called out for new batteries. No problem. The Magic Bar came apart as easily as it came together.

Is this worth the $29.00? It is to me. Kind of reminds me of the classic large keyboards of my older Macs.

Would stiff cardboard and duct tape work for you? Maybe, but it would not be as good a solution.

 

[Signal-11]

I had some vision of this sitting on my lap to type as I sat in a desk chair. But the downward rake of my legs really doesn't allow it. You may be built different so the on the lap keyboard and track pad fusion might work for you.

I was picturing more my feet on the desk, watching movies kind of thing.

 

[bakerzdosen]

The MagicWand definitely looks nice. Reasonably priced and definitely very Mac-ish. (Also, their website doesn't scream "Late Night Infomercial with Billy Mays") I didn't know I wanted one until I saw the Engadget article today.

Definitely tell us more when you get it. Personally, I'd like to know if the mounting mechanism leaves any scratch marks and if there's any play around the cylinder once it's mounted, particularly if it's used on the lap.

At this point, (I just opened mine as it arrived about an hour ago) I can't really comment on the flexibility of the setup as my keyboard had to be shipped back. (Apparently I use the "e" key frequently enough that it's really tough to have a keyboard where that doesn't work.)

I will say that after attaching and detaching the MagicWand from the Magic Trackpad (I really hate that name) I'm pretty sure that it won't scratch the trackpad or keyboard. However, I'm not so sure about the MagicWand itself. I'm pretty sure that plastic is gonna scratch.

It's worth the $30 without a doubt. However, you do get what you pay for. This is not machined aluminum. It's painted plastic. Now, that will be good enough for my needs, but it is not exactly a work of art. I would have preferred the work of art, but my budget wouldn't have allowed that. (As they say, the cheapest part of a Mac is the part connecting the keyboard to the seat...)

 

[tjb1]

At this point, (I just opened mine as it arrived about an hour ago) I can't really comment on the flexibility of the setup as my keyboard had to be shipped back. (Apparently I use the "e" key frequently enough that it's really tough to have a keyboard where that doesn't work.)

I will say that after attaching and detaching the MagicWand from the Magic Trackpad (I really hate that name) I'm pretty sure that it won't scratch the trackpad or keyboard. However, I'm not so sure about the MagicWand itself. I'm pretty sure that plastic is gonna scratch.

It's worth the $30 without a doubt. However, you do get what you pay for. This is not machined aluminum. It's painted plastic. Now, that will be good enough for my needs, but it is not exactly a work of art. I would have preferred the work of art, but my budget wouldn't have allowed that. (As they say, the cheapest part of a Mac is the part connecting the keyboard to the seat...)

What is MagicWand made of?

MagicWand is made of polycarbonate - the same material as a MacBook. This lets you snap your Magic Trackpad and Apple Wireless Keyboard into MagicWand without fear of scratching metal on metal. It also makes MagicWand very light. MagicWand weighs 45 grams, less than the weight of 2 AA batteries.

http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/magicwand/tech-specs/

 

[hfg]

I received my Magic Wand and set it up with no problems. It is better than I expected and so far I am pleased with it. I use it on my lap while watching TV in a recliner with the monitor on the end table with my MB Air in a BookArc behind the monitor.

 

[MDJCM]

I received my Magic Wand and set it up with no problems. It is better than I expected and so far I am pleased with it. I use it on my lap while watching TV in a recliner with the monitor on the end table with my MB Air in a BookArc behind the monitor.

Any flex? It looks like if you picked it up by the keyboard the trackpad would droop a bit

 

[hfg]

No flex ... it is very solid. I am impressed, I was concerned that it might be a bit loose, but it is surprisingly solid. I like it!

-howard

 

[SWHighlander]

Magic Connector

I tried the Magic Connector. Similar price to Magic Wand, but it is basically a flat piece of metal the same size as the flat portions of the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. The edges are polished and the back (long) edge is rolled, and there is a piece of velcro near that edge. (They don't bother to supply the matching pieces velcro for the keyboard and trackpad.)

The problem with Magic Connector is it seemed to interfere with the bluetooth signal. My Apple Wireless Keyboard showed up on screen as Connection Lost and then a few minutes later Connection Found (or something like that). Over and over. This is using a Mac Mini HTPC from about 5 feet away. As soon as I disconnect the Magic Connector, the keyboard works fine from the same position. I tried contacting the company and so far they have not bothered to return my emails and list no phone number. Looks like they don't really want to have a return policy.

Sounds like Magic Wand does not have that issue? But with both it's a small problem trying to right click. You have to put a finger underneath on the ball and squeeze.