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Phantom Entertainment Announces Lapboard Preorders 59

Posted by Zonk from the they-made-something-they-really-made-something dept.
Arian writes "Phantom Entertainment (formally Infium Labs) are set to finally release their first product after years of investors trust and years on John Public's distrust. The product is the Phantom Lapboard, a wireless keyboard/mouse combo designed so you can frag from the comfort of your couch. It is designed to work with the upcoming Phantom Game Service, if and when the service is released. Preorders for the Lapboard are available on the Phantom Entertainment website. It is due out in November, at a full retail price of $129.99.
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Phantom Entertainment Announces Lapboard Preorders More

Phantom Entertainment Announces Lapboard Preorders

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  • $130 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Talisein ( 65839 ) on Monday October 09, 2006 @01:01PM (#16366981) Homepage
    $130 for a laptop and mouse?
    Have they been aquired by Sony?
    • You meant to say $130 for a still non-existant keyboard and mouse.

      After all this time, and they still expect more people to pay them for nothing in return? Sheesh.

    • >$130 for a laptop and mouse?

      130 bucks for a laptop is actually a great deal, especially if it's not as fugly as the linux laptop in the same price category.

  • Web TV 2? (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by EmperorKagato ( 689705 ) *
    It seems that device is similar to WebTV or a more enchanced version.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by kfg ( 145172 ) *
      It seems that device is similar to WebTV or a more enchanced version.

      No. It's similar to a keyboard and mouse. Throw in a TV tray and it is a keyboard and mouse.

      KFG

  • Act now... (Score:4, Funny)

    by CaseM ( 746707 ) on Monday October 09, 2006 @01:06PM (#16367053)
    Act now, and receive a coupon for a FREE copy of Duke Nukem Forever!!!
  • Finally, the comfort of a laptop keyboard meets the effectiveness of working from my recliner.

    All that's missing now is the professionalism of the beer holder.

  • Wake Me When They See One. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by OgGreeb ( 35588 ) <og@digimark.net> on Monday October 09, 2006 @01:10PM (#16367101) Homepage
    Is it even worth discussing the company and their "products" until someone has a bought, working model in their hands?
  • Great. Instead of having a computer that is obsolete when receive it, you can now pre-obsolesce your machine so you can be assured that it is obsolete and that you paid too much for it lnog before it ever arrives.

    • Instead of having a computer that is obsolete when receive it, you can now pre-obsolesce your machine so you can be assured that it is obsolete and that you paid too much for it long before it ever arrives.

      You mean if it ever arrives.

      Instead, I recommend everyone interested in this (literally) Phantom $129 keyboard to instead send me the bargain price of $99! I guarantee to send you in return the same exact... well, nothing... as promised by this company.

  • what the christ (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bunions ( 970377 ) on Monday October 09, 2006 @01:15PM (#16367201)

    To get started with your lapboard you will need:

      PC or MAC with USB ports, CD-ROM and up to 50 MB available hard disk space.


    A keyboard and mouse with 50MB of installed software I don't need.

    That said, it actually looks nice. If I played a lot of games on my TV (I don't), it might be nice. $130 seems a little steep, but not that bad compared to other wireless mouse/keyboard combos. I hope there's somewhere you can anchor the mouse to, for when you want to put it away.
    • If I played a lot of games on my TV (I don't), it might be nice.
      Maybe you'd play more if you had a more comfortable setup for your keyboard and mouse? I think it looks cool. I'd probably get it if it was real.
    • Logietech Setpoint 2.1 drivers are 54 megs.

      I can't fathom excactly fucking WHY they are so big, but there you have it...
      Aint software bloat great!
  • I'm amazed at how little I think of Phantom. I seriously doubt they have the technical and business prowess to make a mousepad, a keyboard, and a hinge...
    Anyway, it does look kind of cool. I hope they didn't patent anything, so a reputable company can still make a knock-off. Which they could sell for 20$.

  • VC For the Masses (Score:2, Insightful)

    by searchr ( 564109 )
    Pre-orders. PRE-ORDERS?! Are you f#%@ing KIDDING ME?! They can't con any more stupid rich people, so they wanna go for the stupid non-rich? If anyone, ANYONE, plunks down money for this thing that they don't actually have in their hands, then they deserve what they get.

    Which, if you need a reminder, is in the name.

    Phantom.
  • ...or is that honor just reserved for any investor stupid enough to have given them money? -Eric
  • Once you're done submitting your preorder drop me an email. I've got some land in Florida I'm willing to sell at a low price, and I have some foreign relatives that have passed away and their estate needs a domestic bank account to wire money into.

    Thanks.

    Dan East

  • Yikes. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Monday October 09, 2006 @01:49PM (#16367729) Homepage Journal
    Last time I spent that much on a keyboard, it was the 1980s and there was a VIC-20 built into it.
  • Trackball. Poof, no need for moving that mouse around. No need for a flat surface. No need for a surface that an optical sensor can be happy with.

    Even if you use an optical mouse, wired or not, from my experiences I've never really needed to be too picky on the surface for those either.

    Look, a product that has a use in the mind of the developers, but little or none in the mind of consumers! Fantastic game plan guys.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bunions ( 970377 )
      Trackballs are ... uh ... nonoptimal for games. I mean, far be it from me to actually defend Phantom Labs, but come on. You can't use your mouse decently on the surface of the sofa (well, not mine anyway) and I don't really feel like hunching over my table to play games - I wanna lay back in the big comfy chair.

      I don't know if this 'lapboard' thingamajig would actually work ok, but all three of your comments are way off the mark.
      • You might be surprised. Most people who don't like trackballs don't use trackballs. (That's rather logical, actually.) Those that do, assuming you don't have a roller one and do have an optical one, can become rather proficient with them. Back when I still played FPS games, I became rather good at it. Nowadays it is more than enough to play stuff like WoW with.

        I understand that many do not like trackballs. Why else am I going to have to go on eBay and spend upwards of $100, if I'm lucky, for a new (

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by bunions ( 970377 )
          I know a lot of gamers, and there's one who uses a trackball. And frankly, he kind of sucks. You just don't have the level of responsiveness you need - he just can't turn around as fast as everyone else.

          > I think my setup works fantastic for me, reclining on my couch. It won't work for everyone.

          I don't think it'll work well for -most- people. I base this assertion on the fact that trackballs users are almost nonexistant and that there's many surfaces on which optical mice won't work well, either becau
          • Your awareness of trackball-using gamers is limited. Thus, your claim about the one guy you know sucking does little more than balance out my claim that it can, and has for me, and others, worked well. The claim that trackball users are in the minority is never something i disputed, but I've often found that the only reason that people use regular mice is because they don't want to have to learn to use a different method when the one they have already works. The one I have, granted it isn't designed to b

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by bunions ( 970377 )
              > Does it make you feel better to try and correct others for not seeing things the same way as you? I'm sorry, mein fuhrer.

              No, it makes me feel better to point out assertions that are clearly incorrect, such as your claim that this device (or rather, a device which fills the requirement that this device purports to) has no use in the mind of consumers.
              • > No, it makes me feel better to point out assertions that are clearly incorrect,

                You offer "proof," I offer rebuttal, you offer ad hominem attack or you target things that have already been taken out of the discussion. You did not comment on my offered alternatives for this lap board. When you comment you offer personal experience as substantial argument. If you do that, then you must accept my personal experience at comprable value. Or are you claiming that your experiences are simply more importa

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by bunions ( 970377 )
                  Your rebuttal is "it's not useful to me," which is fine. That doesn't mean there's no market for this.
                  • I already covered that last portion of my initial message. It wasn't meant to be argumentative, but you've made an excellent attempt at changing that. And my rebuttals have covered most everything but that last bit of my initial post, save saying it was exaggeration, hyperbole, etc. Once I've seemed to adequately defend myself, you let it go, except for this last bit. Why is that?

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by bunions ( 970377 )
                      > And my rebuttals have covered most everything but that last bit of my initial post, save saying it was exaggeration, hyperbole, etc. Once I've seemed to adequately defend myself, you let it go, except for this last bit. Why is that?

                      Because I seem to have missed that - my apologies. I don't buy your arguments because they fly in the face of all my experience and all my friends experience. I still contend that trackballs suck for games and that you can't just wedge an optical mouse most places and expe
          • First off, did you look at the Phantom Lapboard? It is not optimized for gameplay anyways.

            As for trackballs, there's a wide variety of trackballs. My friend used a thumb trackball for FPS. He calibrated it so turning 180 was super quick. I personally used a large trackball (Think Golden Tee or Centipede) for FPS for along time. On FPS games, where the up/down view range is generally +/- 60 degrees, the trackball was very fast and accurate for me. The only game that I had a problem with was Tribes due to jet
  • Can anyone present reasonable alternatives to this? I am in the market for my home media center, but the model M and non-roller mouse is working okay as long as I don't mind getting down on the floor.

    I'm looking for all in one wireless keyboard and mouse that is light and not fragile. Microsoft's idea [microsoft.com] won't work for me, as it has things I don't care for. Logitech doesn't seem to have anything close to what I want as they want you to have a seperate keyboard and mouse. And while the VersaPoint RF [interlinkelectronics.com] is gr

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by technos ( 73414 )
      Bluetooth!

      Go to your local CompuCrapUSA store. Buy their cheapest $15 BT dongle. If your media center PC is Linux based, grab the $20 D-Link DBT-120 instead.

      Browse over to their Apple section. Grab a Apple Pro Wireless keyboard. $59.99 last I looked. Competitive in price with everyone elses BT keyboards, and you can run them through the dishwasher safely after someone spills their beer.

      Now that you're half done, go over to the laptop section. Grab one of the $20 Kensington BT mice made for laptops. If you w

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by GoNINzo ( 32266 )
      Yes, replying to my own message. I found a copy of very cheap wired ones, like in the 30 buck range, from SolidTek [solidyear.com], such as the ACK-540, but the ball mouse built in doesn't work with linux and the cord is only 6'. Or they might be from Adesso [adesso.com], they seem to be using the same model numbers. Some of them are highly rated on newegg, others are rated very poorly. And it seems like everyone and their mother wants to charge an extra 50 bucks on top of the price to include a mouse and/or if they call it a 'med

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Sponge! ( 127360 )
      Alphagrip... http://www.alphagrip.com/ [alphagrip.com] It's nifty. I had my pre-order in 26 months before they shipped. Well worth my $100 IMHO. I have a 19" viewsonic hung with a mig-torch modified 3-joint articulated bracket over my bed, and I can now look up and type with my hands resting down by the boys...

      Yes, you do have to re-learn how to type.
      No, it doesn't take that long.
      It's very funny to watch your friends try to use it.
      It's 100% *NIX compatible!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by nekojin ( 855341 )
      This lap-board thing is real and apparently it works rather well. It's made appearances before. While I definitely wouldn't recommend PRE-ORDERING from that company, once it actually becomes available it could likely be a solid product. Wireless keyboard/mouse combos from MS run about $100, and this one is DESIGNED to go on your lap, with a mousing surface. If I ever see one in the store, I might consider buying it to replace my current wired keyboard.
  • Looks like nobody is willing to give them venture capital anymore... Solution? Get ordinary people to give money!
  • These are going to be on woot.com by the thousand. Maybe I'll get one in a Baby On Crack.
  • For $130 bucks, surely they could include a more ergonomic looking mouse than this [phantom.net]
  • For a company that didn't produce anything, ever, EVER! It's surprising they are still around.

    Yet as they refuse to die for so long, they refuse to learn with a decent speed as well.

    It took them 5 years (or more) to create a product that exists (the lapboard exists, it's been demoed, tested etc.), but now they may need another 5-10 years to realize people don't just buy whatever you throw at them, especially if it has outrageous prices and dubious practical qualities.

    They simply have no the finances or imag

    • The lapboard was tested with the Phantom at E3 a few years back.

      Demo lapboards exist, just like demo Phantom machines. While I'm guessing they have an okay chance of producing something as simple as a lapboard, I wouldn't bet much money either way...

  • .. specifically, that there are no more Phantom jokes left. Whatever will journos do now?
  • The Phantom Game Service is anticipated to be the first end-to-end, on-demand game service delivering online games...

    It's a bad sign when the lies [steampowered.com] start in the first sentence.
  • So, let me see... that's where you give them the money now, and they send you the product later? Sounds ok to me. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? I'm sure my $129 will be perfectly safe.
  • Why would anybody be stupid enough to purchase a preorder from a company that has a proven history of taking people's investment money (which is essentially what a preorder is in this instance) and running?

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