halfkeyboard
Matias Corp. Home
 

 

o


Ali Velshi interviews Edgar Matias

July 14, 2000


oQuicktime Video of Interview:

Smaller - Dial-up modem

Larger - Broadband (Cable, DSL, T1)

MP3 Audio of Interview:


ROBTV (Ali Velshi): Well, it's an exciting week for tech. We've been bringing you the highlights from COMDEX Conference, a showcase of the latest technological innovations and every gadget-head's dream come true.

Well, Edgar Matias, President of Matias Corporation and the inventor of the Matias Half Keyboard, is here (not at COMDEX) to show us the latest in mobile computing.

Welcome to the show.

Edgar Matias: Thanks.

ROBTV: Now tell me what the Half Keyboard is and when the other half is coming out?

Edgar Matias: Okay. You don't need the other half. It's basically half of a regular keyboard and it lets you touch type with one hand, using your existing skills.

o

ROBTV: Alright, let's take a look at this, this little unit.

So this is the Half Keyboard. Uh, actually I'll show it to the screen like that.

Alright now, what does this do? What is this?

Edgar Matias: This is an industrial model of a product we're working on. It's a handheld appliance. You'll be able to take notes with it, and then upload all the notes you've taken onto a laptop or desktop computer.

ROBTV: What's the advantage of this not having the other half of the keyboard?

Edgar Matias: The main advantage is size. You can make a handheld machine that has roughly the same functionality as a desktop machine or a laptop, as long as you have a keyboard that's good for word processing, and this one will allow you to do that, using your existing skills.

ROBTV: Alright, now tell me how it works.

Edgar Matias: Okay, basically...

ROBTV: Because my main question is, you're missing half the keyboard, so...

Edgar Matias: Sure

ROBTV: ... You can only, like... Think you can get my full name out of there?

Edgar Matias: Yeah.

ROBTV: Oh, you can.

Edgar Matias: Okay, I'm going to use my right hand. This is a demo that we have, that is on our website as well. I'm used to my left, but I'll use my right...

ROBTV: Now this is the software. You're operating on the software that would come with this.

Edgar Matias: Yeah, exactly. This is the software equivalent of what we're going to be selling, and basically the way it works...

You type just like you would on a normal keyboard for the hand that you're using to type. So it's just like regular typing for that hand.

o

But when you want to do the letters of the other hand, instead of using the other hand, you hold down the space bar. And when you do that, you'll notice it takes all the letters from the other side of the keyboard and maps them onto the side that you're typing on.

ROBTV: I'm going to (just for our viewers) explain to them that while you're typing this on a keyboard, a proper keyboard, you're only using half of it, like you'd be using a half keyboard here.

Edgar Matias: Yeah, exactly.

ROBTV: You're typing your name "Edgar Matias was here" and you're typing it with half of the keyboard and you're alternating between one half and the other, by pressing the space bar.

Edgar Matias: Yeah, exactly.

ROBTV: Now, a guy like me, I don't know if you've ever seen me type, but I type like this... I don't know if the camera can see me, but I type like this...

Well I use two fingers on a keyboard. So this is not a product for a guy like me. This is for somebody who's...

Edgar Matias: A touch typist basically, yes.

ROBTV: A touch typist. Needs a full keyboard. Lots of data entry.

Edgar Matias: Yeah, our first market is the university student market. Most of those people know / learned how to type in high school.

Um, we also have a few other markets we're pursuing, including the Internet cellphone market...

One model of the keyboard, if you can see this, is the same size as a cellphone.

o

ROBTV: Alright, let's hold that up. Okay yeah, you can see that on the screen. Sorry, I should...

Edgar Matias: So, there's no legends on these keys, but basically that's all you need to do a cellphone-sized version of this.

ROBTV: Okay.

Edgar Matias: And you'd be able to type at speeds as high as 64 words a minute, with one hand, on something the size of your cellphone.

ROBTV: What's it gonna cost? If you're aiming it at university students, what's it gonna cost?

Edgar Matias: [pointing to handheld appliance] Uh, this is gonna cost $350 Canadian or $250 American, when it comes out.

ROBTV: This is the handheld Half Keyboard.

Edgar Matias: Yeah, we're also looking at putting out an external keyboard for the Palm device, and that's gonna sell for about $150 Canadian or $100 American.

ROBTV: Alright, now I understand you've got something up your sleeve...

Edgar Matias: Yes I do. I was hoping I could sneak this past your audience. This is a wearable computer.

o

[Edgar Matias rolls up sleeves, revealing Wearable Half Keyboard computer system]

Let me just turn it on here... There we go...

ROBTV: And uh, this is for situations where you have very...

Edgar Matias: Can you see that?

ROBTV: So you're typing... We're just going to pull that camera in on that keyboard there, that you've got on your arm...

Edgar Matias: Sure.

ROBTV: You're typing on your left hand.

Okay, let's see if we can catch that...

There you go, yeah.

Edgar Matias: Alright...

o

ROBTV: Alright. So you're typing with your uh... with your... right... left... Yeah, why would you do this?

Edgar Matias: You would do this in situations where you wanted to have access to a computer but you didn't have a desk; you didn't have a power source. Anything that requires access to a computer, or the information that's on a computer, in a mobile situation.

ROBTV: Which means you're in a field or you're, I don't know, a census taker or a factory worker?

Edgar Matias: Exactly. Field work, inventory. The nice thing about this is that when you're not using it, your hands are free.

I can still pick things up. I can point at things, move things around.

This one's a little rough-looking, because it's a prototype.

The actual version that we're looking at putting out would use a pen-based handheld device, and there'd just be a wire running across to the keyboard portion.

Wearable computers typically cost in the C$7,500 range, for an industrial wearable computer.

Using this design, you could easily build one for under C$1,000.

ROBTV: Alright, and how are these two things connected? Are you wearing a wire on you or something?

Uh, yeah there's a wire.

ROBTV: Alright, so, you... When you say a pen-based computer on your left hand or whatever hand it is, you mean like a...

It's like a Palm unit, or one something like that?

Edgar Matias: Yeah, exactly.

ROBTV: You have the option of typing and enter text.

Edgar Matias: Yeah, exactly.

ROBTV: Okay, quite facinating. We don't have too much time... Do you think there's a big market for this?

Edgar Matias: Oh yeah, for sure. We're looking at around a $90 Billion market for handheld word processing, and on top of that the Internet phone and the wearable market is going to materialize as well.

o

ROBTV: Edgar, this looks very exciting. Thank you for coming to show it to us, and we will just... If you need more information on this, we've got some information for you right now: www.halfkeyboard.com

We're taking a quick break. We'll be back in 2 minutes.

Copyright © 2000 Globe Interactive
Portions copyright © 2000 ROBTv
All Rights Reserved.





Home | Products | Ordering | Support | How It Works | Users | Advantages
News & Events | Press Kit | Research | Investor | Site Map | Contact

 

Products
Ordering
Support
How It Works
Users
Advantages
News & Events
Press Kit
Research
Investor
Site Map
Contact
 
































































































Click Here!