Art Lebedev working on Optimus Popularis

Cheapius version of Maximus

21 May 2008 11:10 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

If, like us, and most red-blooded gadget-lovers, you've had a serious hankering for Art Lebedev's beautiful, but expensive Optimus Maximus keyboard but have been put off by the price, we have some good news.

The Russian design studio has revealed it is currently hard at work on creating a smaller, more affordable version of the desirable device.

The new Optimus Popularis is at first mock-up stage right now, which should mean enough time to start a savings pot for the sub-$1000 price tag promised.

The Optimus Maximus - that sells for around $1500, where available - offers tiny, programmable OLED screens on all 114 keys but the Popularis will lose this tech in favour of a "totally different principle" not revealed at this stage.

Another tweak, aside from the smaller dimensions, is that the 11 extra keys for customisation will now appear above the F-keys, but other than that it's all still very hush-hush. We'll be sure to keep you informed...