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You've Probably Never Typed on a Computer Keyboard Like This One
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You've Probably Never Typed on a Computer Keyboard Like This One

"I've transformed a table into a keyboard using a laser."

Celluon recently launched the Epic Laser Keyboard — a pocket-sized device that projects a normal-sized QWERTY keyboard onto a nearby flat surface — as its latest effort in attempting to solve smartphone and tablet users' frustrations with typing out long messages on tiny screens.

Though the device has been around since 2013, the technology used continues to be improved as the product, which is roughly the size of a matchbox and uses Bluetooth technology,  is connected with users' smartphones and tablets from Apple, Microsoft and Blackberry, according to the Daily Mail. The keyboard holds a built-in battery that may be used for up to two hours before needing to be recharged, and the projector itself can also be used as a virtual multi-touch mouse.

The Epic Laser Keyboard can shoot the keyboard onto any flat, opaque surface, which means that glass-topped tables are ineffective, the Daily Mail notes. A user just "types" on the image of the keyboard projected onto the surface with his fingers, and the symbols appear on the tablet or smartphone.

But although this new device claims to be a representative of the best advances that technology has to offer, it does not come without its complications.

In a Telegraph video series called "Living in the Future," journalist Harry Wallop shows off and examines the keyboard's technology and ultimately concludes that the device may not be the most practical advance in technology for tablet and smartphone users. Noting that the laser keyboard required a "hunt-and-peck" style of typing in order to punch out sensible letters and words, Wallop maintained that although the technology did work, his emails and documents contained various typos and other errors.

"This is all very exciting. I've transformed a table into a keyboard using a laser," Wallop said in the video. "The question is, can I actually do any serious kind of work in the wild — say in a cafe, away from a quiet office. I'm not really convinced."

Follow Kathryn Blackhurst (@kablackhurst) on Twitter

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