Never mind it isn’t April 1st because clearly, Google Japan’s Gboard Bar Version Keyboard is a funny joke. This bar version of the Google Gboard is created by Google Japan to promote, well, Google Gboard, of course. It has a hilarious promo video to go with it too.
The concept of the Gboard Bar Version is pretty straightforward. In order to simplify the process of looking for the key you need, the Gboard team had all the QWERTY keyboard keys laid out in one straight row. Thus solving the problem of looking all over the place for the one key.
This also results in a keyboard that stretches a ridiculously long 1.65 meters (5 feet 4.96 inches).
Clearly, this keyboard has its pros and cons. The cons are that it requires some serious length-wise real estate and it may not be good for those with shorter hands.
On the flip side, you may need to move more to access keys at either end which should go in line with the healthy notion of working standing up.
Another pro, as suggested by Google Japan, is that it allows for tandem typing so two people can work together. Just kidding. There’s no way two people can type on the same document but it did make us laugh out loud.
Obviously, the entire idea was meant to be a joke and so are the ideas of using it as a yardstick to reach switches, using it as a bug catcher with a special net accessory, and using it as a walking stick for trekking. Apparently, it can be used to measure your kids’ height too.
But one thing that isn’t a joke is that Google Japan’s Gboard team has successfully gotten ours and 325,000+ others) attention.
Fun fact: The Gboard Bar version and its video were released on October 1st as a nod to the 101 keyboards.
Images: Google Japan [JP].
via Technabob.
