EmojiWorks
The Emoji Keyboard.
Those little symbols have become part of our everyday vocabulary: Emoji provide easy, simple ways to express oneself, particularly on mobile devices where typing on a tiny screen isn't always the easiest or most efficient way to communicate.
One company is trying to bring that same ease of expression to desktop computers, by way of a full QWERTY keyboard that doubles as an emoji keyboard.
The Emoji Keyboard, from Austin, Texas-based EmojiWorks, looks pretty easy to use. It works like a normal keyboard until you press one of the emoji keys, which will transform the next key you press into the appropriate emoji you see on that key.
EmojiWorks is selling three different types of these keyboards: An $80 Emoji Keyboard with 47 emoji, a $90 Emoji Keyboard Plus with 94 emoji, and the $100 Emoji Keyboard Pro with over 120 emoji.
EmojiWorks
The Emoji Keyboards are currently available for pre-order, but EmojiWorks says they won't ship until December 1 at the earliest. Manufacturing and the number of orders might affect the delivery timetable.
Unfortunately, Apple might not be happy about this new hardware: the Apple Color Emoji you see on these keyboards were paid for and designed by Apple - and they're not open-sourced for reuse. We've reached out to the company.
For now, though, you can still pre-order an Emoji Keyboard for yourself or a loved one. Because there's no better way to say "I love you" than giving them a keyboard with dozens of cartoons on it.