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SterlingKey™ - Turn any Mechanical Keyboard into Bluetooth

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sterlinghawktech:
Hello everybody!

I'm happy to share with you a device I've been working on for the past few months, SterlingKey™. It can can turn your keyboard into bluetooth! It can be attached to keyboards with detachable cables, both Micro USB and Type C versions will be made, as well as non-detachable keyboards using a small adapter, as seen in the photos.






It can be connected to 3 devices (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) and using a keyboard shortcut I can seamlessly switch between them. The battery lasts around 15 hours of continuous use in this prototype version.

Multimedia keys are supported! Volume up/down, play/pause etc., as well as any other multimedia buttons your keyboard may have, for example Browser, Home etc.



Keyboard/Mouse combos are also fully supported, as seen in the photos. It can also convert 2.4GHz devices into Bluetooth.



Feel free to ask my anything in the comments, or let me know if you have any suggestions, and I'll be happy to answer any question you may have!



If you would like to follow my development, check the below links, thank you!

https://sterling-key.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sterlinghawktech/
https://www.youtube.com/@SterlingHawkTech
https://discord.gg/kBXkXdJrqQ

nathanchere:
Looks interesting, though I don't trust anything on Kickstarter any more.

If it's still in an 'open to changes' stage, I'd suggest not having it like a giant dongle like that.

1. because you greatly limit the cases it will be compatible with
2. it will look like ass in many instances, keeping in mind the target demographic here are people who spend excessive amounts of money in pursuit of desktop aesthetics

I love the idea though. It would breathe new life into a lot of boards which are otherwise gathering dust on shelves and in boxes.

sterlinghawktech:
Thank you!
Understandable, but Kickstarter is something I might do so I can make it even better. It already is a working project and I'm very transparent with any issues/improvements that I encounter. I'm also very active in my discord. I understand Kickstarter projects have a bad rep, and I'm trying to prove that I'm not a scammer like other similar projects.

As for your suggestions, I've already done almost everything I could to make it as small as possible. It's physically not possible to make it smaller, unless I change the battery, which will make the device require more frequent charging. I don't feel it's so big, but I suppose it's personal preference and I'm probably biased 'cause I'm making it.

Would you say the design is not good? Adding more curves or something else would make it look better? This still is very subjective, as to me it looks sleek, minimalistic, and not bad at all.
The target demographic is not necessarily purely for aesthetics. This also helps with productivity, as it can be connected to three devices at once and switch between them easily. It could also be used in situations where the device is far away and a cable is just not that practical. For some scenarios it's definitely cheaper to just buy a 10$ bluetooth keyboard, but I've met people that told me they would benefit from my device.

I was thinking of adding a USB port on the device, for keyboards that either don't have a detachable cable, or the port is in a weird place which makes it impossible to be plugged in directly.

What price would you say would be fair for this?

TomahawkLabs:
I agree with the other user in that it is entirely too large. And that's not your fault, but users expect dongles to be very small if not near flush like with wireless receivers.

The issue I see is in your design the keyboard has to be powered via the dongle, not to mention powering the bluetooth transmitter. You may have better luck with adoption if you design the dongle at the end of a coiled cable and design a visually appealing (rounded corners, etc) box that the cable plugs into. That way you can aesthetically lay the coiled cable on your desk and still enjoy the cable management that wireless provides. Using a cable end would allow for a greater compatibility with cases.

A spitball idea would be to integrate the bluetooth transmitter and battery into a small pot you could plant a succulent or fake plant in. That way the transmitter is integrated as part of the desk's vibe and doesn't look out of place, but can retain the same size/form factor for the battery. Just an idea.

sterlinghawktech:
Thank you for your comment! I would think that users would expect it to have some bulk due to the battery, since obviously I have to power also the keyboard, but I also agree that people have high expectations.

As mentioned in my previous comment, I will have a full USB female port on the device itself (as opposed to having an adapter as seen in the pics), so the user will definitely be able to use a coiled cable and hide the device anywhere, but I think that's up to the user to decide where to place the device. It's not strictly necessary to plug directly into the keyboard, even on this prototype.

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