Emoji are a constant feature of online life, with some people seeming to post nothing without tossing a few little yellow guys on there. They started on PCs, became super popular on mobiles, and now they’re all over the internet. If you’re an emoji aficionado, then you’ve got to see this keyboard, because you are properly sorted if you’ve got one of these.
It’s called the EmojiWorks, and it’s a simple concept fairly well executed. Take a standard Mac keyboard, add a trio of emoji to each keycap, and use a series of modifiers (think Control, Command) to activate them at will. It’ll take a bit of practice, but after you’ve gotten used to the layout there should be no faster way to throw in a few tactical smilies to your latest tweet, Facebook post or Whatsapp chat.
There are three different models available, which cram more or less emoji onto the same size keyboard. The standard edition has 47 emoji (that’s the one above), the Pro has 94 and the Pro has 120 (that’s the one at the top of the page). Each version does require software to use, as sadly not even Mac or Windows yet includes universal shortcuts to write emoji. The keyboards run on Mac, Windows and iOS, and connect via Bluetooth so you’ll be able to keep chatting on the go.
If Apple’s legal team doesn’t put a stop to the project, the keyboards will start shipping on December 1st for $80, $90 or $100. You can order on the EmojiWorks site.
Me? I’ll stick with generally not using emoji, then looking them up on getemoji.com to copy-and-paste when required. I’m twenty-six, and clearly too old for that kind of thing! 