Folding keyboards aren't just for bands

(Credit: Matias)

The idea of a roll-away or fabric keyboard has never appealed to us, even if they do glow in the dark. We'd worry that they'd never lie completely flat, especially after being crumpled in a coat pocket for days on end, and the resulting bumps and wrinkles would drive us nuts. At the same time, the folding keyboards we've seen often have some kind of awkward design that hardly seemed to be the most efficient or elegant use of space.

That's why the "Matias Folding Keyboard" was so striking, as it appears virtually indistinguishable from a regular full-size version while open. Yet the USB keyboard still stows away compactly, according to Gadgetell, folding in half to fit in most laptop bags.

The trend makes perfect sense. After all, if musicians can do it with their keyboards, then surely geeks can do the same.