Naya has already shipped one successful Kickstarter for a weird keyboard. The Naya Create was an ergonomic split deck with four swappable controller addons: a touchpad, a trackball, a rotary encoder, or a 6DoF spatial mouse. The Connect takes that modular concept, applies it to a more traditional flat keyboard form factor, and expands the ecosystem to be even more flexible. And clearly, people are into the idea, because it hit its minuscule funding goal in just six minutes.
The Naya Connect has four main components: a low-profile 75% mechanical keyboard called the Naya Type, a 24-key multipad, a six-key programmable strip, and a dock. The dock has four keys and a slot for one of the same four swappable controllers as the Create. If you can’t decide between a full-size keyboard or a compact one, a trackball or a mouse, this could solve your indecision.
Each piece has magnetic connectors, and they can be arranged in almost any combination: want a giant rotary controller to the left of the keyboard and a touchpad on the right? Go ahead. You can put the multipad on the left in case you’re left-handed, or put one on each side for dual sets of macros.
The All-in bundle, which includes one of everything, including two docks, will set you back €568, or about $662. The cheapest bundle with a dock and just the touchpad controller is €187 (about $218). Of course, all the usual Kickstarter disclaimers still apply.
