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All hail the 'Optimus Maximus' from--ThinkGeek?

The world's most-hyped keyboard gets an unlikely distributor.

Mike Yamamoto Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Mike Yamamoto is an executive editor for CNET News.com.
Mike Yamamoto
ThinkGeek

So it finally happened. The "Optimus Maximus"--the most-hyped keyboard of all time--is now for sale to the consuming public as promised. To which we have only one response: ThinkGeek?

We don't have anything against the gadget peddler, mind you--it was just a little surprising to see a $1,589.99 product being sold by a retailer that's better known for such products as USB rocket launchers. On its "What's New" page, for instance, the vaunted Maximus is sandwiched between a "Dueling Space Marines Copter Set" and a pair of "Speed Racer Mini R/C Cars."

Not that we have anything against such items, of course. We just thought that Art Lebedev, the uber-keyboard's Russia-based purveyor, might have opted for a higher-end distributor for its crown jewel. Which, by the way, is selling for around $25 more than the oft-quoted price for the version that allows all 113 keys to be programmed separately. Just to show we're paying attention.