If you thought phones were boring, Google Japan has a surprise for you! After the cool transparent phone wallpaper, the Japanese branch has come up with another crazy idea: a physical keyboard that moves like a conveyor belt!
This is one of those devices you can immediately tell comes from Japan. The crazy concept was unveiled on October 1st on Google Japan's official blog. The date is not random. October 1st has become the day for crazy keyboard concepts, as 10/1 is a nod to the 101-key keyboard.
This time around, Google Japan has decided that moving your fingers is too much of a hassle and the keys need to come to you.
The Gboard Kuru Kuru is a keyboard that looks like a treadmill. The Kuru Kuru name comes from the Japanese sound word that imitates a spinning motion.
29 keys that flow like a waterfall
It's quite inefficient but also very cool! | Image by Google Japan
Instead of using your digits to find the letter or number you want to type, you just place your index finger in front of this strange contraption and wait for the right key to come to you.
It's a very inefficient way to type, but it's something that will absolutely kill at parties. Google describes it as a "Copernican revolution" in text input, making a reference to the heliocentric model of the solar system.
You can't buy this thing, but you can build your own
You can build your own Kuru Kuru keyboard. | Image by Google Japan
Sadly, Google isn't planning to build this crazy concept en masse and sell it to you. It's part of an annual tradition of creating wacky keyboard concepts.
You will need a 3D printer for the plastic parts and several trips to the hardware store for additional components, but the project is absolutely doable.
You can, in fact, build two of these and use them with both hands for the ultimate and most bizarre two-handed conveyor belt typing experience.
Other crazy keyboard concepts
The Donut Gboard keyboard from 2025 looks like an alien artifact. | Image by Google Japan
Digging through the Japanese page of the project, I found various keyboard concepts from the past. One uses phone-like rotary dials to jolt you with instant landline nostalgia. Using rotary dials is not the most efficient way to type and everyone who's old enough to remember the old landline phones with rotary dials can attest to that statement. I remember taking forever to dial a simple six-digit number. Now imaging typing (or I should say dialing) a sentence on this crazy rotary keyboard.
Another cool concept from 2024 reimagined the keyboard in a Möbius strip donut shape. Frankly, it looks like an alien artifact. The interesting thing about this design is that it allows for group typing. Whether or not four friends could sync and type anything cohesive together is a completely different question.
There's also a ruler-type keyboard where all the keys are placed next to each other on a single row, and also a cylindrical keyboard using Japanese Kanji alphabet (though this one is completely unusable for anyone outside Japan, barring the Japanese language nerds).
These are quite cool, and it's great to see the Japanese branch having fun in a smartphone world where everything looks more or less the same. Google Japan's October's Gboard keyboard concepts are a breath of fresh air and I would love to see similar fun gadgets from Samsung and Apple, for example.
What's your favorite Google Japan keyboard concept?
Poll
14 Votes
What's your favorite Google Japan keyboard concept?
Read more about crazy smartphone accessories here:
Get a free Galaxy A17 with Straight Talk. To claim this deal, you need to pair the phone with activation on a Silver Unlimited Plan or higher. This tier costs $45 per month. Offer valid through 01/10/27 while supplies last online.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: