Published in PC Hardware

Microsoft's dumped gadgets get a new lease of life

by on09 January 2024


Get a new makeover 

Microsoft said it would stop selling its own computer gadgets in April onward Brands said it would give those Microsoft-labelled devices a makeover under new branding.

Products like the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard will become Incase products with "Designed by Microsoft" branding. They will be the same keyboards, mice, webcams, headsets, and speakers, Onward, Incase's parent company, said.

Onward said its Incase brand would bring back 23 Microsoft-designed products in 2024 and hopes to start selling them in the second quarter. Incase also plans to launch an ergonomic keyboard that Microsoft made but never released.

Onward boss Charlie Tebele said Incase could release more designs that Microsoft kept hidden.

The comeback of Microsoft's gadget designs brings back (in a new form) a line of computer gear that started in 1983 when Microsoft released its first mouse, the Microsoft Mouse.

Onward and Microsoft did not reveal the full details of their licensing deal, but Onward said that Incase would use the same supply chain and manufacturing parts that Microsoft used.

Microsoft will still own its designs, so it could bring back classic mice or keyboards itself in the future or keep renewing its license to Incase.

Onward is not licensing every one of Microsoft's computer gadgets. Some classics, like the Intellimouse or its modern versions, for example, don't make the Incase reboot list.

 

Last modified on 09 January 2024
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