KEYBOARD'S FOR WORDS - AND MUSIC, AND VIDEO . . .\Typing-only units will soon become cyber-dinosaurs.

Byline: Dawn Yoshitake Daily News Staff Writer

Computers are getting faster, monitors clearer and larger, but keyboards have been total laggards in the technology revolution - until now.

Keyboard manufacturers are adding features like built-in speakers, microphones and video cameras to cash in on the booming multimedia computer market with its sound and video capabilities.

"In the next 18 to 24 months, consumers will see a different look in keyboards, from scanners to sound controls to video cameras," said Jim Hamilton, vice president and general merchandise manager for Texas-based retailing giant Computer City Inc.

Sitting at a multimedia keyboard is more than just a typing experience. Hit a switch and sound wafts from the built-in speakers and wraps around the user's body, tap a mute button and, poof, the sound is on hold.

"This is an all-in-one keyboard and allows people to get rid of the speakers and cables that clutter their desk," said Don Johns, vice president of engineering at Chatsworth-based NMB Technologies Inc., a keyboard manufacturer.

But some customers may be hesitant to buy the new generation of keyboards.

Built-in speakers create a wider board that takes up more desk space and doesn't allow flexibility to move the sound around, analysts said.

"The problem with multimedia keyboards is the sound doesn't have a direct line to your ears, especially if your keyboard rests on a pullout drawer. Then the speakers are around your waistline," said William Zinsmeister, a PC hardware analyst with International Data Corp., a Massachusetts-based computer research firm.

Nonetheless, NMB and other manufacturers are betting that consumers will buy. NMB began marketing its Right Touch ConcertMaster to retailers in November. Lite-On Peripherals Inc. in Milpitas started selling its SK-5002W multimedia keyboard a year ago.

SC&T International Inc., based in Phoenix, began selling its Platinum Sound MAK-100 and MSK-200 last spring. And Key Tronic Corp. of Spokane, Wash., plans to launch its multimedia keyboard early this year.

"Keyboards are slowly becoming one of the most important parts of the peripheral system," said Maceo Trotter Jr., a Lite-On spokesman. "There is talk of putting the (central processing unit) and monitor into the keyboard. That's definitely a futuristic view, but slowly, gradually, these elements will work their way into it."

But the multimedia keyboards of today are largely rectangular boards with built-in speakers and microphones with special keys to quickly access the Windows 95 operating system.

SC&T's high-end MSK-200 features a built-in 13-watt stereo amplifier and left and right speaker balance controls.

NMB's ConcertMaster touts palm-sized speakers embedded in the top of the keyboard with surround-sound capability at a flick of a switch. Volume can be amped up with a turn of a dial and a mute button tapped to kill the sound when the telephone rings or quiet is needed.

Another switch activates a built-in microphone for recording or video conferencing. And a set of jacks are embedded along the side for headphones, additional microphones and a sub-woofer.

Lite-On features built-in speakers that peak at 30 watts, a built-in microphone and jacks for headphones and additional microphones. U.S. Logic also features built-in speakers and a microphone, but plans are in the works to add a video camera during the second half of 1996.

"If you're looking for bells and whistles and a higher price, then go with ConcertMaster. But if you want better speakers with higher wattage and durability vs. a toy, then you'll want us," said Trotter of Lite-On.

ConcertMaster sells for about $130, while Lite-On tags its product at about $60. Meanwhile, SC&T's multimedia keyboards sell for approximately $80 and $130 in retail stores.

Standard keyboards typically sell for $20 and the new Windows 95 keyboards run about $25. Stand-alone speakers, meanwhile, range from $10 to $600 and microphones from $10 to $40.

Multimedia keyboards have sold well in retail stores, but helping to drive that demand are consumers interested in upgrading their boards to get the Windows 95 keys, Hamilton said. Customers are willing to shell out a few more bucks to get multimedia keyboards with Windows 95 keys, he said, since they are already shopping for a new keyboard.

Multimedia keyboards may total 50 percent of Computer City's keyboard sales in the next two years, Hamilton says.

Lite-On is shipping 1,500 to 2,000 multimedia keyboards a month and NMB expects to ship 3,000 to 5,000 a month in its first year.

Multimedia keyboards go a step beyond the ergonomically designed keyboards that hit the market a couple of years ago. Ergonomically designed keyboards take the existing function of the keyboard and reconfigure its shape to reduce stress and injury to users' wrists.

"Multimedia keyboards are in the early stages right now," said Robert Toomey, a Piper Jaffray Inc. analyst. "I think to a certain extent they're a little bit unproven. . . . but I think the trend is definitely toward more functions on the keyboard."

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Photo (1--color) Moises Lopez works a multimedia keyboard at Computer City. Sound devices are the main items being added. (2) A multimedia keyboard at Computer City touts "Platinum Sound." Microphones are built into some units. David Sprague/Daily News