Where's the Belkin Flip KVM for Mac mini?

Back in July, Belkin a ounced a product that got me very excited. That doe 't ha en very often, but when a product is a ounced that solves a vexing problem for me and does so in a stylish, functional package, I get stoked. The Belkin Flip for Mac mini is everything I want it to be - on paper. Unfortunately, that's the only place it seems to exist for now: on paper.

The Flip is peripheral switch (a KVM, if you prefer) that fully su orts A le keyboards and function keys, like Eject and Volume controls - whether you're using a Mac keyboard or a PC keyboard. It orts touch-se itive butto and - here's the best part - it's not butt-ugly! It's actually designed to stack on top of or underneath your Mac mini. It's VGA i tead of DVI, but that's not a deal breaker for me. The important thing is that it serves a valuable purpose and hel minimize ugly cable clutter in the proce . My hu and uses a Mac mini, along with a work-i ued Toshiba notebook. I rigged him up with a Matias keyboard, a small set of "cube" eakers, an IOGEAR KVM and 19-inch LCD so that he could switch back and forth between the PC and the Mac mini with the flick of a switch. That setup is taking up valuable ace on our dining room table. The cables are black and ugly and too long, as they are built-in to the KVM unit. And aside from the piles of mail and magazines that have also taken up permanent home on that table, that setup is the first thing you see when you walk into our apartment. The Belkin Flip would go a long way toward solving the visual problems with this setup - if only it actually existed!

I've been calling Belkin periodically to find out when it's expected to ship and the best a wer I've gotten so far is that the product is still listed in their system as being in "concept phase." That was a few weeks ago. Where I come from, you don't ma -mail pre releases for a product that's still just a mockup. Needle to say, this is a real downer for me. I want this product to be real. I need this product to be real. It would look sweet with this di lay perched on top of it. I want to give Belkin my $79.99!

Addendum: Right before I posted this, I checked Belkin's pre release page again and it seems they've recently updated it to say that the product is expected to ship in December. Previously, it said "early Fall 2005." Perha my suffering will soon come to an end and I'll find a Belkin Flip in my Christmas stocking! Still, I'm tiring of this growing trend that mandates "a ounce early, ship late."