iType keyboard brings a physical keyboard to the iPhone, but there's a catch
By Jacob Schulman 
posted January 8th 2010 2:29PM
posted January 8th 2010 2:29PM
posted January 8th 2010 2:29PM
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Closed ecosystem FTW!
/s
@ustna
Typing with your nose. There's an app for that?
I always knew the TRS-80 Model 100 would make a come-back!
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=233&st=1
@bikeguychicago: You beat me to it, you rascal!
@bikeguychicago
First thing I thought of too.
My guess is that too many of the people on here weren't even around when that portable came out. I actually always thought it was a pretty cool form factor.
@Bill Gates your right. typing on touch is not really interesting. I prefer physical keyboards but im a nokia guy for phones and Windows guy for desktops/laptops.
Um, so, if you're gonna carry that around to type into your itoy, why not just bring a netbook?
Ya know, so you can run programs with dirty words and things that duplicate functionality and all....
@Dave "itoy"? That's when you lost credibility.
@(Unverified) Is "could be really great but isnt good because apple wants it to be a toy and not a truly useful device" better?
@(Unverified)
PWND!
This must be one of the stupidest products ever.
This seems really, really silly. Who would carry this around? Why not just type the shit up on a laptop and email it, and copy and past it? Or better yet, just email it form your laptop!? Wayyy too big.
Between this and tablets, I think people will soon start having serious neck problems. I understand that typing needs to be done on a flat surface, but for the love of christ, the thing I'm looking at should not be on that same flat surface.
Apple tablet, i'm looking at you too. You better have a f**king dock for mounting upright and physical keyboard.
Well its got an "i" in front of Type. It MUST be good.
I would buy an android-usb version of this, but only if it worked in all apps; this cut&paste nonsense is not even vaguely acceptable... but I actually liked the Tandy 1xx and Cambridge Z88 back in the day - the 3x-5x advantage in typing speed is worth it for many of us...
@eichin
If you want a standalone word processor, then get one. It'll have better functionality, won't tie up your phone or drain its battery, and will most likely cost less. This is just a horrible, horrible idea in every way.
@Chefgon A standalone word processor (1) will be much bigger than this [note that it appears to be almost as thin as the iphone itself] (2) would *still* need a connection to the phone to upload things anywhere real (3) wouldn't be running a mainstream OS and a broad set of applications... What I really want is a Lexmark Model M with a cradle (and extra battery) built in, but that would fit even *less* well in a briefcase :-)
It doesn't exactly fit in your pocket does it?
Moral of the story? Don't buy a phone without a keyboard if you want a keyboard :)
Wow, the Foleo lives on. Except not as useful.
That doesn't look like it will fit in my pocket.
Saying I literally laughed out loud would be lying but I came very close.
"closed nature of most of the iPhone platform"
it's either closed or open. And the iPhone *platform* is closed, period, by design.
Yeah, the copy-n-paste need is a bit counter-intuitive. Also, imagine if the iPhone didn't have C-n-P?
Why I need this gadget for my iPhone? I don't want to keep this in my backpack.
http://www.fixerror.net
I'll just stick this in my back pocket :)
The sad thing is I can connect my Apple bluetooth keyboard to my Nokia tablet with zero issues, but to connect to an Apple phone I'd need to void a warranty.
This solution seems about as useful as just typing out some text and emailing/texting it to yourself. You could just copy/paste that. I can't see why anyone would do it, but it seems to accomplish the same goal for free.
Take a sigh of relief, TwitterPeek, you are no longer the most ill-conceived and poorly executed product on the market.
Let's make the iPhone three times bigger in nearly every direction! Yeah! There's no way anybody wouldn't go for that!
Oh, and we'll have to talk to jeans manufacturers to see if they can design bigger pockets.
So this is like what? One of the stupidest things I have ever seen?
Yeah pretty much.
Grand opening...grand closing
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People keep telling me to get a stupid iPhone or iTouch because typing on the touchscreen is 'easier then it seems' whenever I mention I don't want something that is all touchscreen controlled (here in Canada, you need that. Gloves and winter + touch screen = fail)
So you're telling me that instead of getting something that might have something a little more... You know, with a physical keyboard or buttons that they are willing to buy something like this for their iPhone? Really?
@Denji
Now come on. Are you implying that it is possible to type on any type of small phone keyboard while wearing gloves? You need your fingertips for any of these things. If you are looking into any kind of touchscreen phone (which you should) you might want to look at these if you're concerned about keeping gloves on all the time:
http://www.gearlog.com/2009/10/nanotech_gloves_can_manipulate.php
FWIW, I have a buddy in Manitoba that picked up an iPhone about a month ago and has been thrilled with it.
@ebgolfin
I used to type, wearing thick gloves all the time on my LG rumor. It's not as hard as it seems.
And no, I don't want touch-screen based controls. It's way easier just to use normal buttons if it's lightly raining, or snowing, then trying to work with a touch screen.
what a stupid "solution". Major "MEH"
Oh, God! Please delete this device. If you need a physical keyboard, go get an Android, Samsung, Blackberry, or WinMo device with a keyboard. There are tons of options that would allow you to hold on to your dignity and keep on with life.
This device looks larger than NetBooks even. Could anyone be that exhausted from typing on a screen that they lose all common sense? I am all for innovation but if I spent one minute trying to develop this product, it would be a minute wasted. I am just not sure that I would ever want a keyboard for iPhone. If I did, I am clearly saying that I do not want an iPhone, I want some device that already has it.
That's kinda dumb. First have the right firmware that supports copy and paste and then copy/paste all the time.
Just curios, did anyone try jailbreak BT keyboard that mentioned here:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/24/want-to-connect-your-iphone-and-bluetooth-keyboard-theres-a-j/
iI'm iSick iOf iAll iOf iThese ii iProducts. Quit it, that naming convention is now dead, you companies beat it to death because you're creatively bankrupt. It's disgusting.
@KillTheApex
iAgree
I just write what I want on a legal pad. Then the neighbor's kid inputs it into the iphone for a stick of Wrigley's. Much cheaper. I may however look at getting this thing, because the kid gets too noisy riding in my trunk.
@Bill Gates
Droid Does
They could have put in an 8-bit Commodore 64 simulator in that keyboard. Have it plug in to your TV with a coaxial cable.
Why not buy a portable blutooth keyboard, like the stowaway, oh right, that's the next big release. Bluetooth connectivity. Welcome to 2007.
So The Onion set up a both at CES this year?
Where's the mouse!?
Apple really needs to allow background apps and integration with common system elements like text boxes. I've been trying the beta of the Swype keyboard replacement on Android, and it is very nice that it naturally integrates with any text box in any app on the system. I'm glad I went for the Droid instead of iPhone
Sledgehammer? Nut?
This is a nonsense solution. The truth is that the screen keyboard on the iPhone is indeed slow and frustrating, and worse than a physical keyboard, but have any of you iPhone fans tried Shapewriter (http://www.shapewriter.com)? This very clever app makes a screen keyboard better and faster than a tiny physical keyboard by allowing you to draw the words instead of tapping them. It would be really great if Apple could incorporate this into the system keyboard.
I am not connected to Shapewriter, but I do really believe that their application or one very like it will be on every touch screen soon.