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Microsoft's iPhone keyboard app experiment is no Swiftkey
Microsoft's Garage team makes all kinds of experiment apps and then usually puts them out onto competitors' devices. Sometimes, they're a different approach to connected life, other times it's a mystery why Microsoft made them in the first place. This time, it's brought the Hub Keyboard (previously seen on Android) to the iPhone. If you're using Office 365 regularly, the ability to search and pull from your documents and your contacts (from just above the keyboard), is a timesaver -- no more switching between your work apps and email. It's like function keys, reinvented in a world of mobile typing. But, if you're not an Office 365 user, like me, then there's less here to pull you away from either the baked-in iOS keyboard or Swiftkey -- now a Microsoft thing itself.
IK Multimedia announces iRig KEYS portable keyboard for iOS devices, ships this fall for $94
If you prefer a set of keys to power your mobile recording sessions instead of a guitar adapter of some sort, you're in luck. The folks at IK Multimedia have just revealed the iRig KEYS portable keyboard peripheral for iOS devices and both Mac and Windows PCs. Packing 37 velocity-sensitive mini keys, the add-on touts a three full-octave range, modulation / pitch bend wheels, an input for a sustain / expression pedal and an assortment of controls for customizing your sound just so. Should you feel inclined, this iRig offering connects via USB to a computer for an "in-studio," desktop tracking experience. The unit is Core MIDI compliant and sports plug-and-play functionality alongside the outfit's SampleTank family of apps. Said software can function on its own on the PC side or as a plug-in for more robust offerings like GarageBand, Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar and the like. Itchin' to snag one? You'll have to wait until sometime this fall, but when it arrives, the KEYS will set you back €74.99 ($94). %Gallery-163876%
Matias One: hammer out an iPhone masterpiece on the best keyboard of the '90s
Between touch-screens and rubber-backed keyboards, we're getting further away from the tactile, mechanical keyboards we grew up with -- except for gamers, who have embraced mechanical keyboards for the improved response times and, of course, the great noise they make. Canadian peripherals maker Matias is adding to its line of Apple Extended Keyboard-inspired typing-decks with the Tactile One: with Bluetooth iPhone control. Imagine how fast (and how noisily) you'd be able to hammer out a text message on one of these things, because it's all we can do right now. A Mac / PC edition will be available in April for $200 and you can pre-order it from the store right now. There's PR after the break, if you really need some clicky-clacky convincing.
Matias Slim One keyboard at CES
Yesterday I got a chance to chat with Steve McGowan of the Matias Corporation about one of their new products, the Slim One Keyboard. It's a fabulous idea, really: Take the form factor of the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and give it a button in the top right that says "iPhone". You've got your iPhone on a dock or syncing, and you get a text message. Hit that magical little iPhone button, and boom! Your keyboard is now bluetoothed up to your iPhone so you can reply to that text, then a second press of the iPhone button disconnects from your iPhone and your typing goes back to your computer. If the name sounds familiar, Matias has previously made waves with their Tactile One keyboard, which uses switches like the Apple Extended Keyboard II used, so it is a very responsive (and clacky) keyboard. You can see a demo of the Slim One Keyboard in the video below. It is available in Mac and Windows flavors for the iPhone.
BoxWave Keyboard Buddy iPhone case review
Ever since Apple added Bluetooth keyboard support to iOS, manufacturers have been working to deliver products that add a hard keyboard to the iPhone with at least a little bit of style. We've checked out a number of these before -- namely the Nuu Minikey and the TK-421 -- but we've yet to find anything that actually makes it worth the extra bulk (not to mention battery consumption). BoxWave's Keyboard Buddy is yet another sliding keyboard case built for the iPhone, but is it better than the rest? Read on past the break to find out. %Gallery-112731%
Nuu MiniKey for iPhone 4 preview: yep, another (bulky) keyboard case
A number of iPhone keyboard cases have popped up lately, from the TK-421 flip-out case (which we reviewed) to the BoxWave Keyboard Buddy. We've spent the better part of 24 hours using an engineering sample of Nuu's MiniKey QWERTY slider for iPhone 4 -- expect "a few minor changes to be made" before actual launch -- that the company was kind enough to send over. So, how's it stack up? %Gallery-111927%
Another hardware keyboard solution for iPhone
There are many iPhone detractors who still won't let go of the fact that the iPhone doesn't have a physical keyboard. Whether it's because the on-screen keyboard is too difficult to use, or the move away from "the norm" is too jarring, it's what holds back many from making the switch or from liking the iPhone they already have. There have been physical keyboard solutions for the iPhone for some time now, like the 4iThumbs and iTwinge overlays, but now there's a new type of keyboard from ThinkGeek that connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth and doubles as a case. The $49.99 keyboard is powered by its own rechargeable batteries (recharges via USB) and, when not in use, can flip to the backside of the phone. Unfortunately, once the keyboard is flipped to the back, it's obstructing the camera, so taking photos is going to be cumbersome with this thing attached. It's also going to add a bit of bulk to your phone, but what do you expect when you're carrying around a separate keyboard for the thing? [via iPhone Savior]
iType keyboard brings a physical keyboard to the iPhone, but there's a catch
Attention iPhone owners that have been praying for a physical keyboard forever: your prayers have been answered... kind of. Ion Audio has debuted its iType iPhone keyboard at CES, and we can confirm that it does indeed work as advertised. Once you pop your iPhone or iPod touch into the dock at the top of the board, you're free to type away to your heart's content -- if you're in the iType app, of course. Unfortunately, because of the closed nature of most of the iPhone platform, you can't just start typing in any iPhone app; you have to type in the iType app and then copy and paste to the app you want. It's surely an annoyance, but if you're sick of the soft keyboard and need some relief, it's your best option for now. %Gallery-82292%
4iThumbs overlay adds a tactile keyboard to your iPhone... sorta (video)
The iPhone keyboard (or the lack thereof) has been a polarizing point for many, and while we've seen a workaround or two in our day, we've yet to see a solution to the lack of tactility as beautifully simple as this. 4iThumbs is a screen overlay that adds minuscule bumps on your iPhone display -- bumps that correspond to where the keys are when using the vertical keyboard. 'Course, these things are apt to bug you when using the horizontal keyboard (or no keyboard at all), but we're guessing the heavy texters in the crowd won't mind. Have a look at the videos below the break for a better idea of what you're about to get yourself into. Oh, and be sure to pick up a pair of Awethumbs while you're at it -- we hear these two go great together. Update: A horizontal version is available, hooray!
How-to guide details PS/2 keyboard-to-iPhone mod, just for you
Oh sure, we've seen hacker after hacker brag about their success in connecting some sort of keyboard to Apple's iPhone, but have any of them bothered to take the time to explain the process behind the magic? Exactly. The man behind AwghBlog, however, is a kinder, gentler soul, and he's found the time to detail in quite specific terms how he connected a legacy PS/2 keyboard (you know, the one you're not using any longer) to Apple's cash-cow of a smartphone. Best of all, the guide actually explains how to build a PS/2 keyboard-to-iPhone converter, so you're not necessarily tied to a certain board. Hit the read link if you're down for a weekend project.[Via MAKE]
DIY external iPhone keyboards get a tad more practical
That 360 Chatpad hack we saw back in November was certainly an impressive enough proof of concept, but if you want to get a bit more typing done with a bit less clutter, you'll no doubt be quite a bit more impressed with this latest mod by the very same Ralf Ackermann. This setup uses a Robotech Bluetooth module that's placed in a modified battery sleeve and connected to an unlocked iPhone (or iPod Touch) which, in turn, communicates with the keyboard using the Bluetooth SPP profile (a VNC server and a few other tricks also come into the picture). Of course, that's still a long ways from an officially supported solution, but if you're looking to give it a go, Ralf is promising to dish out the necessary schematics and source code soon.
TUAW Tip: iPhone "Will" Contractions
I kept running into this: I wanted to type contractions like "he'll" or "we'll," but they were a hassle: without the apostrophe, they're both words on their own, so the keyboard software wouldn't recommend the contraction. I'd have to click the punctuation button, then hit the apostrophe to form the right word.But nope, there's a better way: simply add a third "l." Type "helll," and the keyboard software will recommend "he'll." Type "welll," and the keyboard software will recommend "we'll."Sweet.[Update:] This also works with "were" and "we're." Type an extra "e" ("weree") and the software recommends "we're."
