@mike d:
but after you pay the $$ for an iphone you might be too poor to afford a netbook ;)

“Meh….isn’t this what netbooks are for? Seems a bit unnecessary.”

I was thinking something very similar. Carrying around a keyboard to access the Iphone kind of defeats the purpose of having such a portable device. One might as well get a UMPC (though I cannot recommend anything OQO makes – their batteries – a proprietary design – are total garbage and the chargers tend to fail, destroying the unit).

All that said, it’s an ingenious hack and certainly deserves a spot on Hackaday. Nobody said the hacks had to be practical or useful. I settle for “interesting.”

I believe that the iPhone 3.0 SDK is going to open up the dock. Not sure when it’s going to come out officially but I know I’m excited about that. It will also open up Bluetooth.

seeing as how I wish for a keyboard for my iphone sometimes, i think this is had worthy. halfway useful and it is actually a hack.

take a pamprin and get out more if this hack gets your panties in a bunch.

Sometimes you need a keyboard and sometimes you don’t.

No matter how you look at it, having a keyboard and a phone is alot less to carry than a phone and a netbook.

Personally I think one would look pretty silly using this kinda thing. People looked pretty silly using the palm keyboard dealieo.

Either way, to each his own. Frankly I just need a phone to phone. Not a phone to replace my laptop. I might be a bit more inclined to buy a smartphone if data plans were unlimited and offered at a reasonable price. But as it is now(well in canada), my basic local calling cellular plan feels like a rip off.

Government really has to step in and stop providers from gauging their customers and treating them like shit. It’s ju

is it just me or is he having a hard time typing…was he really looking for “o” that long????

hi folks :) Thanks for the conversation about this; a few points:

1. We did this as one of the hacks in the up coming iPhone Hacks book, published under O’Reilly and associates.

2. This was an early video, we have thus solved the latency issue. new video to be released shortly

3. debates about whether this is commercially usefull are more than welcome! We did it to show how to plug a device into the audio port and do something useful with it.

4. Yes, It supports music while typing

5. The 3.0 SDK is certainly interesting, and a big part of the reason we aren’t taking this mainstream. However, there is, as far as we can tell, no HID support for Bluetooth, so A2DP and iPhone to iPhone communication only. There are possibilities with the doc connector now, but its still on an application by application basis.

Hope that helps.

Now this right here, fantastic little thing.
Typing on touchscreens can be rather slow, and awkward when you typo because there is no physical feel to “the buttons”. (although quicker to notice since it is pretty much 2 inches from where you are typing)

Looks nice and compact too. Very handy if you don’t want to get a netbook or PDA and already have an iPhone.

I for one can think of a wonderfully commercial application for this. I hate taking my computer with me when traveling because I often stay in hostels where I don’t always trust locks. I also like to check my email but don’t dare do it on a public computer or at an internet cafe. It’s a pain to type on the iphone long emails (or any smartphone) but if I could get over the screen size this would be great. I’d rather see a smart terminal that would work with all smart phones that internet cafes could buy and it would use my smart phone to store everything and not a computer.

Nice hack guys, very creative using the audio jack, I can’t begin to imagine how you came up with that.

As for usefulness, I don’t see what everyone is complaining about. Day to day I would think you would use it as a normal smartphone. When you are out of the office (for example, lets say you are at an airport or something) you throw the keyboard in a backpack and you can still get serious work done.

I honestly think this is the future of where truly mobile computing is going. If I wanted a netbook I would buy a netbook. This is perfect for what it is, and more importantly what it is not.

Hey, that’s a Danelectro battery. A fellow guitar player…

Alex: they keyboard is a Targus PA870U Universal Wireless Keyboard

While this hack is interesting… I mean, pretty ingenious using the audio jack as a modem… I dream of having a keyboard for my Touch. I travel all the time, and I have absolutely no desire to drag a netbook around with me. If I feel like leaving a little baby keyboard on my motorcycle or in a hostel or hotel room while I trudge around, I can use my Touch for casual communication and surfing with the on screen keyboard. If I intend on making a serious blog entry or long email, I’d stuff the little keyboard in my bag. It blows my mind that iPhone/Touch wouldn’t support this sort of expandability from the getgo. It seems a lot of other things are supported. If Apple is afraid that the iPhone will lose it’s mobile essence, they shouldn’t be. Personally, I’d be excited if people were using my product in a number of different manners.

Now, if the Touch/iPhone had an alarm that played a playlist instead of the bebarded, irritating beeps, I’d be pretty happy as well. Maybe 3.0 will support that.

Think of it like this. You’re in class, and you prefer to type notes, rather than write. You whip out the phone and fold out keyboard, and BAM!! Convenience!!!

What?!?!?! aw… its not for sale… sigh… does anyone have any idea on where i can get these items then?

Shopping List:
-250 lbs reenforced titanium plating
-tiny screwdriver
-large wooden mallet
-chainsaw (diamond teeth)
-20th century bottle of milk
-googly-eyes (not plastic, keep in cooler)
-4 gallons of mercury
-hofka’s body
-japenese person
-1 dozen mexicans
-Death Ray tm
-8 by 8 meter diamond sheet
-blowtorch that has “green flame”
-iPhone keyboard
-industrial strength Goo-be-gone
-20,000 gallons of bottled tundra water
-500 gallons of holy-er water
-monkey wrench
-a monkey
-the Monkeys
-mom’s keys
-mayonaise (must have been owned by King George I)
-1 mile re-reenforced titanium
-cure to cancer
-colgate toothpaste (make sure its been in outer space)
-2 1/2 quarts of sulfuric acid
-14 tube socks
-40 cloves of garlic (must be stolen from Tom Cruise’s kitchen)
-3 wooden stakes (that have been recommended by the Pope)
-1 iphone external keyboard
-3 wooden sculptings that look like steak
-book on how to make friends (written backwards, audiobook narration by Salvester Stylone in loud and fast German)
-54 door nobs (made out of copper and stolen from Nevada)
-1 elaphent tusk (eddie murphey’s face must be carved into it)
-ivory soap bar (must have been looked upon by a empethetic conscious-thinking robot)
-Arc of the Covenant (the movie)
-Arc of the Covenant (not the movie)
-21 grains of sand from Antartica
-french lady’s razor
-queen of england’s crown
-a puppy that can in record time disarm a bomb while hummimg Ode to Joy

Sure you can buy one. They are for sale here: http://www.droidsupply.com, just realize it only works within a custom app, so its good for writing and sending emails, not sending sms.