external keyboard in 3.0?

[zsilverman]

Hey, so after watching the keynote today I was wondering if external keyboards are allowed now? I know manfactures couldnt make external keyboards that would work for the iphone, but 3.0 seems to allow external hardware. Would this mean that a full keyboard (running on bluetooth) be allowed now under 3.0? This would be great for taking lecture notes if there is a word app that goes along with it!

I know this is possible with jailbraking, but i dont want to do that! please let me know if 3.0 will allow this to come true.

Thank You

Z

 

[AppleNiMac]

It is certainly possible. I know no one wants to hear it but sit tight and wait for the "summer" to come.

Wish I had better news!

 

[zsilverman]

oh i have no problem in waiting! im good at that! I just wanted to know if it is possible now (as in can third party companies do it? - are they allowed?) and if you say it is, then great. As long as it can be done legally, someone will come up with it. if there is a market for apps that make fart noises, then there is a market for word processing and an external keyboard on the iphone!

 

[Galley]

From what I have read, Bluetooth keyboard is a no go.

 

[zsilverman]

Even in 3.0? where did you hear this?

Z

 

[Spotless]

As I understood the vid, developers and 3rd party hardware manufacturers will have full access to the dock connector. This means that if they pay Apple's licence they could make a keyboard, sure. I'm not sure about Bluetooth, but I think/assume that would be possible too; the way JF phrased one sentence led me to get that, anyway.

I'm hoping for a Word Proc' app with spell check to work with a dock connector keyboard - if the keyboard had a battery in it, it could charge the phone when in use.

I'm pretty sure that if anyone wants to make this, they can.

But there will be nothing like this officially until the summer when the 3.0 operating system is released to consumers to stick on their phones. Once that happens, its peripherals a go go!

IMO this dock connector access is the biggest thing about 3.0!

 

[eh270]

In the QA session, they specifically said external keyboards were not going to work. Erica Sadun at ars. commented that, given access to the dock connector, it'd be surprising if someone wasn't able to do it.

I don't see why Apple is so feverishly denying this accessory. I know they love their virtual keyboard, but i think everyone agrees it tends to promote brevity in email.

Add an external keyboard and you suddenly have an Apple netbook! I know people who have to carry around a laptop to be able to write news columns, articles, etc. for work... but would love it if they could just use their iPhone + Notes (especially now that they will sync) to do their writing. If they had access to something like this, they'd be good to go with just their iPhone.

 

[mechanesthesia]

I can't believe that, I am really looking forward to a keyboard so you can use the iPhone as a "mini computer"

Imagine using this as a keyboard:

Just stick it in your pocket and you have true portability everywhere.

 

[iPhAddict]

I'm sure iPhone makers are hearing you. Sit tight, i know they'll come up with something. But it really is very possible to have an external keyboard for iPhone. I just wonder how long that'll take. It could be next year, who knows.

 

[Hitrate]

Will it support Sony Ericsson bluetooth speakers ? (I just bought the MBS-400 stereo bluetooth AD2P 2.0 speakers) but I have time to regret and get my money back, since I'm considering buying a 3.0 iphone in june(?!) it'd be nice to know if it can support another company's bluetooth speakers? Thanks so much

 

[hefeglass]

i have been using a2dp regularly with os 3.0 and it works very reliably. I have a bluetooth kenwood head unit in my car for handsfree and stereo bluetooth audio.

I find a problem with the sound quality though...compared to my LG env cell phone over the same kenwood bluetooth head unit..the highs/mids are somewhat distorted...as if the volume is up to high..but it is not adjustable when you are in bluetooth audio output. i hope they get this fixed by the final os 3.0 release...or at least hopefully with the new iphone hardware.

 

[sir42]

Is there any more word on whether or not external keyboards can be used with 3.0, either via the dock or bluetooth?

This would be a killer feature for me. I average about 80 wpm on a standard keyboard, but only about 20/25 on my iPhone virtual keyboard. That's a huge drop in efficiency. If I had an external keyboard I could be a lot more productive with my iPhone.

 

[Cleanhead]

I also want to know!

When I can finally pull out and use Apple's slim wireless keyboard, my iPhone will become a lot more useful. It could kill the netbooks and hackintoshs.

Hopefully we won't have to wait for the Atom-powered-tablet-thingy to use Apple's own accessories to type with two hands.