Remember when people used to say that the iPhone was useless for e-mail as it doesn't have a hardware keyboard? Think back: it was a while ago, around the same time that the iPhone was doomed for not supporting Flash.
Got it? Well, apparently some people somewhere still think that way, and this post is for them (if you know one of them, perhaps you could print out this article and fax it to them or something). Yes, you can now turn your state-of-the-art iPhone 5 into an also-ran BlackBerry.
Matias, maker of clicky, mechanical-switch keyboards, has spent the last two years perfecting a new clicky mechanical keyboard switch. The twist? It’s almost silent. If you want the feel of a proper, burglar-killing keyboard but love the (lack of) sound of your modern, slimline notebook keyboard, then this $150 monster might be just the ticket. It’s called — fittingly — the Quiet Pro.
Click-clack-CLUNK! That’s the sound a Transformer makes when it, uh, transforms. And that’s the sound I imagine the Jorno makes when it transforms from stout, ugly black box into miniature-but-not-too-tiny Bluetooth keyboard.
Over at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin. Zagg has launched a couple of new iPad keyboards. And one of them, the Pro Plus, has something I have missed ever since I took to typing on my iPad in the corners of dark and seedy bars: a keyboard backlight.
Ugh. That was my first reaction to the CruxSKUNK, a case which turns the iPad into a laptop-shaped-object. Then I got onto the name, which is equally clunky. Then I saw the price, which appears to be around $155-$250. Oh, and this case? It comes with its own case. Nice.
What use could you possibly have for a washable keyboard? The obvious hand-shandy jokes write themselves here, but there are other reasons that you might want this easy-clean keyboard from Logitech.
Despite being noisy, big, heavy and hard to type on, clackety keyboards like the DAS are hot fashion right now, despite their impracticality (isn’t that always the way with fashion?). I kid. I actually use a DAS keyboard with my iMac, although to be honest I almost never use the iMac these days.
The only thing that really drives me crazy about the DAs, though, is the lack of media keys. F15 and F16, or whatever the last keys are in the top row, control screen brightness out of the box, but volume, media keys and other OS X essentials are lacking, leaving rather kludgy third-party fixes as the only way to add them back.
Now, the Model S Professional and Professional Silent models sport proper media keys. Three word: At frickin’ last.
The new Zaggfolio keyboard and case for the iPad 3 is a very weird little number. At first glance it looks like any other folio case, a protective book which holds the iPad in one side and has a keyboard embedded behind the front cover. But this one is modular, with a removable keyboard. And it comes in colors, although the plastic used to do this looks like it has been cut by (a shaky, alcoholic) hand.
And if you want to use the case without the keyboard (which is actually possible, as they’re available separately) then you’re going to end up with the dumbest-looking case around.
Despite all this, the Zaggfolio is actually pretty great.
Oh man, I can totally see myself taking this mechanical Bluetooth keyboard to the local bar and clackety clacking out a few posts every morning. It’s called the KBtalKing Pro and it is a rather clever little beast, a pro keyboard which is designed to work with – and switch seamlessly between – up to ten of your devices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YP5goKA4dQ
Blind? Then you’re most likely reading this post on an iOS device, because no other platform has quite the same great level of accessibility options built-in. But that still doesn’t help you when you want to write (unless using Voiceover to find the individual keys is your thing). But I bring good news! Fleksy is a new app which takes predictive text to a ridiculous new level.
I’m totally used to the iPad’s soft keyboard, but when I go back to my iPod touch it drives me crazy. I miss the letters, I hit enter when I mean to hit shift, and I generally get angry. I would not, however, buy a phone with a keyboard ever again.
But I might consider the Spike, or more likely, the Spike 2. Both are iPhone cases with flip-open keyboards, but the Spike 2 improves on the formula by getting out of the way when you don’t need it.
This photo, from a “leaked Microsoft Research presentation,” shows a one-thumbed soft keyboard design for Windows 8. And – if you’ll excuse the pun – it certainly looks handy. It also looks dead fugly, which is why we’ll never see anything like it on the iPhone, despite the rumors of growing screens in the iPhone 5.
Of the many keyboard options available to the iPad-toting traveler, one that is often forgotten is Apple’s own aluminum Bluetooth keyboard. It is light, tough and slides easily into a bag. But if you want it to last more than a few trips, you should probably use a case.
This last weekend I did what every good Englishman should do and returned to Blighty to get drunk in the name of the Queen. And as I figured there might also be some work to do, I packed my keyboard in Waterfield’s $29 Keyboard Slip case.
Newer Macs, both portable and desktop, come with keyboards that have shortcut keys on the top row, where the F keys are. These F keys allow you to increase or decrease the brightness of the display, control iTunes playback, and raise and lower the volume.
You may also know that these features have associated preference panes in System Preferences as well. You can find them by opening System Preferences, which can be found in the Applications folder. Then you can click on the specific Preference pane you need, like the one for brightness or Mission Control. There’s also a way to get directly to these preference panes with a keyboard shortcut.
GarageBand’s velocity-sensitive drums and keyboards — which use the iPad’s accelerometers to know how hard you hit the screen — are nothing short of amazing. But just as you wouldn’t want to write a novel on a virtual keyboard, neither would a musician want to perform by trying to hit the little on-screen keys.
Enter The Carbon 49, a USB MIDI keyboard controller for the iPad. The controller, from Samson, connects to the tablet using your camera connection kit and has a slot up top to keep the iPad snug and safe as you play.
Some say that the iPad is almost unusable without a case. I actually love the feel of using mine bareback, but The Lady literally refuses to pick up an iPad if it isn’t protected in some way (she has a history of dropping the things).
But whatever your view, one thing is certain: a case can add all sorts of functionality to your iPad, or keep it safe in more dangerous situations. Here’s our pick of the best cases out there.
Logitech Zagg Keyboard Case for iPad 2 — $100
Now also available for the iPad 3, the Zagg wins for its compact size, light weight and clever design which allows it to double as a case (complete with sleep/wake magnets). It also has a great-feeling keyboard which is as good as Apple’s own.
The new Sure-Lock bumper system keeps Pad&Quill’s Contega ahead of the competition, and keeps the iPad safely inside the tough baltic birch and leather Moleskine-Style case, while the sleep/wake magnet and clever articulated rear cover (which turns the case into a stand) mean it’s anything but old-fashioned.
Dicota PadCover — $20-$50
I have had this slipcase since the iPad 1, and it’s still going strong. The PadCover is made from leather and wool, with a soft lining and handy pull-tab which ejects the iPad from within. If you’re using the iPad 2 or 3, you can fit in a smart cover, too. Discontinued by the manufacturer, but still available to buy in various places.
G-Form Extreme Portfolio — $90
The impact-absorbing material of G-Form’s cases is also used to make padding for professional athletes. The Extreme Portfolio will soak up the power of a bowling ball dropped onto its face, and yet remains flexible and comfortable to use. It’s the case we turn to when we really need to protect our iPads.
The Skech Porter offers all the protection of a fat folio case in a slim, great-looking package. A clever crease in the rear panel lets it work as a multi-position stand without adding extra bulk, an elastic handle is surprisingly handy and it packs a full compliment of magnets and camera holes.
This thin shell adds bulk at the corners where it’s needed, and has cutouts for everything from the camera through the speaker to the Smart Cover that it is designed to compliment. The plastic is smooth but grippy, and the little lozenge-shaped metal panel holds the Smart Cover in place when it is open.
The original, and in many ways still the best. Apple’s Smart Cover works in concert with the iPads 2 and 3, offering protection and a stand with minimal materials. It set the standard for every iPad case since, and is still the one to buy if you can’t bear to hide your beautiful iPad inside a heavy folio.
Our full review is waiting until we see a newly tweaked version of Thomas Fulton’s felt and leather case, but the Don’t Panic is already my favorite iPad case to use around the home. It’s light, offers some protection, and a clever arrangement of straps and magnets lets you prop it up on your bed, type, wrap it around your thigh, or just about anything you like. I think of it as my iPad’s favorite pair of slippers. It would be great out of the house, too, but the magnet in my prototype likes to zap my credit cards.
Lacambra iPad Case — €115 ($150)
If you’re traveling around the world or to-and-from work, the Lacambra case has your iPad covered. Made to order in Spain from leather, the case zips closed and keeps the iPad safe inside. There’s a cut-out for the volume switch, pockets for business cards and boarding passes, and some extra tabs and straps to make typing or movie-watching easy. Don’t leave home without it.
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Who says iPad keyboards have to run on Bluetooth? Not MacAlly, that’s for sure. The iKey30 is a good ol’ USB keyboard which sports a 30-pin dock connector on the end of its cable, and comes with an almost ridiculous number of special function keys.
Oh, man. Today is totally turning into Kickstarter day here on Cult of Mac. The latest accessory from everybody’s favorite crowd-funded idea factory is the Brydge, another keyboard case which will turn your iPad into a miniature MacBook Air-a-like.
This case has a little twist, though. Instead of offering an entire laptop-shaped shell into which you can drop the tablet, it has a clever hinge which holds the iPad and uses it as the entire lid of the clamshell case.
When the iPhone launched, “pundits” said that it would fail thanks to the lack of a physical keyboard. Then the iPad debuted to the same knee-jerk whine. Years passed, and tens of millions of units were sold, yet there are still people who think they want a keyboard to take up half the face of their device, all the time. For you, my dear Luddite friends, there is the TK-MBD041, a tiny Bluetooth keyboard that will mimic your precious (and tiny) BlackBerry buttons, and packs a special secret function (spoiler – it works as a phone handset).
The iZen Bamboo Keyboard really, really looks like an Apple Bluetooth keyboard with a bunch of bamboo caps stuck on top to the existing keys. And oddly enough, there’s nothing in the Kickstarter description to say otherwise.
There are a few telltale clues, though. This keyboard has iPad-specific keys that mimic the home button, search and slideshow functions, and comes with a li-ion battery.
The new iPad is almost identical to the old iPad, in terms of its physical dimensions at least. This means that many of your old accessories will fit it, and some will not. Styluses, of course, will be just fine, but cases and docks will either just squeeze on, or not fit at all.
So what should you look out for when considering an upgrade for your accessories as well as your iPad?
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22WWyQeztKw
The website and accompanying YouTube channel might come off like a desperate hobo panhandling for cash, but the meat of the iConnectionKit team’s project looks very interesting. They’re working to enable the iPad camera connection kit on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
There’s a certain kind of computing nostalgia that holds that the art of typing has been steadily wussified since the late 1980s, when the venerable IBM Model M and Apple Extended Keyboard went out of favor.
These keyboards, it is held, were the last of a breed of keyboards for men. Like a vintage Underwood typewriter, these mechanical marvels were made for those who meant for their words not just to be heard, but to be felt: the hefty chunk of each key smashing into the mechanical switch underneath shouldn’t just make a letter light up on a screen; it should land with such authority it shakes your teeth loose.
For the last month, I’ve been trying to become one of these burly typist he-men. I put my Apple Wireless Keyboard — as pale, thin and pretty as the world’s most anemic twink — and have instead replaced it with the Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac. Now when I type, it sounds like ten tiny John Henrys working away under my fingers, pounding spikes through the invisible gold-plated key switches beneath each key.
It’s not really for me. Not most of the time.
Cirago’s Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case looks mighty familiar, huh? It’s almost as if the designers at Cirago took Zagg’s/Logitech’s iPad 2 keyboard case, filed of some corners and added a kickstand. Then again, as just about the only thing wrong with the Zagg is the non-adjustable stand, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.
Can there be any clearer way to say “Don’t breed with me” to a lady than to wear these dorky keyboard jeans? Named Beauty and the Geek, the QWERTY-toting pants come from Dutch design duo Erik de Nijs and Tim Smit, who look like pretty normal guys. The pants, however, seem designed less for wearing and more for tech bloggers to write jokes about.
