Sunday, April 29, 2012

A keyboard on the iPad screen

Thanks to Tonya Engst's excellent book Take Control Of Your iPad, I found out about the TouchFire keyboard. It sounds almost too good to be true. If that thin screen overlay can really let you touch-type, that's too kool for skool. (I don't see any reviews on YouTube, so I think it hasn't quite reached the first customers yet. But they have links to a few preview reviews.) (No, it's not shipping yet, updates here.)



From the C/Net review: "Isaac let me try a prototype, and I enjoyed the experience.
Not surprisingly, it doesn't replicate the full experience of a real keyboard with plastic keytops and nice, clacky mechanical switches. But it's in the same league as more cumbersome external iPad keyboards that use rubberized keys, and eliminates the experience of your fingertips thudding against a piece of hard glass."



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Off-topic comment on the second video: I wish they'd found a less distracting background. Or that they'd used a large-sensor camera (like a Lumix GH2) with a fast lens, and blurred the background. I think that would have looked nice.

2 comments:

TC [Girl] said...

Oh, WOW! Ironically, "rumblings" re: starting to look @ what I would need, in an AirBook(?), began, just a few days ago, and...(2) things were said that have been key to the "justification" of having an iPad, rather than another laptop: 1) I would *like* to replace a laptop, BUT two very "concerning" issues *have* been re: "...eliminates the experience of your fingertips thudding against a piece of hard glass." and the absence of the tactile "experience;" (of which, of course, this keyboard *does!* Yay! :-) and... 2) I want (as mentioned by one of the users) to be "able to take it everywhere!" So, YES! This might be the answer to these [past] challenges! :-)

These two Inventors are cute w/their radiant smiles...as well as the very cheery and bright young interviewer! He was so articulate! Wonderful!

And...I agree w/your distracting background comment. :-(

I found the story re: the 'Go' to be quite interesting, as well. It's not unlikely that Steve Jobs didn't know a whole lot about this project; their two companies were just a stone's throw away from each other, in Silicon Valley! That...or...vice versa! I'm not sure of the chrono of when the first "rumblings" of Steve's concept of the iPad started...

THANKS for featuring this; you just threw a monkey wrench in my thoughts! ;-) (Hm...the iPad is less than the AirBook; there's one "argument" for one, rather than the laptop! :-)

Are you thinking of trying it?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Yes, I'm getting this plastic keyboard. Though I'm still a little sceptical about how well it can possibly work. And for how long.

But the ipad vs laptop question is quite complex, both re taste, and re specific uses.

If one types a lot and often need to work with two apps at the same time, a laptop is prob better.
An iPad is *way* better for reading though, especially iPad 3.