Apple wireless keyboard used with an iPhone
There is an updated video meanwhile.
Here is a short video showing the interacting devices (Apple wireless keyboard, iPhone, communicating over Bluetooth) in operation.
Feels like getting closer to the “mainstreaming” goal - it uses hardware that comes of the shelf (unfortunately you still need to have access to a jailbroken phone), uses a packaged application, does not expose bits and pieces to the end user, just works with all the applications that use the standard on-screen keyboard - and finally: it may just help you doing something more efficiently or comfortably.
It uses the Bluetooth stack developed by the researchers at ETH Zurich - they deserve all the credit.
They kept and keep continuing with the development of their BTnode software - so for a most recent version you should refer to the BTnode CVS repository. Everybody with a Linux or OSX desktop system can do his own experiments with the BTnode software in a setup like the one described under A Bluetooth stack in user space.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:51 pm
very nice!
any release date yet?
is a hardware mod required?
February 21st, 2009 at 5:04 pm
AWESOME, now if you could get that to work with the internal bluetooth on the itouch! (for those of us who can’t afford an iphone
Thanks, this gives me hope.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:16 pm
How do you enable keyboard support on the iphone. Do you need to install an app, do you need to add a certain repository? Thanks.
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 am
congratulations…there are some developers are trying to do obex, a2dp etc…but you are way ahead of them…
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Hello Ralf,
in another post you mentioned connection the keyboard via SPP over an external BT dongle. Are you still using SPP or HID?
And more important, will you release source code for your application? I am very interested in establishing a SPP connection without using an external dongle, even if it only works on jailbroken iPhones.
Regards,
Sebbi
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:30 am
Helooooooooooooooo?
Cupertino?
Anybody listening?????????????
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:30 am
Oh, FFS don’t make fools of us. We’ve all seen the VNC icon and the lack of BT one…
nice try, joke
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:33 am
In an as dignified voice as I can muster—
GIMME—GIMME-GIMME!
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:12 am
Whats up w/ the enter key on that bluetooth keyboard…. mine doesn’t look like that
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 am
Unbelievable! Will you be able to remove the on-screen keyboard, so you can see more of the screen while typing?
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:44 am
Finally. Progress toward the most useful of apps for writers.
Good luck, godspeed or even faster!
James
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:45 am
Cool. I do have one question though: does it map keys to the hardware of the BT keyboard or to the software keymap of the phone? i.e. Is there any chance of a Dvorak arranged QWERTY keyboard still being Dvorak with the hack?
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:24 am
To lame. With no cut and paste and no BT KB I am considering dumping my iPhone for a BB Storm which will take a BT keyboard. I want to be able to blog from the phone.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:46 am
that is so fake! the guy simply types it into the keyboard, pauses the camera, types it into the iphone, then zooms in. you can see when he stops and starts the camera. lol, nice try
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:46 am
iPhone mit Apples Funktastatur nutzen…
Ein kurzes Video zeigt, wie jemand das Apple Wireless Keyboard als Tastatur für ein iPhone nutzt….
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:55 am
No, actually he uses VNC- We’ve seen that before. I want to see Settings App, beside a Clock with seconds with turned OFF wifi and ON bt. This could be fake in so many ways.. apperently
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:49 am
bob: A better way to fake it would be to use the wireless keyboard -> regular computer -> VNC client -> VNC server for iPhone (don’t recall the name)
..but, this is real.. Ralf has done similar things building up to this (for example, http://www.ubiqkom.org/blog/?p=40 )
As slightly silly as this seems (an almost-full size keyboard for a phone?), combined with the Terminal application it can do most things I do on my 20KG desktop machine (or 3-4KG laptop).
Would this still still work with the keyboard hidden, and could the modifier keys be made to work in VT-100? If so, it could be extremely useful, especially given it doesn’t require any hardware modifications!
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Now if I could only get the bluetooth keyboard to work properly with my mac mini.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
@bob, bobmutch, modrak and all other skeptics:
- bt icon is not visible because they’re not using apple BT, but btnut (another stack which I suppose cannot handle UI stuff like bt icon
- vnc icon is present because vnc is used to handle keyboard input events
the video is not faked, and the owner of this blog is a true hacker, so respect his work
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Tha bb storm be way better than iphone and has a click screen
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Why bother using a keyboard if all you can type with is one finger any away. This should be posted under category “Lame”.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Still typing with one finger when you have a real size keyboard. id10T error
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I agree with bob and modrak, this is probably fake. I think it would be simpler to use vnc than stopping and starting the camera though.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Here a through… would such a set up function on a iPod Touch with out a hack?
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
itouch! (for those of us who can’t afford an iphone) or not willing to deal with AT&T!
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
It’s time to buy more Apple stock… the sales of wireless/bluetooth keyboards are going to go through the roof if this can work on a iPod Touch!
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
it was already explained WHY it is not fake
i personaly only would like this if it will turn off the iphone virtual keyboard when used, and if it can be used with any of the small folding bluetooth keyboards that can be used with any other smartphone minus the jesus phone
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:07 pm
FINALLY
I will jailbreak my iPhone as soon as this becomes available.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Um I don’t believe this is real. The reason that it looks fake is because why didn’t he keep the camera zoomed in WHILE he was typing so we could actually see it interpret the keyboard presses live with no time in between.. ALSO how does the app open horizontally instead of vertically? All apps open vertically and only switch to horizontal when the iPhone is physically on its side, which this iPhone was not (laying on its back does not count).
February 24th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Contrary to what someone above said, you can also see the keyboard horizontally if you turn it before laying it down.
The guy may be a great geek, but it’s a pity he didn’t take a high school typing class. Lots of cute girls in those classes plus you learn how to type with all the fingers your mother gave you–a real advantage these days.
Stan
February 24th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
@Adam. Some apps are sideways. For example I have played my games on friends iphones which are sideways. There is no vertical orientation for them. Perhaps this is such an app which only has a sideways view and wont switch depending on the orientation of the phone?
February 25th, 2009 at 2:35 am
I have tried to repeat what you did by compiling the bt-cmd.unix program for the iPhone. The program runs, but unfortunately, it hangs when it is trying to call the bt_hci_reset function for the built-in BT. Any tips on how to get this to run?
What baudrate are you using in the btn-hardware.h file for the BT_UART /dev/tty.bluetooth? Did you make other significant changes to the bt-cmd.unix program?
What am I missing here as I was hoping to get the program to report back the BT address?
February 25th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Once this is released I’m jailbreaking my iPhone immediately. This + terminal apps & blogging = very nice. Keep up the amazing work!
February 25th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Has anybody noticed that this is not an Apple keyboard??
It sure looks like an Apple product but it’s too small.
I remember reading about a keyboard like this somewhere but I can’t find it anymore.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
@Robert
Maybe you saw it here?
http://store.apple.com/nl/product/MB167N/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg&mco=MjIzNDc0Nw
It’s definitely an apple keyboard, oh, and it’s the dutch apple website because I know the dutch version has the keys positioned exactly as in the movie.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
March 1st, 2009 at 8:30 am
This makes me so ANGRY. This is a fake. If you notice he/she is using VNC! What is not shown is that they are actually connected to their computer through VNC, and are basically just typing into the computer which is connected to the iPhone NOT directly from keyboard to iPhone!
March 1st, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Would love this. Had it with my Palm, which I used extensively for notetaking instead of travelling with a laptop. Notes synced to my Windoz box.
Would love this for my 3G iphone………
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
please release it soon… i would love this on the iphone to replace my macbook in college classes!
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
by the way i bought the apple wireless keyboard mostly because of this hack… I hope that it’s actually true!