

Concept: iPad Split Keyboard - MrAlmostWrong
http://srobbin.com/blog/concept-ipad-split-keyboard/

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tlrobinson
I'd like a case which doubles as a keyboard. It would just be a thin keyboard
embedded in the flap, so you could use it as a tablet or a netbook. Obviously
there are problems to figure out, like keeping the keys from scratching the
screen (rubberize them?) and adding some rigidity without making it too bulky,
but I think it would be awesome. I've always wanted a laptop which doubles as
a tablet.

Like this! <http://cl.ly/Z5v>

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guyzero
Congratulations, you re-invented the UMPC: [http://www.umpc.se/wp-
content/uploads/2006/06/asus-umpc-keyb...](http://www.umpc.se/wp-
content/uploads/2006/06/asus-umpc-keyboard.jpg)

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guyzero
Specifically, you re-invented DialKeys:
<http://images.google.com/images?q=dialkeys>

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zacharypinter
In Android, you can write custom method input providers. It'll be an easy
concept to realize once the Android tablets started getting released.

Maybe the Android slogan should be "there's an API for that" :)

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rendezvouscp
Custom input views were added to iPhone OS 3.2, so someone could do this for
iPad.

[http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/UIKi...](http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIResponder_Class/Reference/Reference.html#//apple_ref/occ/instp/UIResponder/inputView)

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wwortiz
But that means you can only do it for your own apps right not the entire OS
like android?

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rendezvouscp
Yeah, it’s just for your own app.

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hkuo
Taking this one step further, the iPad could recognize how you are holding it,
whether it's one hand, two hands, on the side or from the bottom, and the
keyboard would auto-adjust on the fly to accommodate. The animation/motion
would be the same way it rotates from landscape to portrait on the fly, just
in this case, the keyboard would morph.

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grinich
_Apple has been granted a patent regarding the use of touch-sensitive bezels
in electronic devices, primarily focused on portable devices._

[http://www.macrumors.com/2010/02/03/apple-receives-patent-
fo...](http://www.macrumors.com/2010/02/03/apple-receives-patent-for-touch-
sensitive-bezel-for-portable-devices/)

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jiaaro
I only hunt-peck when I am standing up... otherwise I have no trouble setting
the iPad on my lap, and typing as if it were a normal keyboard

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axod
head hunched over staring at your lap? :/ I can't see that being comfy for
long.

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jonknee
Typing on one now, the iPad is at at angle so i am not hunched over. I
wouldn't want to write a novel, but it's fine for comments. I have a netbook
as well and it's about the same frustration level (being able to see the
iPad's keys gives it an edge at the moment as it's dark in the room).

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marknutter
Certainly not as fast as the full sized keyboard (which I'm using to type this
comment right now), but it'd be a great alternative orientation for when you
can't lay the iPad down on a stable surface.

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stcredzero
They could activate it with a "pinch apart" gesture going sideways on the
keyboard. That way, you can do it with the thumbs you are about to type with.

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sriram_sun
Hey, let's just buy another iPad and use that as the other keyboard!

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elblanco
I'm actually surprised this concept isn't in the works. A nice multi-touch
display for looking, with a nice multi-touch reconfigurable display for typing
and other stuff would be great.

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blackguardx
Microsoft had a video about this idea a few months ago.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI>

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jonah
While their example use cases are pretty limited, I like the elegance this
concept.

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DannoHung
What Id like for the iPad landscape keyboard is if the left and right half
were rotated inward a little, for ergonomics.

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jpv
I might be wrong, but doesn't Microsoft have a patent on the corner-screen
touchpad keyboard?

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javery
Yes, I remember they prototyped (or maybe even released?) a tablet type device
with circular keyboards in the corners.

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yoden
Yet another reason why the ipad form factor isn't as good as a netbook.

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swernli
Yes, because a netbook is so much easier to type on while holding it up with
both hands...

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jrockway
A netbook is its own stand.

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swernli
Which requires that you put it on something. I was trying to point out that
even with the existing software keyboard on the iPad, it's easier for me to
type standing up one handed than on a laptop or netbook, simply because of the
form factor. If you have a surface to place the netbook on, then great... if
you don't then you are facing the same problem the peice is trying to address,
but with fewer options for solving it.

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J3L2404
I remember when the iPad was announced, I saw the keyboard and instantly
thought it would be better if it were split for thumb typing, but now that I
have an iPad the standard keyboard works well enough that I forgot about the
split keyboard until I saw this post. If I'm standing and typing I'm gonna be
brief, but it may be worth having as an option in certain situations. I'd be
more grateful to have the single quote available without a shift.

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tsmurf
> I'd be more grateful to have the single quote available without a shift.

A quick way to get an apostrophe is to swipe up on the comma key. Here's a
demonstration of it around the 2 minute, 50 sec mark:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVRfs4VGh9Q#t=2m50s>

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J3L2404
' Awesome ' Thanks.

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Tichy
Or you could just get a netbook.

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jonknee
Because those are so much easier to type on while standing?

