A better iPad keyboard

Device attempts to make typing on the iPad easier

04:45 AM Dec 23, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO - Even if you love the iPad, you are probably not keen to write your next novel using its on-screen virtual keyboard. You may not be thrilled to type up a lengthy email with it, either.

A Seattle-based software designer Steve Isaac who worked on an early tablet at computing startup Go in the '90s felt the same way. Mr Isaac was delighted when the iPad came out last year. Though its touch-screen keyboard was miles ahead of what he had seen on past tablets, he felt it still was not great for typing. And wireless keyboards that work via Bluetooth seemed too bulky.

So he got to work on a way to make the iPad easier to type on - a stretchy silicone keyboard called the TouchFire that sits atop the tablet's on-screen keyboard when the device is turned on its side.

Mr Isaac is not unique in coming up with this type of device, but his invention has garnered an intense amount of support through Kickstarter - a website where entrepreneurs and artists solicit funding for their projects and often give rewards in exchange.

In Mr Isaac's case, he turned to the site to raise money to turn his prototype into a real device, offering the first run of TouchFires to Kickstarter backers. His effort raised US$201,400 (S$260,633) by the time it ended last week. That was more than 20 times the US$10,000 that he and his business partner had hoped to snag.

A TouchFire will be offered to anyone who pledged at least US$45 on Kickstarter - about the same price it will sell in stores. Its birth as a consumer product shows the growing importance of sites such as Kickstarter. They offer a new way to finance bright ideas and usher them to the masses. About 45 per cent of the projects meet or exceed their goals, Kickstarter said. This year, site visitors pledged about US$79 million to projects.

The response to the TouchFire in particular indicates that, despite the tough economy, people are interested in shelling out for ideas they believe in - something that benefits both consumers and entrepreneurs.

The TouchFire looks deceptively simple. On the surface, it appeared to be just a flexible keyboard cover with some rigid plastic on the sides. But a closer look revealed small bumps on the underside of the keypad's silicone keys - bumps that provide typing fingers with the proper amount of resistance. Magnets on the sides and the bottom adhere it to the magnetic portions of the face of the iPad 2, allowing it to sit right on top of the on-screen virtual keyboard without sliding around. If you use the original iPad, a non-slip layer on the bottom of the TouchFire helps keep it in place.

Gartner Research analyst Ken Dulaney is sceptical that the TouchFire will appeal to the masses, saying it does not really seem different from the scads of wireless keyboards already available for the tablet.

Indeed, there are tons of options available to iPad users, from cases with built-in keyboards to stand-alone keyboards that sit next to the iPad. Isaac is optimistic.

The TouchFires will be shipped to donors next month. After that, he hopes to make the devices available for sale as soon as possible. AP

Source:  www.todayonline.com/TechandDigital/Digital/EDC111223-0000038/A-better-iPad-keyboard