If you’re a BlackBerry user who wants to jump ship but can’t bear the thought of ditching your beloved physical keyboard, Ryan Seacrest is here to help.
Let me explain. The American Idol host and all-round entertainment personality is gearing up to launch the Typo Keyboard, a Bluetooth keyboard accessory that attaches to any iPhone 5 or 5S (other handsets coming soon).
As its name suggests, it’s been designed to lay waste to your typing skills and fill your messages and mails with a goofy array of wrongly spelled words so absurd the recipient will wonder if you tapped out the text with your nose. Just kidding. According to the promo video (below), the keyboard should actually ensure the exact opposite – in other words, fewer typos and a smoother typing experience than what the iPhone currently offers with its touchscreen-based offering.
Seacrest has reportedly just invested a million of his hard-earned dollars into the start-up making the keyboard, a start-up which he also happens to have co-founded.
The Typo Keyboard comes in two parts that slide onto the iPhone from top and bottom, and once in place offers protection to the rear and sides of the handset. Indeed, the product is also being marketed as a case for your Apple-made mobile, so you of course have full access to the volume buttons, with both camera lenses also exposed.
The physical back-lit keyboard sits at the bottom of the phone, just as it does with BlackBerry’s range of devices. Its location means the 40 percent of screen space usually taken up by the on-screen keyboard remains clear for you to use.
Of course, there are a ton of iPhone-compatible keyboards already on the market, though most attach to the device longways. Of those we’ve seen which do fit along the bottom, all apart from Seacrest’s simply sit over the on-screen keyboard, with the physical buttons pressing onto the display.
The Typo Keyboard will start shipping in January shortly after its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which kicks off on January 7. It’s already available for pre-order with a $99 price tag.
It sounds like keyboards must be what Seacrest involves himself with during his rare moments of downtime, as the popular celebrity is apparently planning to invest a further $5 million into the development of other keyboard products. So if your current mobile typing experience is leaving you feeling anything from displeased to distressed, the Typo, or one of Seacrest’s future creations, might be worth a look.
[via AllThingsD]
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