Concept: iPad Split Keyboard

http://srobbin.com/blog/concept-ipad-split-keyboard/

by MrAlmostWrong • 16 years ago

75 37 16 years ago

marknutter• 16 years ago

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.

stcredzero• 16 years ago

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.

jiaaro• 16 years ago

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

axod• 16 years ago

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

glhaynes• 16 years ago

It's not something you usually type on for a long time. It's fine for occasional use, most people find.

krainboltgreene• 16 years ago

Why would you be hunched over? I have no problems with using mine that way.

jonknee2• 16 years ago

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).

J3L24042• 16 years ago

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.

tsmurf• 16 years ago

> 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

J3L24042• 16 years ago

' Awesome ' Thanks.

yoden• 16 years ago

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

swernli2• 16 years ago

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

jrockway• 16 years ago

A netbook is its own stand.

jpv• 16 years ago

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

javery• 16 years ago

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

tlrobinson• 16 years ago

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

zacharypinter2• 16 years ago

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" :)

rendezvouscp2• 16 years ago

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...

wwortiz• 16 years ago

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

zacharypinter2• 16 years ago

Interesting... thanks for the update.

MarkPilgrim• 16 years ago

This is a huge part of Android that, IMO, doesn't get enough press. On the iPhone, an "app" is a silo. You run it, it takes over, you go back to the home screen, it stops (modulo some limited background processing in iOS 4).

On Android, an "app" can be seamlessly integrated into the entire system. Think "extension" in classic Mac OS. My first experience with this in Android was "Rings Extended," one of the first apps in the market. It can (at your option) COMPLETELY REPLACE the ringtone selector, system-wide. Other "apps" can completely replace the home screen (OpenHome, aHome were two early examples). Other "apps" can complete replace the system-wide keyboard.

[disclaimer: I work for Google but not on Android stuff. My experience on Android is 100% based on phones my employer gave me for free.]

blasdel• 16 years ago

...and Apple had SO MUCH luck with that in the classic Mac OS, along with its recapitulation in the form of InputManagers in OS X.

Apple wants everyone to be able to take the same basic UI for granted. They still have a few more years of iteration to go before their UI paradigms solidify, and they really don't want a bunch of fucknuts spoiling their future by dragging in a bunch of WIMP shit. They want nothing to do with the adolescent themers on xda-developers, and are happy to be the Facebook to your Myspace.

They know full well that if they allowed side-loading, their active userbase would mean that there'd be lots of mainstream press coverage of shit like UI full conversions. DO NOT WANT.

hkuo• 16 years ago

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.

grinich• 16 years ago

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...

guyzero2• 16 years ago

Congratulations, you re-invented the UMPC: http://www.umpc.se/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/asus-umpc-keyb...

guyzero2• 16 years ago

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

Tichy• 16 years ago

Or you could just get a netbook.

jonknee2• 16 years ago

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

sriram_sun• 16 years ago

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

elblanco2• 16 years ago

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.

blackguardx• 16 years ago

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

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

jodrellblank• 16 years ago

A bit like the Nintendo DS?

DannoHung• 16 years ago

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

Concept: iPad Split Keyboard

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