I have an enormous amount of respect for a group of people who band together and see an idea into the marketplace. That deserves a huge congratulations.
But there's a reason Apple doesn't make these. It's ugly. It doesn't work in portrait mode. It doesn't hide itself when I don't need it. It isn't fluid.
Overall, I think it deteriorates the entire experience of using an awesome tablet device. Sure, it's good for a single use case -- but that's not why the iPad is awesome. It's awesome because of how much it can do across use cases.
This doesn't fit that bill.
The comments here so far seem oddly negative. This looks really amazing. I mostly program in screen sessions on servers, and I've so wanted to use the iPad to do this. Unfortunately, you either have to carry a separate keyboard everywhere--defeating the point of the svelte iPad--or use the on screen keyboard, which drastically reduces my accurate typing speed. I wouldn't have believed it were possible, but this addresses all my annoyances.
Why link to blogspam?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/740785012/touchfire-the-...
Hmm... The video says over and over that you can rest your fingers on the keys like a normal keyboard, but none of the footage actually shows people using it this way.
Since I've been using Swype on Android, every "normal" keyboard on a touch device seems primitive. Even the iphone/ipod keyboard to type emails, text messages is to slow.
Seems the next step would be to make a similarly slim, fits-inside-the-cover bluetooth keyboard. Same feel, same carrying load, no cost in lost screen-real-estate.
This is another Kickstarter iPad keyboard project that successfully funded this summer and is shipping soon: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1030552097/ikeyboard-0
The keyboard I believe has changed slightly in different versions of iOS. Plus with portrait + split keyboard, this seems like it would be kind of a hassle.
I'm also guessing you won't be able to get the correct angle to type well either.
I too am obsessed with finding a way to make typing on the iPad live up to its full potential but I don't think this is the way. A physical overlay requiring precise positioning will destroy the fluid experience of the iPad which makes it so great.
For instance when I'm typing a lot of text on my iPad I still often alternate between reading and writing. If I leave the overlay on when switching to read a blog post the very bottom of the page would always be obscured. It looks like trying to read through the plastic keys would be annoying at best and impossible at worst. On the other hand taking the overlay on and off would be a nuisance since you would need to get it into the exact right spot every time you wanted to start using it.
Instead if people want to type quickly on their iPad: Practice! Here is the typing test leaderboard for an app I made called TapTyping:
http://www.flairify.com/leaderboard/
The fastest typists have reached over 110 wpm with 98% accuracy (which is frickin' insane, BTW) but even speeds half of that are quite functional. I type at around 65 wpm on my iPad (85 on a keyboard) and I'm not shy at all about tapping out long passages of text when the inspiration hits me.
All of that said: these guys are helping to move the ball forward in touch screen input. I did indeed pledge $45.. Good luck!
Sent from my iPad
This overlay looks like a fantastic product, with a few small issues (eg no landscape, still only using half the screen for content, etc).
Because nothing like it was available and I wanted a tactile keyboard to write & code with when travelling, I ended up buying an Apple wireless keyboard. 2nd hand on eBay set me back $50, and it uses bluetooth so battery life is sacrificed, but I've found it to be a fantastic option. You can type at full speed, it's got character keys so coding isn't impossible, and best of all you have your full screen available for your word processor / terminal session / whatever.
There are two big downsides, though: 1) Can't use it on an airplane, since it uses Bluetooth 2) It doubles the travel size of the iPad.
If you can live with these I think it is a great alternative to a laptop for many tasks (but not everything, obviously)
In my opinion, what the world of tablets need is a good tool for quick and reliable one-hand writing, which would be a) easy to learn, but b) quicker than handwriting. It would most likely not be a physical product, but a replacement for a standard keyboard.
There were a number of solutions -- like chorded keyboards -- but none has really approached the popularity of traditional QWERTY; I believe that with software instead of a physical keyboard many more solutions might happen in the future, some even becoming our new favorite text-entry solutions.
Normally, I enjoy these kickstarter ideas, but this is a ZX Spectrum flavored abomination.
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=223&s...
My wife's reaction was:
What is that?
Why?
It doesn't make any sense...
No matter how nicely this is integrated. It is backwards thinking.
It is ABSOLUTELY possible to type fast on the iPad/iPhone virtual keyboards. It is possible to touch type on these keyboards as well. No you can't do it the same way as a mechanical keyboard, but it isn't that difficult. You just use different physical cues, not your finger tips.
Also, if you are going to type something that is going to take a little time. Why not just take a $69 wireless keyboard out of your bag?
This isn't going to do portrait as well as landscape. Strikes me as being a bit of a kludge.
(Obligatory disclosure: I use one of these with my iPad and like it: http://www.zagg.com/accessories/logitech-ipad-2-keyboard-cas... -- yes, it's more expensive and requires bluetooth, but it's the best I've found so far.)
While I do like the flexibility of the fluid iPad transitions between landscape and portrait mode, there are times when I really miss having a physical keyboard. It is exceedingly frustrating how many typos I make when I'm trying to write an e-mail or chat with friends. This is perfect for those situations.
This is going to be an incredible use to a lot of different places that could use the ipad in place of a pc. I love it, you can have the ease of travel and use, and still get all the functionality you would get from a pc. I love the fact you can pledge to be a part of it too.
I look forward to testing this product. Typing on glass has always left me wanting more, and this sound like it solves my problems smartly.
thought this was a horrible idea for all the same reasons stated, until i saw the video. If it really works like advertised(being able to rest my fingers on home screen, quick removal/magnetic alignment) this'll be the first accessory i get when i get my ipad.
The discomfort in typing I think is partially a generational gap.
for the 10 people who might like the clickely keyboard sounds - i say don't buy an ipad.
If only it didn't obscure the screen. Maybe it could be attached with a hinge or something?
I would never get this for my iPad. It's not worth the physical encumbrance. If I wanted to type quickly, I would buy an external keyboard or go on my laptop.
wow.. why the negativity people?? One primary concern I'm noting here. People talking of how it won't work with how they use the iPad already. The problem with this logic is that most products in the world wouldn't have been a success based on how people were using already existing products. This is a typical situation that people like Henry Ford had to deal with.
The whole purpose of designing this keyboard seems to be, to me at least, to transform how you currently use the iPad. To change it from a half hearted effort at content creation to making it a device that's ideal for content creation. Instead all I see is
"messes the experience of the iPad" <- read between the lines of the rest of the message and I understand that the thinking is based on how the iPad is being used already. The key board isn't meant for tiny 2 line email replies. This is for full blown document editing and blog posting and anything requiring a lot of text. Where else would you use touch type???
"separate keyboard. omg suckkssss" <- Did you even look at the video and pictures?? The darn thing folds with the cover!! This is part of its beauty. Taking advantage of the iPad itself and bringing about an experience which isn't intrusive but still works. And here's the best joke of the day. The answers provided for this issue?
"Might as well carry a wireless keyboard!" <-- Yes keyboard warriors. Can I see your products designed as a usability engineer?
Point is. It's easy to harp and echo the negative issues. It's what we seem wired to do (remember the echo chamber when the iPad was first announced?). Looking beyond that is tougher.
What the echo chamber seems to have missed here is that this brings about two things
1) touch typing <- You don't have that with the current keyboard. Not easily anyways. Please don't try to skirt this issue. There's a reason people are building keyboards everywhere
2) Integrates with the iPad experience <-- With easy snap on snap off thanks to the thoughtful design with magnets I see this as something that doesn't interfere unlike every other keyboard solution I've seen so far. Even the other kickstarter projects suggested here don't allow for quick pull of put on approaches. They are static/bulky/non complimentary half baked ideas.
Disclaimer. I'm just a blogger and an aspiring tech startup guy from Sri Lanka. I am not some PR person for these guys. I just call things like I see it.
File this one under goofy-idea-I-had-and-rejected-due-to-aforementioned-goofiness.
That said, best of luck to y'all. (Seriously.)
This looks more like an elaborate, very early prepared aprils fools joke.
Personally i find this sort of thing the wrong use for Kickstarter. Kickstarter is about letting people who wouldn't otherwise be able to complete project get funded by the community because it cool, quirky or useful. It should be used to circumvent the normal sales cycle for thoes who can afford it. The two gentlemen with almost certainty had $10,00 themselves to launch this product they just needed customers and publicity.
They have succeed but have also taken away the possibility of another entrepreneur getting funded(possible a college kid) who has a great product but most definitely does not have $10,000 to spend for something like this.
TouchFire creator here to clarify a few things. TouchFire does let you rest your fingers on the home row. That's one of its most important features. Also, you can quickly retract TouchFire out of the way, letting you use the entire screen (see the video for a demo).
TouchFire is a really new idea, that in many ways flies in the face of conventional wisdom. I've actually spent most of career doing software. When I first came up with the idea, I thought it was pretty crazy too, for many of the reasons people are trashing it here.
What's so non-intuitive is that TouchFire works. And it works really well. It lets you touch-type on an iPad, while at the same time effectively disappearing into the iPad's cover when you don't need it.
We have found that actually using it is a very different experience than watching a video of it. Would people be interested in having a meet-up to try it out in person? We could do one in Seattle and one in the Bay area if there is interest...