MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

This is BRILLIANT! It will also work well with a product I am developing. It is called the iMono. It is a special tinted cover that goes over the screen to make it look like the old monochromatic displays that phones used to have. It is meant to help people transition to a color screen. Only $25.

Sep 17, 09 - 10:16 am Comment from: NormM

From what I've seen, this seems to be a purely mechanical device with a conductive coating on the keys -- it only connects to the dock connector to position itself accurately. This same company's only other product is an iPhone tripod adapter, that connects to the dock connector for the same reason.

Irrespective of how good it may or may not be, who in the world is going to one to slip that thing on and off every time the want to type anything at all? Or are they just going to permanently obscure half the screen.

Sep 17, 09 - 10:18 am Comment from: breeze

This is how you Dumb Down

Sep 17, 09 - 10:20 am Comment from: Fred Mertz

I have this new device, only $30 ($5 shipping), that you plug into your Mac's display port.

It disables all monitors, but it prints out really awesome punch cards!

Sep 17, 09 - 10:21 am Comment from: shen

i am curious, will they sell an adapter for landscape mode for another $25?

i think they are missing the market. I am building a bluetooth phone handset that looks like those old mouth piece/ear piece phones (think the Andy Griffith show if your old enough) that you completely hide the iPhone inside of. Sure it loses all other functionality beside phone dialing, but that is where the market is.

We should team up Quadcore. I've developed an app that helps people who are not used to working efficiently transition from a PC to the rock solid iPhone OS. It's called Crash Doubler.

I'm no luddite, but I do miss my keyboard. Handled a blackberry yesterday for the first time in over a year and it was a thoroughly refreshing experience.

Sep 17, 09 - 10:30 am Comment from: Judge Bork

I have invented a revolutionary new product for Windows to Mac switchers:

Mac BSOD

It randomly introduces a genuine-looking BSOD on your Mac (usually when the software detects that you are working on something that's really important) that can only be fixed with a hard restart.

You start by setting how many BSODs you want per day and gradually, over a time period you choose, becomes less and less frequent until it never blue screens, just like a real Mac!

Just $30, plus $5 shipping.

Hell, man, I'm no Neanderthal either . . . and I desperately miss my Smith-Corona typewriter! Ah, the ear-splitting violence of metal on paper and rubber, the inkstained fingers, the little container of dried-out WhiteOut, the . . . the . . . the . . .

Oh, for the good old days of Selectrics and Blackberries!

Sep 17, 09 - 10:38 am Comment from: iJah420

KEYBOARD!!!!! iPhone DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' KEYBOARD!!!

FOR WHAT!!!!

For the record the thing looks like tits on a bull as my old man would say.LOL

Sep 17, 09 - 10:42 am Comment from: bond co. stooge

Quad... LMAO...

Sep 17, 09 - 10:45 am Comment from: 84 Mac Guy

And for the engineers, the company is working on an abacus that attaches to the iPhone.

I recently saw a pocket-sized paper notepad with an attached pencil for sale in a stationery store. I understand you can purchase mailing envelopes and postage stamps at the same place.

Sep 17, 09 - 10:48 am Comment from: jjjj

ooh, virtual abacus. I'd buy that!

but this monstrosity covers half the screen!!!

ha ha (nelson voice)

A rotary dial attachment would be awesome too. I bet it is in the works!

Proud Pre user here. Mechanical keyboards are a way of life. I only have one thing left to say:

FSCK SCIENTIFIC CALCULATORS, BRING BACK SLIDE RULES!

Now I'm off to explore Palm's massive 58-app catalog.

Sep 17, 09 - 11:03 am Comment from: BlackWolf

ROTFLMAO

I can't even think of a witty reply after reading the comments. Nice job guys.

Sep 17, 09 - 11:11 am Comment from: iJah420

Keyboard 2010 = c:/dir


ansi.sys | append | arp | assign | assoc | at | atmadm | attrib
B batch | backup | bootcfg | break
C cacls | call | cd | chcp | chdir | chdsk | chkntfs | choice | cipher | cls | cmd | color | command | comp | compact | control | convert | copy | ctty
D date | debug | defrag | del | delete | deltree | dir| disable | diskcomp | diskcopy | diskpart | doskey | dosshell | driveparm
E echo | edit | edlin | emm386 | enable | endlocal | erase | exit | expand | extract
F fasthelp | fc | fdisk | find | findstr | fixboot | fixmbr | for| format | ftp | ftype
G goto | gpupdate | graftabl
H help | hostname
I if | ifhlp.sys | ipconfig
J NONE
K keyb
L label | lh | listsvc | loadfix | loadhigh | lock | logoff | logon
M map | md | mem| mkdir | mode | more | move | msav | msbackup | msd | mscdex | mwbackup
N nbtstat | net | netsh | netstat | nlsfunc | nslookup
O NONE
P path | pathping | pause | ping | popd | power | print | prompt | pushd
Q qbasic
R rd | reg | ren | rename | rmdir | route | runas
S scandisk | scanreg | set | setlocal | setver | sfc | share | shift | shutdown | smartdrv | sort | start | subst | switches | sys | systeminfo | systemroot
T taskkill | telnet | time | title | tracert | tree | type
U undelete | unformat | unlock
V ver | verify | vol

MacDailyNews Take: We love you Canucks, we really do, but with RIM's BlackBerry and now this, you're the land of mechanical keyboards, eh? Must be the weather; always having to take off those gloves to get at a touchscreen. We get it.
-------

As a Canadian, I'm totally embarassed that this... thing... came from us. Trust me, its a stupid idea North AND South of the border.

If this thing started actually SELLING, then, yea, ok, we'd all have to get Green Cards..

Sep 17, 09 - 11:12 am Comment from: appaulmac

@ Quad Core

LMAO

..where can I get me one of those?

Sep 17, 09 - 11:13 am Comment from: Anonymous©

Wow, a kludge! Reminds me of the movie Brazil!

I suppose it's a crutch or like Linus' blanket or being able to load Windows on a Mac, a safety net for those who are afraid to leap.

Sep 17, 09 - 11:18 am Comment from: almux

Ha! Ha! Ha! And this is supposed to be better?!

@Cannonbawl - actually there IS a rotary dialer interface / app for the iPhone. It's called "RotaryDialer".

When I first show my iPhone to someone who hasn't seen the iPhone in person, I launch "RotaryDialer" and tell the person it's Apple's new "REVOLUTIONary" new phone.

Peace.

I'm a Canadian, and I object to MDN's take. It stereotypes Americans as being ignorant of the rest of the world. We've been enjoying the exceptionally warm weather lately and I haven't even put gloves on in months! But even if it was -40 below (F and C are the same at this point), I still wouldn't buy one of these atrocities. Besides, that is well below the operating temperature of the iPod touch and I wouldn't want it getting damaged.

Sep 17, 09 - 11:29 am Comment from: Bizarro Jeff

I type far faster on my iPhone than I EVER did on my Palm Treo 650 that had a physical keyboard.

Sep 17, 09 - 11:30 am Comment from: qka

iTwinge - it reminds me of those plastic clip-on for the hockey puck mouse that came with the iMac G3.

Sep 17, 09 - 11:31 am Comment from: MDmac

Learn something every day.

How to use your iPhone - Keyboard Tips and Shortcuts: http://www.ehow.com/how_5197748_use-iphone-keyboard-tips-shortcuts.html

Sep 17, 09 - 11:51 am Comment from: JKPinPDX

This is for all the "old-guys" still stuck on their Blackberry's and has got a huge fear of new tech. This device will PERSUADE all of them old guys over to the iPhone... ROFL!!!

Sep 17, 09 - 11:59 am Comment from: 17foursixty

A keyboard attachment for the iPhone!!!!!

Duh, this is like hooking up a horse in front of an automobile to pull it
so people can transition from looking at the ass-end of a horse
to the real beautiful world.

Good grief. How insane!

90% of all Canadians live less than 90 miles from the US border. Weather doesn't change much in 90 miles. If we are cold, so are many Americans.

I can see 2 states, Ohio and Michigan, from my cottage patio on lake Erie. Ohio is south of us but all of Michigan is north of the cottage.

Sep 17, 09 - 12:34 pm Comment from: Ankh

LAME. If you can't figure out how to use iPhones keyboard within a few days, you shouldn't be using it.

You're all going to hate me for this, but I can see a market for this. People with large fingers might find this useful. The problem I see though is that it's designed backwards. It should NOT be a sleeve you slid the iPhone into, this covers half the screen, it should just be plugged into the docking port and extend out from there. Duh.

[Must be the weather; always having to take off those gloves to get at a touchscreen. We get it.]

Is MDN correct?

Every day this summer that the temp in Blaine, WA was 106 degrees, it was a mere 41 degrees in White Rock, B.C., eh.

Sep 17, 09 - 12:43 pm Comment from: TowerTone

.....and yet my app "iPaperweight" cannot get approved....

Forgot to mention.

One time back in the mid 90s, when I was staying in Redding, CA, it was only 41 degrees. Had to go to a place called Arriba's to warm things up a bit.

Sep 17, 09 - 01:25 pm Comment from: Buster

.-- .... .- -

- .... .

..-. ..- -.-. -.-

Mr. Morse said it best.

""The most frequent complaint I hear about the iPhone is its lack of a physical keyboard," Roy Furchgott."

I see this in tech blogs, but rarely from consumers. I have several friends that use other smart phones, but only one of them cites the lack of physical keyboard as a reason for not wanting an iPhone. I think that person would only be happy if there were a rotary dial, too.

Sep 17, 09 - 02:22 pm Comment from: The Other Steve

"It slides on and off and no special software is required to use it"

Okay, granted, this is a poor design for a niche market. But if you can make this . . .

Why can't someone make a FULL SIZE keyboard that plugs into an iPhone!!! (or iPod Touch)

Better yet, make a converter so I can use the USB keyboard of my choice!

Hey, don't lump Toronto in with Canada!
Toronto is pretty embarrassing to the rest of Canada (plastic iPhone keyboards are just another shameful example), so everyone who doesn't live there simply considers Toronto to be a country unto itself.

"Are you from Toronto?"
"God, no. I live in Canada."

"...instead of whining like a little girl..."

MDN, you say that like it's a bad thing!

Sep 17, 09 - 05:15 pm Comment from: MacTony

How stupid....... it's like putting a chevy emblem on a BMW. :(

Sep 17, 09 - 06:06 pm Comment from: NCIceman

You adapt. I missed my palm treo keyboard when I first got the iPhone. I got over it. Also, physical keyboards cannot yet adapt like virtual keyboards. Until you get physical keyboards where each key is a tiny display (coming on full size keyboards but not on cell phones yet), virtual keyboards have more advantages.

the iCringe

GAHHHH! some people might prefer physical, tactile-feedback keys?? they're neanderthals and morons and IDIOTS!! you know how i know that?? because *I* think this product is stupid! that means it IS! and anyone who disagrees is an IDIOT! adding a keyboard to an iphone is like adding an indian arrowhead to an 802.11n router! it's like adding dirt to jet fuel! it's like replacing a mac pro with a few pebbles and a stick! BUHHH i'm not overreacting or being excessively judgmental or obtuse, it's just TRUE!

TL;DR? i'm always right, because SHUT UP!

Sep 18, 09 - 06:47 am Comment from: DD from Belgium

...They should market is as an 'anti-theft device' as in 'Who's ever going to steal your Blackberry' - a bit like the 'Zune casing', to hide your iPod from view.
That might be a real success story then...

What about the "funny" letters you get when you press some 1 seconds on nearly every letter: E has 8 variants, I has 7 and so on... Even L has 2

maybe if you could slide it out of the way, but how stupid, you have to remove it to use your screen??!?

they should call it the iCringe; thats what it made me do.

Honestly, I'm surprised Apple hasn't enabled use of external keyboards. I mean, why not? But do it right and integrate it well with the OS. Maybe that's for the tablet...

Sep 19, 09 - 09:53 am Comment from: Road Warrior

Well I am a Canadian and I love it all. Heck it's too cold for any of those devices, for us.

I mean you really think RIM is made for Canadians? Naw, everytime we sell a RIM to an American we have the joy and the satisfaction to know that we have torn them a new a$$hole. Why do you think we call it RIM?