The Das Keyboard is basically the opposite of Apple’s own typing input devices: It’s glossy black, imposing and has a distinctive old-school edge, while Apple’s keyboard is all lightness and aluminum. But the Das Keyboard is aimed at a particular crowd for whom the overwrought design (the company calls it “Darth Vader approved”) is a selling feature, not a downside.

Das Keyboard’s main draw is its use of mechanical switch keys, which make the experience of typing particularly rewarding, especially for touch typists whose fingers fly yet depend on some kind of tactile feedback. The company compares the experience to typing on an IBM Model M keyboard, a design some say has not been improved upon since. The new Mac-specific model also features dedicated deys for volume control, playback, screen brightness, disc eject, and even a sleep button for instant access to energy savings.

The built-in USB 2.0 hub should also be better than the one on Apple’s own wired keyboard: Das Keyboard says it can charge and sync your iPad, which the underpowered hubs on Apple’s own keyboards can’t manage.

The Das Keyboard for Mac normally retails for a fairly pricey $133, but if you pre-order now via the official website, it costs $113.

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A MacBook Pro cooling stand that doesn’t compromise style

Cooling stands that prop your MacBook Pro and provide a little more room for air circulation than you get from the thin elevation of the rubber pads are generally just frames without much attention paid to aesthetics. A cooler laptop theoretically means longer device life, since you can run it for longer while keeping the internal temperature down, and, as most dedicated computer users know, heat is the enemy of fragile internal components.

The TILT is designed to be a cooling stand you’d be proud to put on your MacBook Pro, and even leave on. It clips directly to the bottom of your Apple notebook, and uses polycarbonate ABS made to look like your MacBook’s aluminum casing to blend in with Apple’s beautiful industrial design. Unlike most notebook stands, it features a closed bottom, which makes it easier to use on your lap, and it only adds less than an inch of height to the Mac as well as a light 8 ounces of weight.

It also features a built-in fan system that’s powered via USB if you think you need even more heat-saving power than the added elevation provides. But the best part actually might be the tripod mount built in to the TILT. I can think of plenty of situations where having a MacBook Pro mounted on a tripod would come in handy, especially at photo or video shoots, or for an impromptu small group video or slide show viewing party.

TILT has already met its Kickstarter funding goal, so it’ll become a reality. For now, only the model designed for the 15-inch MacBook Pro is going into production, but a 13-inch model is in the work. A pledge of $45 or more nabs you a pre-order.

Touch typing, via a sleek featherweight device on the iPad

I like my iPad, but I’ve never really been able to use it as a laptop replacement, at least not when it comes to writing. The touchscreen keyboard is fine for banging out a quick Twitter update, but for longer posts, it’s downright unpleasant, especially for someone as used to touch typing as I am. The TouchFire is a project that aims to bring touch typing to the iPad, in the least obtrusive way possible.

The TouchFire is a thin, flexible keyboard overlay that can actually live within the iPad’s smart cover, so you can roll it up and away when not in use. Despite its thickness, it offers real force resistance when typing, so that you actually feel like you’re hitting keys, thanks to a series of micro-structures within each key designed by project co-founder Brad Melmon, a product designer and engineer with a strong resume.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a TouchFire, because it looks like the perfect way to make creating written content on the iPad as easy as possible, without the need for Bluetooth accessories or elaborate add-ons. Like the TILT, it has already met its funding goal, so your pledge of $45 (the level at which you start qualifying for preorders) will definitely bear fruit.

Got an exciting Kickstarter project? Send it to us for consideration in our regular roundup of promising accessories.

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At first glance, the K750 looks a lot like the Apple Wireless Keyboard, with the addition of a strip of solar panels above the function keys. It has the standard Apple layout, but adds a numeric keypad, something the Apple keyboard and the diNovo Edge don’t have. Although I don’t use the keypad often, it’s nice to have when I need it.

The keys on the K750 are very comfortable. They have just enough of an indentationthat my fingers know exactly where they are. As always when changing keyboards, it took me a couple of days to get used to the new layout, but I’m now typing as fast as I ever did (which isn’t all that fast).

I found that the keyboard worked right out of the box. It didn’t need any driver software or charging time, even though I placed it in a keyboard drawer away from any direct light source. The free Logitech Solar App for Mac lets you find out how much light the panels are receiving, and how much power the keyboard has in reserve. The app is cute, but it isn’t really necessary.

The K750 doesn’t use Bluetooth. Instead, it’s one of several Logitech products that uses 2.4 GHz wireless and is compatible with the “Unifying” wireless receiver, which allows a keyboard and mouse to share one USB port — handy when using a laptop with a limited number of available ports. I tried sharing the K750 and a Logitech M505 mouse, which generally worked well, although there seemed to be intermittent slowness in mouse scrolling. If you use the receiver with two or more devices, you’ll need to install the Unifying software.

The Logitech keyboard is missing a few features. Unlike the diNovo Edge, it doesn’t beep when you press the Caps Lock key, and there is no indicator light on the key. You can get around this somewhat using the Capster utility, which not only beeps when Caps Lock is pressed, it also displays an on-screen Growl notification. The K750 also doesn’t have illuminated keys, unlike most of Apple’s built-in notebook keyboards.

All in all, I am very happy with the K750. If you want a keyboard with the standard Apple layout, slightly indented, more comfortable keys and a numeric keypad, give it a try. Not having to worry about changing batteries or using a proprietary charger is a huge bonus, too.

The keyboard is available in several colors including silver and black, and is available for $59.99 from the Logitech website.

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Logitech solved this dilemma with its innovative Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad, which is reminiscent of the Apple Adjustable keyboard I feel in love with in the early 90s. As you can see in this video, when you open up the new Logitech keyboard, it extends beyond the iPad 2’s borders, giving you additional room to type. Nice!

The keyboard integrates with the iPad 2 smart cover, and leaves room for all the iPad ports including the headphone jack and dock. The keyboard connects via Bluetooth and charges via a standard microUSB port.

Typing on the keyboard was a dream. The feel of the keys is close to that of Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard, and was actually much easier to type on for extended period of time. I was even able to use it in ergonomic mode to match the position of my old Apple Adjustable keyboard. Similar to Apple’s solution, the keyboard supports a variety of shortcuts to make it even easier to use with the iPad.

There are really only two drawbacks to the keyboard. First, the iPad’s position is not easily adjustable. It can only be used in landscape mode, and if you modify the angle of the iPad, you are modifying the width of the keyboard. My second issue is that when collapsing the keyboard, the motion is accelerated by the weight of the iPad, making it slam shut if you aren’t careful. I found it best to hold the keyboard while collapsing the case to slow down how quickly it closes.

Purists will balk at the fact that the case doubles the weight and thickness of the iPad, but serious typists will welcome not having to make the sacrifice between a too-small integrated keyboard or a bulky external. Logitech’s Fold-Up keyboard is the perfect balance between the two extremes, and a welcome addition to the iPad 2 family.

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Most Mac users know about the characters which can be accessed by holding down the Option key, such as accented characters using Option + E, and some others such as the Apple symbol —  — using Option + Shift + K. But there are a whole list of other Unicode symbols which can’t normally be accessed with keyboard shortcuts. Normally, you’d open System Preferences, go to Language and Text, enable Character and Keyboard Viewer and access them that way. However, it’s even easier to enable Unicode input, which lets you type the Unicode code for a symbol.

Load up Language and Text in System Preferences, then choose the Input Sources tab. There’s a list of languages on the left. Scroll down the list and check the box next to Unicode Hex Input. You should see a small flag appear in your menu bar, representing the current input language of your keyboard. Click that flag and choose Unicode Hex Input from the list. It’s now possible to type any Unicode character that you know the code for.

To type a character, hold down the Option key, then type in the code for that character. For example, a pencil icon has the code 270E, so you would hold Option and type 2 7 0 E on your keyboard, and a pencil icon will show up, like this one: ✎. For a full list of Unicode characters, you can visit this Wikipedia page.

Obviously it would be difficult to remember the codes for a lot of symbols, but if there are a few you have to use often, I’d recommend doing this instead of resorting to the Character Viewer.

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That’s why I find the concept of the keyboard case so appealing. Build a Bluetooth keyboard into an iPad case and you have a single-package solution that keeps everything nicely organized on the go. At least, that’s how it works in theory. I was recently able to see if that theory would pan out with the new Kensington KeyFolio for iPad. I’ve been using the KeyFolio with my iPad for a little over a week now. During that time, I haven’t removed the iPad from the case once, so I feel confident I gave it a fair shake.

Build and Design

The Kensington KeyFolio presents a nice face. It looks good, and the fake leather is both animal-friendly and easy on the hands. Some padding means your iPad feels more secure, and the fit and a clever foldback tab ensures the iPad isn’t sliding out anytime soon.

My only problem with the case aspect of the KeyFolio is that my iPad doesn’t screen doesn’t sit in the window quite where it’s supposed to. The top of the screen is right to the edge of the window, while there’s extra room at the bottom, and the home button is almost right at the edge of the groove provided for it. It’s close enough that it works, but for the absolute perfectionist, it might be annoying.

The keyboard is the one we saw from an FCC filing towards the end of summer. In fact, the KeyFolio is the KeyCase rebadged by Kensington for the U.S. market. At least one other manufacturer is using the same keyboard part for sure, and Sena was supposed to, but has since removed the case from its list of offerings.

It’s around 90 percent the size of a full keyboard, like you’ll find on most netbooks. It has rubberized keys to prevent damage from spillage, and to prevent the keyboard itself from harming the iPad screen in any way. It’s a weird feeling, but it makes for quiet typing. I did find that once in a while I’d get double-presses because of how sensitive the keys were, though.

Function

Connecting the iPad to the keyboard is a breeze; just flick the hardware switch on the case to “on” and press the connect button. Go into your Bluetooth preferences in your iPad’s Settings, and pair the device there. You’ll have to type a code on the keyboard followed by “Enter,” but that’s it.

Once you’re paired, the keyboard should simply work. I say “should” because I encountered some hiccups. Sometimes, the keyboard would drop and regain the connection without warning, which would pop up the on-screen keyboard briefly. A manual on/off reset using the switch usually fixed this, though, and it may have been because I was testing iOS 4.2 on the iPad I was using. Either way, it wasn’t a big enough problem that it would cause me not to use the case.

You don’t have to manually turn off the keyboard unless you want it to not connect, since it sleeps after a period of disuse. Battery life is said to be around 100 days in standby mode, or 90 hours of actual usage. It takes around four or five hours to charge. I haven’t managed to burn through a charge yet, so I think the claims are pretty accurate.

The way the case folds for typing is perfect, in my opinion. It takes up very little space, and even provides a stable enough base that you can use it on your lap without an additional support surface. It only provides one viewing angle, but in my usage I felt no desire to adjust, no matter where I was using it.

Highs

I grew to love using the KeyFolio. I often use my iPad primarily as a chat client, and that became a lot more pleasant with a hardware keyboard. So did managing my email from the couch, and working with the device on the train and subway to get some serious work done.

Combined with Pages and even blogging sites in Safari, the KeyFolio is a road warrior’s best friend. It isn’t a new MacBook Air (and in fact, it might weigh more than one combined with the iPad), but it’s a lot cheaper even at $100.

Lows

There were the rare connection issues I mentioned, but there’s also the keyboard itself, which requires some getting used to. There’s no shift key on the right, and if you happen to use the apostrophe key a lot, which I apparently do, you have to train your fingers to look down below the period key. I actually picked up the trick pretty quickly, but it’s still a bit of a pain.

Finally, keeping your iPad in the case does take away a bit from its own design benefits. It’s heavier, and harder to use as a tablet. I found turning off the keyboard and folding it behind worked fine, but it still didn’t feel as good as using the iPad on its own. Also, you’re stuck with landscape mode when you’re using the keyboard, something which didn’t trouble me as much as I would’ve thought.

Verdict

The Kensington KeyFolio may seem a tad expensive at $99.99, but consider that most iPad folio cases cost around $50 on their own. That means you’re really only paying an extra $50 for the Bluetooth keyboard. Even Apple’s own will cost you $70. I recommend it, especially if you’re someone who likes to work with their iPad while travelling, or you just want your tablet to be even more of a laptop replacement. The KeyFolio isn’t yet available, but you can pre-order yours from Kensington’s site.

Disclosure: The Kensington KeyFolio tested was provided by the manufacturer for testing and review purposes.

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Importing

It’s clear what the main purpose of the Kit is: importing and managing photos and videos from digital cameras. What Apple doesn’t tell you is that you aren’t limited to using an SD card or the USB cable for your camera.

Most of the time, when you buy a MicroSD card, it comes with an adapter that lets you use the MicroSD in an SD card reader. Since part of the Camera Connection Kit is an SD card reader, this means you can, perhaps unsurprisingly, use it to read a MicroSD card as well. This also works with Memory Stick Pro Duo, the card Sony uses in its cameras as well as the PSP. All you need is an adapter to change it into an SD card.

The Kit also works great if you have an all-in-one card reader. If you do, you can use it in a USB port to read CompactFlash, MMC, Memory Stick Pro Duo and other types of card as well. One half of the Camera Connection Kit is a USB port, so, although the functionality is undocumented, a USB card reader will work. Reading the card isn’t as fast as when using a card directly in the slot or a USB cable, but it works and doesn’t break the iPad or the memory card, which is always a good thing.

One last thing that Apple does mention, but doesn’t push much, is using the USB slot in the Kit to connect your iPhone to your iPad. Unfortunately, you can’t do anything fancy like transferring apps or tethering, but you can import photos from your iPhone camera roll to your iPad. You can even use the iPhone camera while the devices are connected, and any new photos you take show up directly in the list on your iPad.

Saving Space

If, unlike me, you’re running out of space since your iPad is host to thousands of songs, videos, photos and apps, you can use the Camera Connection Kit to your advantage. Memory cards are fairly cheap nowadays; you can pick up an 8GB SD card for around $20. You can save precious space on your iPad by storing videos, such as TV shows and movies, on an SD card instead of directly on your iPad. When you want to watch them, plug the SD card reader into your iPad, pop in the card, and import the video (you can’t watch directly from the card). When you’re done, delete the video to make room again. The downside is keeping enough space free on your iPad to import the video. However, keeping about 1.5GB free still gives you more free space than you’d have if you had 8GB worth of video on the iPad.

Other Accessories

Since the iPad was released, people have been upset that it didn’t have a built-in USB port. Apart from a camera cable, USB keyboard or a headset, what would you plug into it? Probably not much else.

There are some keyboards that don’t work with the iPad; the Apple wired keyboard for one. If you try to use it, an error message will be displayed saying the accessory uses too much power, probably because of the keyboard’s two USB ports. However, a cheap Windows keyboard works just fine.

Headsets have the same issue. Some models work; others don’t. While I haven’t been able to test any personally, some users have been able to get them to work and say they work well.

To my knowledge, those are the only accessories that work with the iPad, but let us know in the comments if you’ve found any others that work using the Connection Kit.

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So, after trying every keyboard shortcut I could think of, here’s a rundown of all the shortcuts that work on the iPad.

• CMD – c (Copy selected text)
• CMD – x (Cut selected text)
• CMD – v (Paste)
• CMD – z (Undo)
• CMD – shift – z (Redo)
• CMD – Up Arrow (Jump to top of document)
• CMD – Down Arrow (Jump to bottom of document)
• CMD – Left Arrow (Jump to beginning of line)
• CMD – Right Arrow (Jump to end of line)
• CMD – Delete (Delete everything on the current line to the left of the cursor)
• Option – Delete (Delete the word to the left of the cursor, and its preceding space)
• F1 (Dim Screen)
• F2 (Brighten Screen)
• F7 (Back one song)
• F8 (Play/Pause Music)
• F9 (Skip one song ahead)
• F10 (Mute)
• F11 (Volume Down)
• F12 (Volume Up)
• Eject key (Show/hide on-screen keyboard)

Luckily, all of the standard shortcuts for special characters still seem to work, like our beloved option – shift – k.

If I’ve missed any shortcuts, please let me know in the comments!

Apple’s keyboard dock has additional keys for locking the iPad, search, and home. I’m disappointed that those keys did not find an equivalent on the Bluetooth keyboard. I’m also disappointed that not all applications have full access to the key events sent from the keyboard. Most third-party apps that I’ve tested only have access to basic text entry and ignore the escape key or control characters.

The good news is that the shortcomings of the iPad’s keyboard integration are software, and can be fixed. I’ve heard rumors of good things coming in iPhone OS 4, so I’m hoping that CMD-q, CMD-tab, CMD-i, and CMD-b make a comeback. I’m also hoping for some better integration of the keyboard with Safari. Safari will recognized the keyboard for any text entry, but little, if anything, beyond that. The biggest missing feature for Safari for me is the ability to search for text on a page, CMD-F. CMD-I would be great for sending a page via email, and CMD-1 through 9 would be nice for bookmarklets like Instapaper.

Part of the problem with keyboard integration is the melding of the old world and new world. The iPad is meant to be touched and gestured to, but many tasks still require text entry. Typing is faster, far faster for me, than handwriting, and not as awkward as voice recognition software like Dragon Dictation (App Store Link). Looking at Apple’s track record for developing its products, it introduces a new product with very, very few features, and then hones and perfect those features over time, and adds new ones as the product matures. I’m confident that the iPad will one day mature into a writers companion, and a power user’s dream.

After a week of testing the iPad it became clear that the iPad has the Delete key in the correct place and the iPhone doesn’t. In fact, the iPad’s placement feels so natural that now when I try to type text messages on the iPhone, I constantly accidentally send texts early while attempting to delete a character. The iPhone is the only device in my routine that has a confusing Delete key location. Check out the screenshots below to see what I mean.

What do you think? Has your experience been similar?

iPad

Wireless keyboard

iPhone

The keyboard dock not only acts as a charging station for the iPad, but as the name suggests also offers an integrated full-sized keyboard. Jobs commented on stage that the need for a specific physical keyboard, versus that of the iPad’s on-screen offering, is useful for when “you really need to do a lot of typing”; giving the example “if you’ve got to write War & Peace, just plug your iPad in.”

Apple has also since added that the keyboard dock features the typical 30-pin connector, which will allow for the device to sync to your PC or Mac while still docked. The inclusion of the 30-pin connection also means that other compatible devices can of course be attached. The dock also has an audio-jack so you can plug-in your speakers and enjoy a more full-on experience.

So, with Apple making it easy to plug-in a keyboard and speakers, it seems they are really hoping this device, with the help of accessories, can replicate a typical home experience, when required. However, it’s clear that one thing is missing; the mouse. Of course, Apple showing no pointing device is very-intentional, but without having that established and common set-up would you be willing to switch away from more traditional devices?

Beyond the keyboard dock, Apple revealed a protective case for their new device, dubbed the iPad Case. Although, while the attractive leather holder may protect the iPad from the elements, it also handily doubles up as a stand. The case can be used in a variety of positions which make propping the device in a position that suits your needs super easy. For example, propping it up to watch your favorite movie.

Following the keynote, Apple’s official website updated with additional accessories. These included a dock, without the aforementioned keyboard attached, a camera connection kit, which offers two ways to get your digital images on your iPad and a USB power adaptor. The full range of accessories can be seen in more detail on Apple’s site now.

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Well, last night, Apple released version 1.1 of the Aluminum Keyboard Firmware via Software Update. And as a man almost ready to buy Energizer shares (anything to try to win back the cost of paying for high-performance batteries every week) its description sounded very promising.

“This firmware update improves battery performance of the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard when used in combination with other bluetooth devices (eg. Magic Mouse, some bluetooth headsets) and addresses an issue with the 2007 aluminum Apple Keyboard and the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard where a key may repeat unexpectedly while typing. The update also addresses other issues.”

Promises Promises; the Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update

I can’t say I’ve ever experienced the “key repeat” problem but I most certainly have watched in dismay as my keyboard greedily depleted — in record time — every expensive battery I put in the thing. (Remember that scene in My Stepmother is an Alien when Celeste sucks the flashlight batteries dry? Exactly the same.)

Coincidence?

Not unexpectedly, the update required a restart — but that was a trifling inconvenience in return for longer battery life! In fact, it was only a few days ago I put in a fresh set of expensive Lithium batteries and I wasn’t eager to have to buy more any day soon. Imagine my surprise when the following message popped-up.

Shocking! Annoying, too. Prior to the update I could coax 9-14 days out of my batteries. The current batteries have been in for only three days and I’m being told they’re on the way out? Surely that’s no coincidence.

So what’s happening here? Bad batteries? Or could it be that Apple’s update has made things worse?

Mixed Results

I headed back to the Apple Support pages to see what was being said. The experience of other Magic Mouse / Wireless Keyboard owners is so far somewhat mixed. Here’s what Creator2456 reports:

Did the firmware update […] The keyboard also REFUSES to stay powered on after the update. Already tried several batteries so it is not a power problem. The LED will light when I press the power button and then turn off within 5 seconds without pairing or anything.

Conversely, here’s a more ebullient comment from Xorgoo:

It works ! My alu keyboard (3 batteries) is reborn! 1% lost during the night, compare to 10% before.

And then there’s this warning from Freekarrot:

This update won’t work on recent 2-cell AWKs, which are heavily affected by the bug as well. Letting out an update just for one of the affected devices is ridiculous. It means they know what the problem is and how it is solved, but they either don’t know or refuse to acknowledge that ALL AWKs are affected!

Conspiracy theories aside, I really don’t know what to make of this sort of incompatibility. (I’m not sure what else to call it — ‘Not Playing Nicely Together-ness” doesn’t sound very smart; perhaps “malfunction” is better?)  I understand Apple doesn’t develop its own Bluetooth drivers (that responsibility is left to Broadcomm, the manufacturers of all Bluetooth radios in Apple’s machines) but even so, for their own equipment to behave in such a flaky, unreliable manner really isn’t the ‘Apple Way’ to which I have become accustomed. It’s all supposed to ‘Just Work’, right?

Think about it; if Microsoft were to build a bluetooth keyboard and mouse that, individually, worked just fine but, together, played very silly games with battery-life, we would be so quick to tut-tut and shake our heads. We would chuckle, too, adding ever-so-smugly (in the manner many Mac-heads are wont to do when commenting on Windows-PC-based problems) “Well, what do you expect from Microsoft?”

Just prior to the Firmware update, the now-very-happy Xorgoo complained;

More Than 100 days, more than 300 posts, and… nothing.
Apple, you have to do something.
And you should at least give us some news.
Do you think time will cure the trouble ? It won’t…

Well, Apple has done something. We now we have an update, but judging from my own initial experience and fresh comments on the Apple support pages, problems remain. Of course, one is a poor sample — my batteries may have already been too far-gone to benefit from the updated firmware. Maybe.

So now it’s over to you. Have you tried updating your firmware? Has it made any sort of difference? Share your findings with me in the comments below. And please… no comments about how we should ditch our Apple keyboards. I don’t care how shiny your Logitech is.

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The world is expecting Apple to announce a new tablet, or slate, style computer on January 27. Most predictions peg the device as essentially an iPod touch with a 10″ screen. But simply scaling Mac OS X Mobile to a larger screen size isn’t likely, as the operating system that currently powers iPhone and iPod touch models is optimized for their specific screens. The question arises, then, as to how users will input text into the Apple tablet.

The iPhone keyboard works well for several reasons. The device is small enough that you can type with just one hand while holding the phone with the same hand. The keys are surprisingly large, even in portrait mode, and Apple technology makes keys invisibly larger based on likely letter combinations. Auto-correction works well enough that the easiest way to become a fast typist on the iPhone is to suspend your disbelief that you’ll make mistakes, and just keep typing.

The same keyboard on a larger screen, whether still small or scaled up, wouldn’t work nearly as well. The biggest problem would be holding the tablet and typing at the same time. If the form factor is anything like most suspect it will be, the weight and balance of the tablet would make such input impossible, requiring users to instead hold it with one hand and hunt-and-peck to type with the other.

Current Lines of Thought

Perhaps the most obvious solution would be to split the onscreen keyboard and push it to the edges, allowing users to hold the device and type with their thumbs. A similar approach was used with a number of ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), such as the Samsung Q1. This doesn’t strike me as particularly elegant or particularly Apple, but it could work, and might be the easiest solution technically.

Another option is an altogether different keyboard interface purposefully designed for five-finger typing with one hand. Users could hold the device in one hand, and quickly type with all fingers of the other. Combined with advanced multi-touch gestures for text input and overall control, this method is reminiscent of Microsoft Surface and Minority Report.

Unlike the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple could also allow the tablet to work with hardware keyboards, either via Bluetooth or USB connections. The current Apple wireless keyboard would make a perfect companion for times when touch input isn’t sufficient, with the touchscreen display eliminating the need to also have a mouse. Using a traditional keyboard also strikes me as very inelegant and un-Apple, but may be needed to drive mass adoption.

A Hardware Solution

However, a hardware keyboard designed specifically for the tablet and doubles as a dock might fit the bill. Given Apple’s apparent cloud ambitions (building a data center in North Carolina, purchasing LaLa, etc.) and cost concerns, the tablet is likely to have a small amount of onboard storage compared to laptops. Chances are that Apple will view the tablet as a cloud computing device, or one of several satellites orbiting around a full Mac serving as the digital media hub. Like the iPhone or iPod touch, the tablet may only hold a portion of your songs, movies, pictures and other media, meaning it will need to connect for syncing. A dock for syncing that doubles as a keyboard, with Jon Ives’ design panache, would be an excellent way to meet core needs while also extending the functionality of the device.

Given all of these options, I’m expecting three things: a variant of the software user interface that further limits users need to input text even more than the iPhone already does; an advanced multi-touch user interface that is optimized for five-finger input; and the option to use a keyboard–possibly a new keyboard that doubles as a dock–when necessary. The next-generation multi-touch capabilities that Apple has patented and developed are likely too advanced for many of today’s computer users. I expect the tablet multi-touch user interface to follow a similar path of increasing complexity and capability over several years as the trackpad and Magic Mouse have.

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So the holidays are over. The food portions are returning to healthy sizes but the damage is done. New Year resolutions you’ve been ruminating on for weeks must now be taken seriously. It’s time to get in shape. No more excuses! No more distractions. You have that nice new Mac so you think, “Hey, I’ll type ‘em up and print ‘em out! If they’re pinned up on the wall I can’t possibly fail!”

Only, you might have a problem doing any typing if recent reports prove accurate. It seems the combination of Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard are a toxic mix. Over on the Apple Support Discussions forum users are reporting that, since installing their Magic Mouse, their Apple Wireless Keyboards have been guzzling power like there’s no tomorrow.

Brand new, planet-killing alkaline batteries don’t make it through a full week. Tree-hugging rechargeables manage less. Users have been forced to revert to backup mice (mouses?) or switch-out their keyboards for a more traditional, wired variety.

User cbcirrus writes;

Apple Tech Support furnished three replacement aluminum keyboards (unfortunately one DOA and all three were three battery version). All replacement keyboards suffer from the low battery life issue.

They now claim it is a bluetooth driver issue and the engineers are working on a solution, presumably a new driver or patch. One tech said engineering believes the magic mouse bluetooth is interfering with keyboard bluetooth communication and/or sleep mode. No estimate as to time frame for solution just a suggestion to use rechargeable batteries until issue is resolved.

I haven’t been hit by the battery bug described here, but I’ve certainly had my own issues with the Magic Mouse / Wireless Keyboard combo which I suspect may be related. I’ve found that my Apple Wireless Keyboard interferes with my Magic Mouse. I simply can’t have both devices working at the same time in the same room without my Mouse pointer losing the will to live and being reduced to a stuttering, crawling, sorry excuse for a pointer.

Changing wireless channels on my router and Time Capsules made no difference. In the end I had no choice; if I wanted to continue using the Magic Mouse, sans judder, I had to switch keyboards to the wired variety that originally came with the Mac Pro.

About a month ago I found a thread on Apple’s discussion site explaining that — for 2009 Mac Pros — the problem doesn’t lie with the Broadcom bluetooth radio but with its drivers. Unfortunately, Apple isn’t privy to Broadcom’s firmware roadmap and can’t say when an update will arrive.

Oddly, I cannot find that thread now. I suspect that at some point in the intervening weeks it has been edited/removed. If you can find it, please share in the comments below. I mention it here because it sounds awfully similar to the explanation above… perhaps the two issues are connected?

Have you experienced issues with using the Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard together?

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Writing in the New York Times last week, Nick Bilton quoted two unnamed sources (so we really only have his word to go on) in a piece that definitely got Apple fans’ hearts racing and wallets twitching;

…the icing on the cake comes from a current senior employee inside Apple. When one of my colleagues here asked if the rumors of the Apple tablet were true, and when we could expect such a device, the response from his source was, “I can’t really say anything, but, let’s just say Steve is extremely happy with the new tablet.”

When El Jobso is happy, Apple is happy. When Apple is happy, they release stuff – shiny, sexy new stuff. And when Apple releases new stuff, we all get a little poorer. Financially. Obviously the emotional and spiritual gains of owning a shiny new gadget with a glowing fruit on it far outweighs the usually crazy-high asking price set by the Cupertino mothership.

Bilton also added;

Yet another recently departed Apple employee tipped me: “You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet.”

So, aside from Steve’s happiness, what’s this ‘surprise’? MacRumors points to a patent application published on Christmas Eve that might provide a clue about what’s to come. I wouldn’t want to spoil any potential surprise, so if you don’t want to read about “Keystroke Tactility Arrangement on a Smooth Touch Surface” it’s best not to read-on.

Still here? Good. Patent #20090315830 is actually an extension of sorts, fleshing out an earlier patent filed in 2008, which described a method for a “Momentarily Enabled Electronic Device” (#20090315411 for those of you keeping a record). The short of it is that these patents together detail the major drawback of smooth-surface keyboards – they’re not user friendly. Apparently, users prefer actual physical keys to perfectly flat “virtual” keys.

But the problem with physical keys, as Señor Steve so eloquently explained at the iPhone announcement in 2007, is “…they get in the way.” The solution, then, would be some sort of temporary physical keyboard that comes to life when we need to type, but magically vanishes when we want to swipe. And when I say “vanishes” I really mean it goes away, completely, returning the full surface area to us for touchy-feely operations.

It sounds like science fiction, but these patents essentially describe methods for providing just that – a temporary, malleable physical keyboard that “pops up” through the normally-smooth touchscreen surface and slinks away again when it’s not needed.

I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty awesome. It sounds a lot like a piezoelectric keyboard to me, a technology that’s been around for decades but not very successfully implemented in consumer electronic devices.

I’m not going to spend time speculating much on other potential interaction surprises; voice control, for instance, would be a natural extension of technology already found in iPods and iPhones (and, to a far more limited extent, Mac OS X itself) but voice control is almost always cumbersome and unrewarding despite occasional flurries of excitement around the concept. Eye tracking or gesture-tracking are possible, but even less likely (though they would certainly be surprising!)

No, at this point, we have reasonably compelling evidence for only one big surprise, and it’s buried in the patents linked above. And while piezoelectric keyboards (or however Apple achieves this technology) aren’t too new or surprising for geeks as long-in-the-tooth as me, you can bet your iMac it’ll leave the general public stunned.

Especially when Steve Jobs takes the stage and makes the announcement in inimitable Jobsian style. Just twenty nine days and counting…

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So why would anybody need an app to do this when most apps have keyboard shortcuts already? Well the answer is simple if you consider the power of leveraging the large screen on the iPhone. When it launched sans a physical keyboard, Steve Jobs commented that it was a great idea to do away with it, because there are times when you don’t need a full size keyboard. If you are typing in numbers, it would be great to see large numbers instead of individual keys.

The same holds true for shortcuts. Why should I have to press “Shift+Command+Delete” to empty my trash when I could just use one button for that same purpose? Keymote addresses this usability blemish.

Keymote’s setup process is very simple and only requires that your iPhone and Mac share a Wi-Fi connection. Download the remote software on your Mac and it resides on the menu bar. Once you’ve paired the iPhone to your Mac from the app, you’re ready to roll.

Keymote comes with several keysets out of the box but also includes an in-app store that provides a larger wealth of free downloadable keysets for other popular apps, all contributed by users. Instantly download keysets for Aperture, Adobe Illustrator, Pages or any other app you use frequently. My favorite is the Numerical Keypad keyset which will help your stylish Apple keyboard feel a little more powerful.

If there’s not a keyset for an application you like to use, feel free to create your own and share it with others. If a particular keyset is not quite up to your standards, tap a key or spacer and hold. Then you can just drag it to a better location. If a shortcut is missing, just tap the plus and add it right alongside the rest.

The only thing to keep in mind is that you might find yourself using your phone more often than before. In case, my iPhone has become more of an auxiliary keypad and so I needed to adjust my sleep settings to keep my phone awake. Additionally, Keymote requires the software you’re using be the active application. This means if I call up Photoshop key commands and create a new document, it invokes “Command+N.” If Photoshop isn’t the active application, “Command+N” will apply to whichever app is active. The developers are aware of this limitation, and it’s something they are working to address.

With a stylish user interface that looks great not just on my iPhone, but as a “keypad” next to my Mac, Keymote is a great application for those whose regularly harness the power of shortcuts. Keymote is $3.99 and available for download on the App Store. If you’ve had the chance to try it out, please share your thoughts.

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Now I have some more ammunition, thanks to a test run by Crave UK. Apparently they have very little to do with their time, so they came up with ridiculous scenarios for tech performance tests. Their latest involved an Apple iPhone, an Asus Eee PC, and a Citroen C4 (which is a $1.47 million rally car, in case you were wondering). The task was to type “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” that old stand-by sentence containing every letter in the English language that I used to type until my fingers were raw in Grade 9 high school business class. Not so hard, right? Right, when you’re sitting at a desk, not moving. Different story in a rally car running at top speed and taking turns.

CNET has the entire amusing video of how things went, but I’ll cut to the chase: iPhone wins handily. Reason? The auto-correct feature (although I suspect the iPhone’s being a true handheld device also has something to do with it). Good thing, too, because I can’t count how many times I’ve been in a rally car and thought to myself, “This would be a great time to type out my resumé.”

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• Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet Tide
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