Where are the iPhone Bluetooth keyboards?

June 25, 2009 1:19 PM

Three iPhone keyboard questions: Bluetooth keyboard support in 3.0? Any product announcements? Support for 2G iPhones?

Expanded questions:

Is it true that the new Bluetooth support in 3.0 will allow Bluetooth keyboards to work? I ask because the guy that did that Bluetooth keyboard hack a few months back says it will. I can't find any real evidence of this because....

Why haven't there been any product announcements? I'd imaging the portable keyboard makers would be jumping over each other to tap into this massive, lucrative market.

And what about 2G iPhone compatibility? The chart on Apple's site is a little vague about it, unless that's just wishful thinking on my part.

posted by exhilaration to technology (2 comments total)

From what I understand, it could theoretically work, but it couldn't be a system-wide thing; each individual app that wanted to use the Bluetooth keyboard would have to run code to communicate with it.
posted by joshrholloway at 2:11 PM on June 25

Doubtful, bluetooth isn't exposed to the developer in the SDK - I believe only frameworks available are Core audio to communicate with BT headsets/headphones and the Game APIs which lets you communicate to other iPhones/iTouches over Bluetooth.

You may have more luck waiting for a "Made for iPhone" keyboard that uses the accessory port.
posted by wongcorgi at 4:41 PM on June 25