Cliff Thier loves his iPad, but hates the need to visually hunt and peck on the iPad’s virtual keyboard. Rather than complain about this shortcoming, he partnered with industrial design firm IDEAZ to develop the iKeyboard. The ‘keyboard’ is a sleeve that slides over the long side of the iPad giving your fingers mechanical feedback while pressing the virtual keys. This concept eliminates hunt-and-peck syndrome and brings the ability to touch type on an iPad using your “muscle memory.”
By making touch-typing possible on a tablet computer, the iKeyboard sets the thinking part of the brain free. Free to listen, free to learn, and free to think.
The keyboard sleeve is a thin and light design that, unlike bluetooth solutions, doesn’t increase the iPad’s footprint and adds a marginal amount of weight.
Cliff has more than doubled his fundraising goal and still has 46 days to go. In a unique twist, if a backer on Kickstarter participates in the development of iKeyboard 2.0 through a version 1.0 test program, they can get a first generation iKeyboard for only $30. For $20 more, beta testers will also receive a second generation when it becomes available.
I can’t wait to get my fingers on this.
