[blackjack93117]

When i first heard about playbook,using the bb phone keyboard was the first thing that occurred to me, since i will always hate touchscreen keyboards. thats why i never went iphone. i can thumb type faster and more accurately on a bb phone than i can type even on a desktop. so i was thrilled to see this and committed to playbook from the beginning. now im hugely disappointed that i have to touch type on it, because i have to type with one hand when i hold it. physical keyboards are the reason many of us are loyal to bb phones and the reason the torch came out after the "storm". so i hope rimm gives us this capability over bridge and i think they will. can you imagine setting your playbook down and typing from your phone? how cool would that be? why carry around yet another device - a bluetooth keyboard when you already have the foundation for it with the phone- playbook duo? I also clearly miss the auto capitalization of the first letter!

[blackjack93117]

Why did they ditch the trackball and the physical "back button?

I got used to using the trackball to do things my fat fingers can't - like select a tiny link or move the cursor just one space in a text field. This was the whole advantage of the Torch over other "me too" touch devices.

The back button (the key with the 180 degree arrow) I could always count on to undo what I just did, now I have to look for a "back" button that isnt always there or find some other way to navigate back to where I just was before I screwed up..it was a reliable "undo".

Also us BB people are much better at typing with two thumbs than having to use a touch keyboard with one hand (assuming you are using the other hand to hold the thing).

RIMM really blew it here by following the crowd and deviating from the things that made their phones stand out and preferred by many - physical keys..apparently just for looks.
so at least give us the ability to type to the playbook from our phones so we dont have to lug around yet another device - a bluetooth keyboard which isn't really a thumboard in most cases - my "blackberry thumb" is healing and I miss it.

That way, we could have all of the above - back button, trackball for fine movements and a physical keyboard that you can type on with two hands (thumbs)

[bobmay]

Did you ever try holding the PB in portrait mode to thumb type? It is very similar to typing on a BB.

[Shao128]

BUMP! - Devs This would be a killer app. I never carry my BT keyboard on the road...but most every blackberry user carry's a BB with their PB.

Cost of BT keyboard = $30-$80
What would i pay for an app that allowed me to use my BB keyboard and touchpad on PB = "priceless" or about $4.99-$9.99

Maybe capture 15% of PB users first year sales =

$1.5 Mil to $3 Mil in revenues. Make it work on ipad too = the sky's the limit

Complex app but i think you'll find a huge audience

It's not possible using the current development tools. If RIM would just add the HID bluetooth profile for the phones an app would take less than an hour to make.

[blackjack93117]

Did you ever try holding the PB in portrait mode to thumb type? It is very similar to typing on a BB.

Yes I have but still unwieldy, awkward and heavy when holding with two hands, the reach with the thumbs is too far for one hand......plus I like to feel the keys so I don't have to look where I am placing my fingers and I like the tactile feedback to know when I have successfully pressed the key without looking... the audio "click" just isn't the same. The phone I can actually type and hold it with one hand if the other is occupied. (no sick jokes please that's not what I mean...)

[blackjack93117]

It's not possible using the current development tools. If RIM would just add the HID bluetooth profile for the phones an app would take less than an hour to make.

I would pay $50 for it. Or honesty, whatever they want to charge. Thanks for the developer's point of view.

[nycspaces.]

It's not possible using the current development tools. If RIM would just add the HID bluetooth profile for the phones an app would take less than an hour to make.

Cool, how much for an hour...of your programming time?

Dude, knock this out for iphone/android control of ipad and android/honeycomb tablets...bigger market than bb/playbook and i bet there are plenty of users who would buy that for writing on xoom, transformer, ipad etc.

This would be really cool for using tablets as mini media centers and i always find myself using both phone and tablet at the same time.

A little research makes it seem that RIM doesn't implement HID for security reasons but before they fall of the face of the earth of consumer relevancy RIM should start enabling things like this as optional on BES polices and just an option on BIS.

[Shao128]

Dude, knock this out for iphone/android control of ipad and android/honeycomb tablets...bigger market than bb/playbook and i bet there are plenty of users who would buy that for writing on xoom, transformer, ipad etc.

A rooted android device can add the HID profile, theres probably already some apps out there that will do it. Not too sure about the iPhone though.

[Shao128]

Did some quick searching, this looks like it should work for iPhone: Use iPhone As Bluetooth Mouse And Keyboard [Jailbreak App] | The Readers Eye

And for android: https://market.android.com/details?i...s.blueputdroid

[mmcpher]

As soon as the first kindle was launched, I was pestering Amazon and RIM to get together to allow us to use our phone keyboards to input into, first the kindle, and then the Playbook as soon as that was announced. It should be possible and relatively secure since you lose your PB data as soon as the bridge draws closed. But I am becoming more comfortable with the PB touchscreen keyboard though. I wonder if it would work that you could use your Torch keyboard to input text onto the PB without the PB touchscreen popping up at all, thereby allowing for more screen view.

[blackjack93117]

It's not possible using the current development tools. If RIM would just add the HID bluetooth profile for the phones an app would take less than an hour to make.

Did some quick searching, this looks like it should work for iPhone: Use iPhone As Bluetooth Mouse And Keyboard [Jailbreak App] | The Readers Eye

And for android: https://market.android.com/details?i...s.blueputdroid

Using another touch keyboard to avoid using a touch keyboard makes no sense - the whole point was being able to use a physical keyboard - one that doesnt require LOOKING at the keyboard and a key popup to determine if you hit the right key or not (after the fact when its too late).

[primusd]

It's not possible using the current development tools. If RIM would just add the HID bluetooth profile for the phones an app would take less than an hour to make.

Thanks for the dev input! Surely security issues aside they should be able to enable this via Bridge. I would be outraged if they didn't, and kind of soon, just because they were hoping to cash in on the additional accessory side of things. It just seems too much of a no brainer - you almost always already have both PB and BB with you...

[blackjack93117]

Thanks for the dev input! Surely security issues aside they should be able to enable this via Bridge. I would be outraged if they didn't, and kind of soon, just because they were hoping to cash in on the additional accessory side of things. It just seems too much of a no brainer - you almost always already have both PB and BB with you...

Well.. yeah! Having both is clear since you ALWAYS have your phone. Why else would you need Bridge?

This surely is a no-brainer, to the extent that it was the first thing I thought of and expected when I first heard of Playbook... I never wanted an ipad or any other touchphone simply because I hate touch keyboard typing....the thought of using my phone keyboard changed my mind entirely about pads...then having a pad I could fit comfortably in my front pocket of my pants?

All I need is a phone and a pad...and having one a pad that could utilize the trackball on the phone for moving the cursor one letter when you cant get that accurate with a fat finger? It would be like having a remote control for your pad. You can do everything remotely then only touch it when you need to swipe something. Instead of constantly pinch zooming to make links big enough, and backspacing when you didn't touch the text field in the right place....you could also use that "back (undo)" key that I miss so much.

To say its a no-brainer is an understatement - this is brainless! Is RIM brainless or keeping this as an ace in the hole?

Developers please keep an eye on this - there is big money for someone if they do it right and before RIM does.

.

[TheScionicMan]

I would love this BB keyboard functionality, but it is pretty easy for me to thumb-type on the PB. It was pretty much impossible on the iPad2.

Hopefully it will come to us soon. Aren't there apps out there that will do this between a BB and a PC?

[blackjack93117]

I would love this BB keyboard functionality, but it is pretty easy for me to thumb-type on the PB. It was pretty much impossible on the iPad2.

Hopefully it will come to us soon. Aren't there apps out there that will do this between a BB and a PC?

About as easy as thumbtyping on a brick if you ask me.... a little difficult to hold for long periods...ever tried it with one thumb while driving? oops I mean while at a stop light? Plus you have to actually LOOK at the keys instead of FEELING them...

I'm missing my carpal blackberry thumb already...

[axllebeer]

I really think this and other options should just be added to the bridge features. To open up the bridge app on our phones and have total control of the PB via the keyboard and the trackpad. This would be great for other functions other than txt entry but when using HDMI out. I bought a 15 feet long HDMI cable to get me from the TV to the couch but if I could control the PB with mt 9930, then that wouldn't have been necessary. (And totally cool too!) There are apps on BB now to do this with a PC (mobimouse for example) so bake it into Bridge RIM, you know we want it

[Delirious D]

Does anyone know if it will be possible to use they keyboard on your BlackBerry phone to type on the PlayBook. I can't help but think about how awkward it must be to type a long document on an iPad.

Picture this, you are some place with your PB and BB but no laptop and you want to work on your latest presentation. Using your BlackBerry doesn't exactly cut it because the screen size doesn't allow you to proof and edit it as well as you need. Also, the PlayBook's touch screen is awkward and inaccurate for typing long presentations.

Do we think we will be able to use the BB keyboard to type on the PlayBook?

LOL i guess since i'm a chick my hands are pretty small. I find myself typing away on the onscreen keyboard when i lay it flat on the table or on my lap. (just wished they would find an easy way to choose symbols *just posted a thread about that*)

[FF22]

The claim is that a bbphone keyboard and trackpad/touchscreen will be able to control the pb under OS2. So, if and when OS2 actually goes live.....

[louzer]

The claim is that a bbphone keyboard and trackpad/touchscreen will be able to control the pb under OS2. So, if and when OS2 actually goes live.....

I read a few weeks ago that using your phone keyboard to control your Playbook is definitely a 2.0 feature. This was in a statement by RIM. Audio bluetooth is already available in the latest beta. They made good on that promise, so I believe this will come too. Like F2 said, it's just a matter of when 2.0 will see the light of day.

[jajano]

wait for os2 final to got this feature