How to ‘really’ type on an iPad or iPhone

iPad 2 has brought hundreds of thousands of new users to the tablet community. Add that to the millions of smartphone users out there, and that’s a lot of people who want to share information. Unfortunately, what many can’t come to grips with is the lack of a practical keyboard.

If you are filing reports from the field, or heaven forbid, trying to fill out a spreadsheet, there is nothing worse than a non-tactile, appearing and disappearing keyboard.

Productivity is back, thanks to Freedom and their i-Connex keyboard. This is a foldable, but full size keyboard that connects with your device by Bluetooth. Once paired and connected, you can go right back to touch typing and quickly complete your project.

The i-Connex will connect with a large number of popular devices including:

• Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch running the 4.0 OS
• Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 (with built in HID support).
• Playstation 3
• Windows, Mac and linux based laptops, PC's, tablets and netbooks.
• All other devices that have built in support for HID Bluetooth keyboards.

There are so many nice touches built into the i-Connex that make it a pleasure to use:

• A slide-out stand is concealed in the unit which gives you a place to rest your smartphone at a convenient viewing angle. When you are done, flip it back to the flat position and reinsert it back into the keyboard case for travel. It adds virtually no weight.
• Separate Alt and Ctrl keys allow you use your favorite keyboard shortcuts.
• Six separate keys perform multimedia controls like play, forward, reverse, volume up and down.
• A sliding lever locks the keyboard in the full open position so you can use it on your lap without the keyboard folding up during use.
• Separate up, down, left and right arrow keys.
• Full set of function keys F1 through F12 available.
• A dedicated e-mail key
• Comes with a protective case so it can be tossed into a purse or briefcase. It operates on AAA batteries and reportedly lasts 90 hours in use or 3,000 hours in standby mode.
• Two lights indicate battery and connection status

With the freedom from my laptop, I can now file stories from the road using just my iPhone. Even though I had that capability before, without a real keyboard, I could just not bear the thought of struggling with Apple’s flat keyboard. The idea of filing a 400-word story was not something I would have ever considered. With the i-Connex, it’s no problem.

You can find the i-Connex keyboard as well as other Freedom keyboard solutions on their website as well as at Wireless Ground: http://www.wirelessground.com/ and eAccess: http://www.eaccess-estore.com

Now with products like Quickoffice and LogMeIn, there’s no excuse why you can’t be truly productive with your smartphone or tablet.
Freedom i-Connex Mini Bluetooth Keyboard for Verizon iPhone 4, AT&T iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, Samsung Galaxy S/Tab, Playstation 3 and any HID Enabled Device (White)