Mike Temporale
05-05-2005, 08:45 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=2349' target='_blank'>http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=2349</a><br /><br /></div><i>"I was a big fan of the Eleksen fabric keyboard when I've used the original Orange SPV and the i-mate Smartphone. However, it had one problem - it was directly linked to these devices (because of its stand and connector). But the idea was simply great. Anyway, Eleksen confirmed that they are going to release a follower of the SPV specific fabric keyboard - this time more generic and with Bluetooth! "</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20050505-FabricKeyboardv2.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />I had one of the older fabric keyboards that Arne mentions and I agree with Arne, the idea was great. In reality, the keyboard was not something that you could unroll and quickly pound out an email with. It's basically two pieces of fabric with little sensors in-between. When you push down on a key, you end up pressing on the sensor. The problem is that the two pieces of fabric were only stuck together around the edge, and not in the middle. So if you tried to type quickly the fabric would move around and it would often miss a letter or two. However, the new version looks a little more refined, and the Bluetooth addition certainly helps as well. According to Arne, the keyboard will be released in Q2 and will see for around $99.