Macworld 2010: Hands-on with the 4iThumbs keyboard for iPhone

I stopped by the 4iThumbs booth to check out their product that would purportedly increase my (admittedly dismal) typing speed on the iPhone/iPod touch. It consists of a plastic overlay that puts small ridges between the letters of the standard iPhone keyboard, available in both portrait and landscape formats. The product comes with some tabs that you affix to the top and bottom of the device, and you can then slip the plastic overlay on and off. You can touch through the overlay and use the phone as usual while it's attached, although the bumps aren't terribly comfortable for swiping. There's a matching set of tabs for the back of the device which can hold the overlay when it's not in use.
I tested it out, and it works. I never texted much on any device other than the iPhone, so I can't make a direct comparison of typing speeds between an iPhone and, say, a Blackberry. I do type a lot on my iPhone, though, and I can readily say that my typing speed and accuracy increased dramatically while using the 4iThumbs overlay.
4iThumbs is $19.95US online for 1 set, which includes portrait and landscape versions and the tabs to attach them to your iPhone/iPod touch. At Macworld, you can pick up 2 for $15US, but you'll have to get there quick to take advantage of the show pricing.
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I stopped by the 4iThumbs booth to check out their product that would purportedly increase my (admittedly dismal) typing speed on the...
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But you weren't there, were you? I was. It does. All our chronometers were in Canada, however (jk).
Seriously, we'll get a test unit sent and videotape it and post it so you can eat those yummy words.
By the way, you owe Brett an apology for the following:
"I'd also like to call out the reviewer for just plain lying. "
He's not. There's no need to start making wild accusations that border on libel.
Quite possibly the stupidest idea I've ever seen.
February 14 2010 at 8:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyLove the entrepreneurs but this is kinda unnecessary. I type maybe 10% of the time I'm using my iPhone. Why do I want this hunk of plastic stuck on there for 90% of the time I don't need it at all? And if you're really a power SMS person you should be using a laptop or a Blackberry.
February 14 2010 at 12:17 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHave you tried Shapewriter? Greatly improves typing speed and is free!
February 14 2010 at 10:57 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyhmmm. what about the parts of the keyboard that change? like the ",com" button?
February 14 2010 at 9:11 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWow. This is like buying a Blackberry to glue onto your beautiful, much-more-functional phone. Morons.
February 14 2010 at 1:02 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyTried it and didn't really see that it improved anything. Moreover, it requires you to stick things all of the front and back of the phone: goodbye iPhone cases and chargers.
February 13 2010 at 11:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThey forgot about us people with white Iphones, I would not stick those two black pieces on the beautiful back of my iphone. they should have give a white otption.
February 13 2010 at 10:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI assume you have to put the thing on every time you type and take it off when you are not. Doesn't make sense.
February 13 2010 at 8:32 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNo, you don't. You can use the iPhone perfectly fine while it is still on, even games.
February 14 2010 at 11:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe magical thing about the iPhone is it's predictive type - the hit area on keys will grow larger on keys it thinks are the next to type, so they'll be harder to miss. This can't happen on a physical keyboard or an overlay.
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