Today I received the Typo Keyboard, made famous by way of Ryan Seacrest's investment in the company and the lawsuit they face from Blackberry over the layout of their keyboard.

Right off the bat, the fact that the keyboard needs to be plugged in separately from the phone is a killer. The second thing you notice is that typing here isn't nearly as easy as it should be. At least for my thumbs, typing is cramped and difficult to get up to speed even after 20 minutes of practice.

The good news is it adds very little bulk or size to the unit. It feels good in the hand, and is responsive to touch.

If you really need a full time keyboard on your iphone it might be a good try, but for me the short comings make the $100 price tag far too high.

Update on 2014-03-29 18:29 by Drew Fleisher

A Judge ruled late yesterday that there was sufficient cause to believe Typo would lose their lawsuit brought by Blackberry, and therefore ordered an injunction against marketing and sales of the product. More details can be found on Engadget here.

I got this in a few weeks ago, and have been using it to see how it works. I love the form factor. It reminds me of an old PC, Jr. - desktop form factors amazingly have a retro feel even though they are really not old enough for that label.
First, the sound quality is great, and volume is easily loud enough for any office or family room. The remote control gives great flexibility, and the keyboard locks into the base to save space when not needed. Since the iPad (it's compatible with all 3 models) docks with the workstation, no pairing is needed and interference is not a concern.
I have been using it with my original iPad as a home entertainment control for about a week, and am very happy with it in that roll. I can send video via AirPlay to my apple tv to share sound and video with the whole family, and it serves well as a tuner for my eyeTV that is served by a Mac mini.
While I had concerns over its ability to hold a place in my life, don't see myself giving it up soon.