Sure, we’ve seen plenty of iPad cases with built-in keyboards which sort of, kind of, turn the iPad into a laptop already. But it looks like Best Buy has something truly unique in the works. Or well, a little unique.
Basically it’s a clamshell case which kind of looks like a full-fledged laptop in its own right… it just doesn’t have a CPU, LCD, or any of those other pesky electronic bits you normally get with a computer. What it does have is a space to slot in an iPad. Close the case and it protects the Apple tablet. Open it up, and you can use the keyboard to enter text or launch applications.
The stand-out feature here is probably the handle built into the side of the case, which answers the age-old question about the iPad: How the heck am I supposed to hold this thing. Like a briefcase, apparently… or a Classmate PC.
Wireless Goodness spotted a listing for the keyboard case at the FCC. No word on how much it will cost or when it will be available, but it’s called the iCapsule, and it wears the RocketFish brand name, which pretty much ensures that it will go on sale at Best Buy stores eventually.
The keyboard is powered by AA batteries and connects to the iPad via Bluetooth.
OMG! It’s the eMate 300 reincarnated. Look it up and you’ll see what I mean. I now feel compelled to own an iPad now out of nostalgia. If only it held a charge during 2 or 3 days of constant use like the apple newtons used to.
ANY external keyboard for ANY slate that needlessly reintroduces the clamshell form factor (which arise to do design limitations of making a traditional clamshell device and has a huge host of problems) is an automatic failure. At the very least, these “designers” could venture into Flybook VM territory. However, I think we have the blind leading the blind here. After all, if these companies knew or cared about avoiding known problems or innovating, then they’d be making something different. On the other hand, they are servicing people who bought an iPad.