Hate your iPhone? Turn it into a BlackBerry with Spike mini keyboard [CES]

What can basically be described as an intermediary between your fingers and the touchscreen on an iPhone, the Spike TypeSmart keyboard is a tactile add-on that is incorporated in a case, and swivels out over the iPhone’s keypad. Resembling the keypad of a BlackBerry, it then let’s you type normally as you would on a… well, on a BlackBerry.

Typing takes some getting used to, according to a CNET report, and the developers states the device was invented to offer “the easiest, fastest, and most error-free way to type on your iPhone.” Looking at the keyboard, it is interesting to note that it does not look exactly like the iPhone touchscreen keyboard, as it is missing the emoticon key in the left bottom corner. Instead you find one solid key for switching between numbers and the QWERTY keyboard. Many users like their emoticons and might not like the Spike for that reason.

Yet this device will make it easier to type in certain cases, as anyone who has tried typing with gloves or long fingernails will tell you. The casing requires no charging or even an app to work and is currently available for the iPhone 4/4S at US$49.95, and a version for the iPhone 5 is set to follow soon.

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