Seacrest’s Typo, the BlackBerry-like physical keyboard for the iPhone, didn’t last long the first time around. BlackBerry sued, describing it as “a blatant infringement against BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard,” and succeeded in getting an injunction against the $99 accessory.
Seacrest – the company co-founded by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest – responded by redesigning the keyboard and is now taking pre-orders for the Typo 2. The new model features a backlight, battery indicator and lock key, but otherwise looks strikingly similar to the original.
Shipping is scheduled for mid-September – assuming BlackBerry doesn’t have another injunction in place by then …
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel
Why is this even a thing?
It’s clear they’ve addresses the infringing aspects of the design. This one bears no resemblance to the Blackberry keyboards except for the fact it uses letters like every other keyboard. The first revision had the same shaped keys which was a big problem as BB love their wave contour.
I have a suspicion BlackBerry may not agree, but we’ll see …
This is like hooking a team of horses up to the front of my car.
Isn’t a typo a mistake, something to be avoided?
It is indeed an odd choice of name
The first one looked nice because it looked exactly like BlackBerry Q10’s keyboard.
This one is revised and looks like a sloppy, unfinished, still-in-testing piece of hardware.
I thought so too but I looked again and noticed there’s a deliberate slant to the keys. Makes sense as you can feel your way around without worrying about looking at which key you’re pressing.
Why doesnt Apple just partner up with Blackberry and create an Iphone with the legendary keyboard..problem solved and Blackberry is saved as a company. I would stand in line 5 days to get one.