Ryan Seacrest-backed Typo has recently begun shipping a new keyboard case for the iPhone 6 that the company says is designed to avoid the legal pitfalls of its first foray into the iOS keyboard market, reports Re/code.

BlackBerry's lawsuit against the original Typo iPhone Keyboard Case hit a week before the case was publicly unveiled at CES this past January, claiming the Typo keyboard was nearly identical the iconic BlackBerry keyboard. The lawsuit remains pending, but in the interim, BlackBerry was granted an injunction to block sales of the original Typo keyboard.

Screenshot (23)
Typo2 for iPhone 6 functions similarly to its predecessor in that it acts as a tangible keyboard alternative for users not comfortable with Apple's touch-screen QWERTY keys, and Typo notes the new keyboard is modeled after the iPhone's own software keyboard.

One major drawback, however, is that it blocks the iPhone 6's Touch ID capabilities. CEO Laurence Hallier (who co-created the Typo keyboard with Ryan Seacrest) didn't express worry over the issue, claiming that most of Typo's core fanbase wouldn't mind omitting Touch ID in favor of using a physical keyboard.


Hallier also told Re/code that the company is working on "a completely different take on a keyboard for the iPad." Hoping to launch sometime next year, the company has reportedly been working on the product for over two years and invested over $2 million on its design. Typo designed an iPhone 6 Plus keyboard, but as described by Hallier, it was "so big" it was "top heavy." The company is working on a new design for Apple's larger-screened iPhone, but it won't ship until the middle of 2015.

The Typo2 for iPhone 6 can be purchased from Typo's official website for $99, with an iPhone 5/5s version also available for $79. Initial pre-orders of the iPhone 6 version sold out quickly, but the company promises new pre-orders will ship by December 15.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

thisisdallas Avatar
135 months ago
What consumer would willingly give up the incredibly beneficial Touch-ID feature for a plastic keyboard that people are completely fine without? It makes the phone look like a weird remote/wand hybrid.

Also, the keyboard still literally looks identical to a blackberry keyboard, sooooo...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menopause Avatar
135 months ago
Completely unnecessary, hideous piece of plastic junk, that does you one better and hides TouchID. LMAO!


The very thing that Steve Jobs abhorred and wanted to put in the trash can in designing the iPhone.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
camnchar Avatar
135 months ago
I think it's fitting that they named this product after a mistake you make with your keyboard.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SteveLV702 Avatar
135 months ago
"CEO Laurence Hallier (who co-created the Typo keyboard with Ryan Seacrest) didn't express worry over the issue, claiming that most of Typo's core fanbase wouldn't mind omitting Touch ID in favor of using a physical keyboard."

should post a disclaimer this does not support Pay since now wont be able to use Pay with your device.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slu Avatar
135 months ago
This thing is DOA. If Seacrest wanted to flush a ton of money down the toilet, he could have just given it to me.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imaginex20 Avatar
135 months ago
Holy crap. As if the iPhone wasn't already long enough! Fail!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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