TouchFire Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad, Some Kickstarter Projects Just Don’t Make the Grade

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Project Title: TouchFire: The Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad

Status: Funded and my backer reward arrived

Closing Date for Funding: December 13, 2011

URL of the Project: Find it here.

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From the Creatives:

TouchFire makes your iPad feel like a normal keyboard! TouchFire puts the “touch” back into typing on an iPad. You can now feel where the keys are and rest your fingers on the home row, so you can type as fast and accurately as you can on a laptop. You can even type without looking at the screen. TouchFire cushions your fingers as you type, something both touch-typists and two-finger typists really appreciate. Typing on an iPad is no longer a pain!

TouchFire is ultra-thin and weighs less than an ounce. It attaches to the inside of the iPad cover and folds with the cover, so you can always keep TouchFire with your iPad without it getting in the way.

Who at Gear Diary Backed It: Dan along with 2095 others backed

At What Level Did We Back: $45-

Congratulations, you’ve just pre-ordered the TouchFire Standard Pack! It contains a keyboard, a storage case and a pair of cover clips, all in black. Shipping is free in the U.S.

Why We Backed It: It looked like an interesting approach to solving the problem some people have with the onscreen keyboard.

 

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How’s Communication From the Creatives Been?: Good but at times a bit too frequent and detailed

What Has the Experience Been: I have no complaints about the process but some have been frustrated by the delays

 

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Would You Recommend this Kickstarter Project?: No! Here’s why…

MSRP: $49.95

What I Like: Sad to say, after all four of the editors tried it there really isn’t much we can find to actually like about this product other than the fact that I like the case it came in

What Needs Improvement: We didn’t find it worked all that well; The magnets don’t hold as well as we wanted; If you use fast app switching this is going to get in the way; Only works in landscape; Carly found it to look and feel unfinished; for $50 you can almost buy an Apple keyboard… If you don’t like typing on the screen do that.

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.