iPhone & Class/Lecture Notes

[Ubermensch]

I am currently a student. I take all of my lecture notes on my laptop. They are neater, easier to organize, reference, and transfer than hand-written notes.

I recently purchased an iPhone 3GS and am pleasantly surprised by its capabilities. With the release of office suite applications like Quickoffice, Google Docs, NoteMaster, Readdle Docs, amongst numerous others, would it be possible to buy a small Bluetooth or wired keyboard to take class notes with using my iPhone? I have not been able to find a keyboard that would work well, but assuming one exists or is being developed, how plausible do you think it would be to replace a laptop in regards to taking daily class notes via an iPhone office application? Of course, I would later transfer the documents to my computer for printing and storage.

 

[Night Spring]

I doubt there's any such keyboards available at the moment, and I don't know if any are currently being developed.

The problem I see with using a keyboard with the iPhone is, how and where would you position the iPhone so you can see the screen as you are typing? Even with touch typing, you need to check the screen every once in a while. So in addition to the keyboard, you'd need something to prop up the iPhone at a place and angle where you can see the screen. The resulting contraption could get awkward and not so convenient to carry and/or manage, unless you design it very well. So while I agree it'd be mighty convenient to have a keyboard that works with the iPhone, to design a good one could be harder than you think!

 

[Ubermensch]

I doubt there's any such keyboards available at the moment, and I don't know if any are currently being developed.

The problem I see with using a keyboard with the iPhone is, how and where would you position the iPhone so you can see the screen as you are typing? Even with touch typing, you need to check the screen every once in a while. So in addition to the keyboard, you'd need something to prop up the iPhone at a place and angle where you can see the screen. The resulting contraption could get awkward and not so convenient to carry and/or manage, unless you design it very well. So while I agree it'd be mighty convenient to have a keyboard that works with the iPhone, to design a good one could be harder than you think!

I have seen iPhone cases with built-in kick stands on the back, allowing the device to "stand up" horizontally. After a quick Google search, I found a similar product by a reputable company, Speck:

http://www.speckproducts.com/products/seethru/iphone-3g-iphone-3gs/142

Their SeeThru hard shell seems perfect for securely holding on to the iPhone when using it in class. Additionally, the price isn't ridiculous.

 

[Night Spring]

I have seen iPhone cases with built-in kick stands on the back, allowing the device to "stand up" horizontally.

Heh. Your school must have bigger desks than I had when I was in college -- I don't think I would want to prop my iPhone like that on those tiny "desks" that extend out from armrests at most of my college lecture halls, I'd be afraid of accidentally knocking it off if I moved something! But maybe I'm just more clumsy than average.