So I guess this is a fairly new thing out there (although there are blogs on gizmodo and some youtube vids out)...that you can use a mouse and keyboard on the ipad. I am happy to say that I have been with this set up for the last few day and it has been really nice! Thought I would just describe the hack a little for those who are interested.
How to do it: Jailbreak.
1. Jailbreak your ipad with spirit - takes like 2 seconds.
2. Go to cydia and in the cydia store buy btstack keyboard.
3. Do a search for bt stack mouse.
4. Install both.
5. Turn off your bluetoooth in settings. yes, OFF.
(I have backgrounder installed on native - you may or may not need this. Haven't tried it without it.)
6. Open btstack keyboard app first and add your keyboard.
7. Open bt stack mouse app and add your mouse.
8. Exit, and enjoy!
Outcomes:
Mouse
The mouse works across all apps and on your home screens, and has just the tiniest bit of lag sometimes. You can adjust the speed of the mouse in your settings. In general, very smooth. You do not need to double click, and you (obviously) cannot use gestures to scroll etc. I went out and bought a magic mouse to use with my macbook pro and with the ipad, but if you are do not want to go out and purchase a magic mouse just for your ipad (I wouldn't) - get an HID bluetooth mouse.
Keyboard
The kb operates as it should. The problem is that some keys are still not recognized (up/down/left/right etc). However, you can get by using your mouse to direct where your cursor should go. It was a bit testy getting my keyboard to be recognized by the program. But don't get impatient. Just let the app search for the device, find your device. Click on the keyboard of your choice and let it do its thing. Make sure you are in discoverable mode on your kb.
In general:
Aside from the initial issues with the kb, the mouse pairing is so easy and quick. With this set up you can defintely mistake yourself for being on an iPad if you use a web browser like iCab. Looks just like safari! To scroll you have to click and use the mouse as you would if you were using your finger. Using the set up in word processing has been a dream because the arrows dont work on the bt kb. I don't have to awkwardly look up and touch my screen when I need to go somewhere. Therefore, I really like what I have going here! Even when iOs4 comes out, I don't think I will upgrade until I know for sure that I can use these programs once again.
How to do it: Jailbreak.
1. Jailbreak your ipad with spirit - takes like 2 seconds.
2. Go to cydia and in the cydia store buy btstack keyboard.
3. Do a search for bt stack mouse.
4. Install both.
5. Turn off your bluetoooth in settings. yes, OFF.
(I have backgrounder installed on native - you may or may not need this. Haven't tried it without it.)
6. Open btstack keyboard app first and add your keyboard.
7. Open bt stack mouse app and add your mouse.
8. Exit, and enjoy!
Outcomes:
Mouse
The mouse works across all apps and on your home screens, and has just the tiniest bit of lag sometimes. You can adjust the speed of the mouse in your settings. In general, very smooth. You do not need to double click, and you (obviously) cannot use gestures to scroll etc. I went out and bought a magic mouse to use with my macbook pro and with the ipad, but if you are do not want to go out and purchase a magic mouse just for your ipad (I wouldn't) - get an HID bluetooth mouse.
Keyboard
The kb operates as it should. The problem is that some keys are still not recognized (up/down/left/right etc). However, you can get by using your mouse to direct where your cursor should go. It was a bit testy getting my keyboard to be recognized by the program. But don't get impatient. Just let the app search for the device, find your device. Click on the keyboard of your choice and let it do its thing. Make sure you are in discoverable mode on your kb.
In general:
Aside from the initial issues with the kb, the mouse pairing is so easy and quick. With this set up you can defintely mistake yourself for being on an iPad if you use a web browser like iCab. Looks just like safari! To scroll you have to click and use the mouse as you would if you were using your finger. Using the set up in word processing has been a dream because the arrows dont work on the bt kb. I don't have to awkwardly look up and touch my screen when I need to go somewhere. Therefore, I really like what I have going here! Even when iOs4 comes out, I don't think I will upgrade until I know for sure that I can use these programs once again.
