Official PSP keyboard coming

[Shrygue]

via Computer and Video Games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=178878)


It's only taken Sony three years to realise that it takes three years to type anything on PSP. So it's finally gone and unveiled a keyboard for the portable.

Sony offered no pictures or descriptions as to what it will look like, but we expect it'll have lots of buttons with letters on them. But that's only a guess.

Hopefully it'll be better than previous attempts by third parties to make a decent portable keyboard, which mostly turned out flimsy, cheap and awkward to use.

"We're looking at several designs, but can't tell you anything more specific," a Sony rep told GameSpot. They must be looking at several thousand designs, because Sony says it won't be out until mid-2009.

How long does it take to make a mini keyboard?

[Anonymous D]

mid 2009? to make a keyboard? i could make one faster lol. im sensing a "wait till a new psp model is out and make it only compatible with that" tactic emerging here.

[Uberman]

They get rid of the IR so they can make you purchase their keyboard. Nice. :mad:

[cal360]

2009 is a long period of time and by then it's most likely the PSP will be coming to its end of it's life. I would like a keyboard for my PSP but I would also like it a lot sooner.

[daveyrj]

why is it not possible just to have predictive text as you would have on a mobile phone. Or is there some homebrew out there already that gives you this feature. who needs another add on to carry around

[Prasoc]

predictive text is rubbish! never! also, mid 2009 is ages >_<

[ab_geee_eee]

OMG, that's too long, I'm probably not even going to have my PSP by then :(

[dangee]

Sony must have read this!
but, errm, mid '09 ? I hoped for this in the year, not the decade ahead.
Looks like a tie-in for the 'PSP3k-ultraslim&lite-09' model.

[mike_jmg]

mid 2009 is really ages from now
better go with the one that works with homebrew

[JKKDARK]

2009 is a long period of time and by then it's most likely the PSP will be coming to its end of it's life. I would like a keyboard for my PSP but I would also like it a lot sooner.

I don't think the seventh generation will end too soon.

[Anonymous D]

slightlty off topic, but as sony seem to be using trained snails to make this, what is the current situation on using ir keyboards with the psp (phat ver obv)? i know some apps have pikey built in but whaty about the xmb keypads?

[F9zDark]

Hopefully it'll be better than previous attempts by third parties to make a decent portable keyboard, which mostly turned out flimsy, cheap and awkward to use.


Well seeing that there were no 3rd party keyboards to ever be released for the PSP, I find it hard to believe these people would know they "turned out flimsy, cheap and awkward to use".

[Shrygue]

Mid 2009 for the PSP keyboard? I'm sure Sony can crank that out much faster like, say, halfway through this year. Who would really want to wait 1½ years for this to arrive?

[callsignAPOLLO]

On this note, does anyone know of any homebrew projects that somehow might connect the psp to a regular keyboard?

Just curious...

-CallsignAPOLLO (Any1 like my new signature, i made it myself from a metal gear wallpaper, it looks so different from the original, an improvement, message me if you want me to make you a custom metal gear signature!!!!)


http://i16.tinypic.com/8eqdjj8.jpg

[Sketchy]

meh.....never had a problem typing on the psp myself....

[F9zDark]

Mid 2009 for the PSP keyboard? I'm sure Sony can crank that out much faster like, say, halfway through this year. Who would really want to wait 1½ years for this to arrive?

I suppose it depends on how Sony goes with it. If they make a regular USB keyboard that some how clips onto the PSP and makes it so we can hold it by the keyboard to type then yeah it can be out in 6 months.

If they decide to go with some kind of touch screen overlay for the screen, then I can see how that can take a year and a half.

Am I willing to wait that long? Nope.

[Panda Bear K]

Logitech needs to take this time to assert its dominance in the peripheral, badass peripheral world (read G25)

[xg917]

ugh.. i wish they will just add T9 to the psp's memory so we could type faster like on cell phones..

[F9zDark]

ugh.. i wish they will just add T9 to the psp's memory so we could type faster like on cell phones..

If I recall "T9" is the property of Cingular/AT&T? (Or is it Verizon?), so in other words Sony cannot use it.

Sure predictive text would be nice, but I'd rather use a full keyboard. I got a cell phone with a full keyboard and I'd never go back to not having it.

[specialist83]

why are they tinking so much anyway...a normal QWERTY keyboard with common handphone predictive text recognition will be more than enuff to satisfy more than half of the PSP population...

[fpcreator2000]

They have the keyboard made, it's just that it takes their engineers an extra 11/2 years to add the letters because someone keeps on throwing X [ ] ^ O 's instead of letters of the alphabet. :rofl:

They should have released this addon with the release of the slim, but I bet their wondering how implement the peripheral to be seemless with the psp design.

the best type of keyboard would be one that doubles as a screen protector, although how this would be implemented is beyond my design capabilities (maybe using the ac adaptor, and the headphone/serial port jacks as anchors, where the keyboard would extend either port so that it won't just block the corresponding ports.

If the second paragraph doesn't make sense don't worry, I'm still working out the details myself, but in the end for sony to release a keyboard so late in the game, at the end of the system's life is stupid.

I expect that this release will be in conjunction with the release of a PSP2, only because 2009 is the end of the system lifespan cycle, which generally is a five year cycle, this is not to mean that the PSP will be defunct by 2010, it just means that a new "superior" model, with updated functionality will be released such as a PSP 2, not a PSP "Ultra Slim", "Nano", or "Micro".

There's my two cents.

[F9zDark]

They have the keyboard made, it's just that it takes their engineers an extra 11/2 years to add the letters because someone keeps on throwing X [ ] ^ O 's instead of letters of the alphabet. :rofl:

They should have released this addon with the release of the slim, but I bet their wondering how implement the peripheral to be seemless with the psp design.

the best type of keyboard would be one that doubles as a screen protector, although how this would be implemented is beyond my design capabilities (maybe using the ac adaptor, and the headphone/serial port jacks as anchors, where the keyboard would extend either port so that it won't just block the corresponding ports.

If the second paragraph doesn't make sense don't worry, I'm still working out the details myself, but in the end for sony to release a keyboard so late in the game, at the end of the system's life is stupid.

I expect that this release will be in conjunction with the release of a PSP2, only because 2009 is the end of the system lifespan cycle, which generally is a five year cycle, this is not to mean that the PSP will be defunct by 2010, it just means that a new "superior" model, with updated functionality will be released such as a PSP 2, not a PSP "Ultra Slim", "Nano", or "Micro".

There's my two cents.

That was the original design of a PSP keyboard made by a company called Joystiq I think... It had a USB plug that screwed into the top of the PSP (through the screw holes near the USB, this also supplied power) and a clip setup that fastened to the bottom of the PSP. The keyboard was hinged so it would be a screen protector as well.

Why this never got finished is beyond me. Maybe Sony didn't want them to use USB (fear of hackers of making their own USB devices work on the PSP maybe?) or maybe the company didn't have the capital to pay licensing fees to make it work via USB...

But the keyboard was being designed SHORTLY after the PSP first launched. Why it would take Sony so long is beyond me. Maybe the company that initially made it, has a patent on the design, making it unuseable by Sony.

[No_one_in_particular]

What the ****?! 2009! They're having a laugh ffs.

[anteopimp]

hope it comes out in like a month instead of 2009...

[psp411]

id much appreciate a keyboard for psp. If this does get released in 2009(which i wont buy b/c by then another potentially useful handheld wouldve been out), ill just stick with the keypad ( i actually type fast with it... probly get 20-25 words per min hahaha :D :cool:

[Buddy4point0]

This sounds awsome but cmon man.
mid 2009???!?!?!!!!
no wayyyyyyyy

[Eviltaco64]

Now PSP can be like a Mylo

[xg917]

If I recall "T9" is the property of Cingular/AT&T? (Or is it Verizon?), so in other words Sony cannot use it.

Sure predictive text would be nice, but I'd rather use a full keyboard. I got a cell phone with a full keyboard and I'd never go back to not having it.

all cellphones have it.. at least im sure of it.

[Lodis]

They should have released a keyboard for the Psp so long ago it's not even funny. I think the 2009 is just an optimistic time estimation, I think the real date is 2025 because Sony like to take their time.

Maybe they have been too busy coding all of those extra secure and totally unhackable firmwares to have time to worry about real addons or features for the Psp.

I look forward to the firmware that disables the keyboard keys on detection of Custom firmware. Well done Sony, take your time, Rome wasn't built in a day right. :thumbup: