Bluetooth Keyboard Connections only for iPhone 4?

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keyboard external iPhone 4

Here is an interesting tidbit. On Apple’s revamped iPhone web site they say that the iPhone will allow Bluetooth Keyboards to connect with it as an input device.

Connect an external keyboard.
If you prefer working on an external keyboard, iPhone 4 lets you do that, too. It comes with built-in support for Bluetooth-enabled wireless keyboards.

It specifically says the iPhone 4, but I wonder if this will be standard on iOS 4.0, so that any iPhone can do it. Or if it will be an iPhone 4 only feature?

Perhaps Steve will say that the older iPhone’s hardware isn’t up to the task! We’ll see, I guess.

Do you think we’ll all get some Bluetooth Keyboard joy from Apple? Or will it be an iPhone 4 only feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

[Apple]

  • Bobish

    @Keithdoherty: You, sir, just saved me a lot of time trying to figure out why the keyboard was not pairing to my touch. Thanks a million!

  • guest

    works on 3gs! So incredible! I can now take my keyboard to the cafe without the laptop and write just as fast as normal!

  • Keithdoherty

    If your key board is already paired with another machine , you can't pair again.

    You must first delete this pairing before it will show up on the iPhone .

    This is standard bluetooth behavior

  • http://twitter.com/mdcclv Orion Montoya

    I am typing this on the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard on an iPod Touch (3rd generation) running iOS 4 GM. I even get to use Dvorak! The eject button toggles display of the soft keyboard. Option-delete deletes whole words. The suggestion/correction still works!

    So it should work for you — 3GS == Touch 3gen, for most purposes. Did you make the keyboard discoverable?

  • MATTinOHIO

    I have been waiting for this advancement for a long time. I would LOVE to be able to use an external keyboard and be able to ditch the laptop on buisness travel. I hope they allow older iPhones to use Bluetooth keyboards.

  • http://twitter.com/IDIUX Iain Dowling

    I'm running iOS 4 on my 3GS at the moment. I tried pairing it with my aluminium Apple Bluetooth Keyboard, but it does not appear in the list of devices in my iPhone's Bluetooth menu. Very disappointed, hoping this is a limitation with the developer build of iOS 4, rather than an intended limitation on pre- iPhone 4 hardware. May even require a yet to be released update to the keyboard firmware? Although this seems unlikely since they are already pairing with iPads in the wild.