Here's a neat little keyboard from Matias. It will control both your computer and your iPad or iPhone, swapping between them at the press of a key. I have often confused myself by having an extra Apple wireless keyboard on my desk for the iPad, so I can totally see the appeal of this device.
Or four devices. There are three version for iOS and one for the BlackBerry (which nobody will buy as the BlackBerrys have such awesome keyboards already, right?) Starting with the Apple-a-like Slim model ($80) and going up to the $200 Tactile, all the keyboards are wired, and the USB bus also provides power for the Bluetooth connection to the mobile.
All the keyboards have a row of function keys that acts like it should. On the Mac versions, the keys control brightness and music playback etc. In iOS mode they do the same, plus a slideshow and home-button key, and on the PC they act like boring old F-keys.
Most interesting is the Tactile, which gives you a proper writing device for your iPad. It has Alps mechanical switches like those in the old Apple Extended and Extended II keyboards, three USB ports and anti-ghosting circuitry for super-fast typists.
The only problem is that no batteries are required. That's fine at the desk, but on the go you'll need to find a place to plug it in just to use it with your iOS device. I guess you could plug it into the camera connection kit, but that kind of defeats the point.
The Matias keyboards are available now, and the Tactile can be pre-ordered.
One Keyboard [Matias. Thanks, Edgar!]
