A major new feature in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 3.0 operating system is the ability for applications to communicate with special third-party accessories. But engineers of Perceptive Development have already figured out how to do that with the current OS, getting an infrared keyboard to work with the iPhone. And here’s the kicker: They didn’t have to Jailbreak the iPhone. They used the iPhone 2.0 SDK.
PerceptDev engineers modified the iPhone’s microcontroller firmware used for the audio port modem, expanding it to detect an infrared signal and read from a USB host controller. (Read PerceptDev’s post for the nitty gritty, technical details.) With some tweaking they got the iPhone to communicate with an infrared keyboard using less than $20 worth of electronics.
Hooking up a keyboard through the headphone port? Who woulda thunk? Check out the video above.
[Via Gizmodo]
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