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Bluetooth keyboards for the Nokia 770

November 17th, 2005

UPDATE 2 I have written a post telling how to get the HP Bluetooth foldable keyboard (non-HID) work with the Nokia 770.

UPDATE 1 It seems that non-HID keyboards can work with the Nokia 770. More info. I will try to make some tests and I will write a new post about the HP keyboard.

This morning Juanjo brought his Bluetooth HP keyboard, to try to connect it to my 770 toy. But bad news, not all the bluetooth keyboards are supported.

The first step is to install this plugin. After rebooting your gadget, you should see a bluetooth icon on the top bar of the desktop. Clicking that button, you can select your keyboard from a list of bluetooth devices.

It does not pair your gadget with the keyboard. Moreover, it can only deal with bluetooth hid compliant keyboards. For example, Juanjo’s keyboard does not support the HID bluetooth profile, and so does not work with this plugin.

Once you have connected the keyboard, the input method is switched from osso-default-input to xim; this means that, with the keyboard connected, you can only write with the keyboard.

So, if you are planning to buy a bluetooth keyboard for your gadget, make sure it includes a HID bluetooth profile; otherwise, it will not work with the Nokia 770.

9 Comments Add your own

1. David Davis | December 18th, 2005 at 12:04 am

Have you had any luck with the HP Keyboard? I just bought one and I haven’t had any luck yet. I’m thinking of returning it and getting this one: http://www.thinkoutside.com/products/xtbtue/stowawaybt_product.html

I think it might work, but I prefer the HP keyboard. I may end up using kbdd, but I want an elegent solution.
2. herraiz | December 19th, 2005 at 2:34 am

No, bad luck.

I tried with kbdd but I did not manage to set up the keyboard.

I think you’d rather buy the other keyboard.
3. Alejandro Rivero | January 10th, 2006 at 2:21 am

Por cierto que todo lo que hace el plugin es llamar a hidd, se puede hacer tambien desde la shell. Y claro, eso exige teclados compatibles con el HID layer.
4. Alejandro Rivero | January 10th, 2006 at 8:05 am

Para los teclados via rfcomm funciona ya el port de kbdd; al menos con el mio, un smartbt comprado en la FNAC y con un tacto malisimo, chuta.
5. lefty.crupps | January 11th, 2006 at 9:10 am

Would this roll-up keyboard work in an USB port?
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/5a7f/

?Funciona este teclado flexible en la puerta USB?
6. herraiz | January 11th, 2006 at 9:28 am

Well, in theory you can set up the gadget as USB host. But the problem is the power supply. The USB port does not supply power to the keyboard.

There are some very ingenous solutions to this problem, but I am afraid they are far from the average user.
7. Bill | November 1st, 2006 at 6:32 am

Hi!.
I was wondering if with the holder on, you are able to desplace the 770 horizontally so that the USB port (or all of them) fit the hole so they are usable. I was thinking about connecting the audio output to the car-audio input, and the USB to a portable HardDisk carrying my MP3 collection.
Nice blogging, keep it up!

Thanks
8. jose manuel a.lopez | April 28th, 2008 at 10:01 am

ola tengo un nokia 770 y estoy buscandole un teclado compatible con el, pues hable con nokia y dicen que tengo que buscar un teclado compatible con linux, alguien tiene este aparato con algun teclado que me pueda hechar una mano.gracias,saludos
9. jose manuel a.lopez | April 28th, 2008 at 10:01 am

ola tengo un nokia 770 y estoy buscandole un teclado compatible con el, pues hable con nokia y dicen que tengo que buscar un teclado compatible con linux, alguien tiene este aparato con algun teclado que me pueda hechar una mano.gracias,saludos