USB Devices (keyboard, bluetooth dongle, etc) and Pocketbook

[Oldskool360]

Having poked around more in the rootfs via wifi I was wondering if the kernel has any support for USB Keyboards, bluetooth adapters, etc. This is just idle curiosity. Using the browser is pretty painful when you have to type, and I was thinking of having a look at the SDK to implement a text adventure app (take that, kindle!) but some adventures may be painful to play with the typing. But It seems that with a mini USB adapter you should be able to plug devices into the charging port. Whether the kernel will let you do anything at all with them is another matter entirely.

I ordered a miniusb adapter for like a dollar because they're good to have on hand anyway and if on the off chance I can plug a little keyboard in, all the better!

[rkomar]

No, you can't use any USB keyboard or mouse with the device. It's a hardware issue, not a software issue (the device has a client, rather than a host, connection). It's different for the 302 model, since it has a USB host connection, and it's _software_ that keeps you from being able to use an external keyboard or mouse on it .

I'm not sure about the 360+, but the Pro series devices (60x/90x) have recently got support for Bluetooth keyboards.

You seem to be going through pretty much the same experiences and getting the same ideas as many of us who got our devices earlier. I think if you search this forum's old posts, you'll get most of your questions answered instantly, as just about everything was brought up and hashed over soon after the devices first came out.

[Oldskool360]

Sorry about that, at times things are buried in large threads. I couldn't find any topic devoted to this particular problem.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by violetdream

Sorry about that, at times things are buried in large threads. I couldn't find any topic devoted to this particular problem.

Please don't be sorry; I don't want to be a wet blanket on your new-toy elation, nor do I want to keep you from posting here. Keen, new PB device owners are a tonic for this group. Things have slowed down around here quite a bit since PocketBook haven't been offering much new stuff recently, and I was just worried that your questions might not get answered anytime soon, especially if the topics came up before.

You're right about things getting buried under the volume here. Sometimes the end of a thread feels like it's completely different from the start, and it's a bit of a surprize to follow a link to some unrelated bit of information, only to find you're still in the same thread.

Oh, and have some karma, just to get the ball rolling.

[Oldskool360]

Very cool, thank you! I know this is an older device, but I love to tinker So far I've gotten a pretty good response to my questions.

[jekvb]

Originally Posted by violetdream

Having poked around more in the rootfs via wifi I was wondering if the kernel has any support for USB Keyboards, bluetooth adapters, etc. This is just idle curiosity. Using the browser is pretty painful when you have to type, and I was thinking of having a look at the SDK to implement a text adventure app (take that, kindle!) but some adventures may be painful to play with the typing. But It seems that with a mini USB adapter you should be able to plug devices into the charging port. Whether the kernel will let you do anything at all with them is another matter entirely.

For the very same reason I recently tried the Kensington KeyFolio Bluetooth Keyboard and Case for iPad 1, K39294US (Black). It is a very nice keyboard, and it is detected by the PocketBook firmware. However, I couldn't get the devices to pair nicely. The pairing procedure is very much dependant of having a Mac for a client. Kensington support directed me to the Mac forums for more information, but could get the issue solved. After having tried everything possible within my knowledge I finally brought the keyboard back to where it came from.

To feed your curiosity on more bluetooth: I am using the Jabra HALO BT650s headphones and this works great.

Regs, Kuba

[abijah]

Originally Posted by rkomar

I'm not sure about the 360+, but the Pro series devices (60x/90x) have recently got support for Bluetooth keyboards.

I notice that you said that pro 902 supported bt keyboard, but how?
With a bt keyboard at hand, I am very eager to know the answer. There seem to be no direct way to connect to bt keyboard as no app is offer to initiate a connection with bt keyboard.
Could you please tell me how?

[paola]

Originally Posted by abijah

I notice that you said that pro 902 supported bt keyboard, but how?
With a bt keyboard at hand, I am very eager to know the answer. There seem to be no direct way to connect to bt keyboard as no app is offer to initiate a connection with bt keyboard.
Could you please tell me how?

you must install one of the latest beta firmwares for it to work - there in the configuration setting you see it can be done (though I cannot give you the details, as I do not have a bluetooth keyboard)

[abijah]

Originally Posted by paola

you must install one of the latest beta firmwares for it to work - there in the configuration setting you see it can be done (though I cannot give you the details, as I do not have a bluetooth keyboard)

Thank you so much:
May I know more about the beta version, like where to find them, their know flaws, whether we can upgrade when new firmware comes?

[paola]

abijah, I have gathered some information in this thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=119973

EDIT: I should also add - think carefully before upgrading, as if you move away from 2.0.4 you will lose many dictionaries. Also, one of the pdfviewers does not pan the page.

[abijah]

Thank you, Paola.
The thread you provided is very helpful. I get a 2.1.0 beta version from the site and it works well. I like the new bt keyboard feature though it still does not support letters input yet. It is cool to have my mini bt keyboard as a remote.