External keyboard with a kindle

[knc1]

Originally Posted by DakaPhoenix

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e722/
projected bluetooth/usb keyboard


So, maybe it is not so blatantly obvious after all.

EDIT: The above information was obtained from early posts by yifanlu and others. After reading the Freescale iMx.50 reference manual, I discovered that the host-only port is internal, and the OTG port is external. So a USB keyboard CAN work plugged into the external USB port (but needs software support).

Ive got money down for the first person that shows the projected keyboard on a kindle touch w speakers, audio jack, touch screen... the 4 gb model...

jeffery.ferguson@gmail.com

Are you hiring?
OR,
Is the money in escrow?
OR,
are you just talking?

[DakaPhoenix]

Give me some billable hours... an outline of whatcha need to do... and a price quote...

And lets play ball

Bless
Phoenix

[knc1]

$50,000 and 6 months.

[DakaPhoenix]

500 and 6 weeks mighta gotten you somewhere

[knc1]

Originally Posted by DakaPhoenix

500 and 6 weeks mighta gotten you somewhere

You asked for my estimate, not for yours.

The dollar price is figured at 1/2 the going rate for systems work.

The time period is assuming that the functionality is present both in the SoC, the external (to SoC) USB chip and on the Kindle.

If it where quick and easy, it would have been done already.

[twobob]

Originally Posted by DakaPhoenix

Give me some billable hours... an outline of whatcha need to do... and a price quote...

And lets play ball

Bless
Phoenix

: ) Touchy subject that one as you can see

How's about you simply provide free serial cables for the device to interested devs.. It does require a certain level of debugging that is a PITA.

They are not expensive I shouldn't imagine.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=16

Someone (who shall remain nameless) has very kindly offered to provide me with a mini usb keyboard, since I have the 3 and the 5 that would suffice for both. however the cable would still be an issue.

So. in all "earnesty", money is nice, equipment is better, money is nice, time is better, money is nice, time is limited.

If someone provides the equipment to the average nerd he/she won't be able to help him/herself but try to do it.

Money? well it's no good to eat but you can wipe your arse with it I suppose.
Sure yeah and buy food and toilet paper but I would have to leave my toys for that to happen... thank you internet!

So, in précis, send equipment not money, give donations after the work is done. money = stick, fun = carrot.

Hope that's nice and honest; friendly and to the point; off the wall enough to make an impact.

The work has actually been done largely already. this is a port job.

[knc1]

For $500, it would have to be done as a hobby project by someone who is already intending to do it for themselves.

That sort of money only buys a 1/2 day's work for system's development, and this is much more than a 1/2 day job.
Just documenting the changes is more than a 1/2 day job.

$500 over the period of six weeks, that isn't even minimum wage for an unskilled worker.

In this case, the O.P. should probably take your advice, do it them self. Save the $500 to take a friend out to dinner in celebration when the job is done.

[twobob]

Originally Posted by knc1

For $500, it would have to be done as a hobby project by someone who is already intending to do it for themselves.

That sort of money only buys a 1/2 day's work for system's development, and this is much more than a 1/2 day job.
Just documenting the changes is more than a 1/2 day job.

$500 over the period of six weeks, that isn't even minimum wage for an unskilled worker.

In this case, the O.P. should probably take your advice, do it them self. Save the $500 to take a friend out to dinner in celebration when the job is done.

I didn't notice the OP was k4 before TBH. until my second answer.
IMHO they definitely should consider this project "do-able".

: )

[cmroanirgo]

Not wishing to hijack a thread at all: I came across this because I had exactly the same question *and* reason for a keyboard. I'd like to use my kindle to write stuff on. The screen is soooo good to use (as everyone here knows).

Anyhow, I came across this link regard :ahem: Nook & keyboards:
http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...rnal-keyboard/
This is the embedded youtube vid of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=qU3RpK4LEuk

Of course, the tech involved in the solution is exactly what has been described in this thread...

Oh, my hands are trembling....I would love a better kindle solution....

[twobob]

you dont say what kindle. this is done for a 4. and done "in theory" for the others.

what you got?

[beccadin]

First, I would like to thank you for the knowledge and insight you have continued to share with the MobileRead.com community. I recently purchased an entry-level (5th generation) Kindle, and your old posts have been a wonderful point of reference for my first attempt at hacking. I'm also intrigued by the idea of combining an e-Ink display with an external keyboard to create an outdoor workstation. The best solution I have been able to find thus far is the "Kindleberry Pi" from Max Ogden.

However, I'm curious if this can be done without the use of an intermediary. Can you please elaborate upon what you meant by this comment?

"EDIT: The above information was obtained from early posts by yifanlu and others. After reading the Freescale iMx.50 reference manual, I discovered that the host-only port is internal, and the OTG port is external. So a USB keyboard CAN work plugged into the external USB port (but needs software support)."

Is this a decent alternative?

http://pepijndevos.nl/2012/10/08/kin...-terminal.html
http://pepijndevos.nl/2012/10/26/spa...to-serial.html

[twobob]

Originally Posted by beccadin

First, I would like to thank you for the knowledge and insight you have continued to share with the MobileRead.com community. I recently purchased an entry-level (5th generation) Kindle, and your old posts have been a wonderful point of reference for my first attempt at hacking. I'm also intrigued by the idea of combining an e-Ink display with an external keyboard to create an outdoor workstation. The best solution I have been able to find thus far is the "Kindleberry Pi" from Max Ogden.

However, I'm curious if this can be done without the use of an intermediary. Can you please elaborate upon what you meant by this comment?

"EDIT: The above information was obtained from early posts by yifanlu and others. After reading the Freescale iMx.50 reference manual, I discovered that the host-only port is internal, and the OTG port is external. So a USB keyboard CAN work plugged into the external USB port (but needs software support)."

Is this a decent alternative?

http://pepijndevos.nl/2012/10/08/kin...-terminal.html
http://pepijndevos.nl/2012/10/26/spa...to-serial.html

Thats a kindle 4 - not a kindle 5.

The work has been done to get a kindle 4 to support an external keyboard.
I have listed out on at least 3 occasions the entire list of resources required to get the job done.

choff is the user whose MR posts and website contains the info you need.

[beccadin]

Thank you @twobob for the quick response! I'm a complete beginner, so would you mind walking me through, step-by-step?

Kindle Unified Application Launcher
- Jailbreak K4
- Kindlet prerequisites (update_k4_ALL_devcerts_install.bin, update_k4_ALL_kindlet_jailbreak_install.bin)
- Run the Kindlet (KindleLauncher-1.0.azw2 in documents folder)
- KUAL
- Helper extensions (also requires USBnetwork?)

Linux on the Kindle
- last updated in 2010
** What about the brand new release of Debian 7 "Wheezy"? **

Back up Kindle 4 Kernel and extract intramfs
- Get the Kernel image via Linux
- Extract the intramfs
- Dump the kernel

USB On-the-go
- Kindle 4 source code

Anything else?

Sincerely,
Becca

[twobob]

Hi Becca. I won't lie to you, This (or in fact the equivalent for the other later devices) is a project that has constantly lived on my "TODO" list since it is basically "done" for the 4.

Thus I can only refer you to the choff docs, however it is safe to say that it looks like you have the bases covered.

Like they always say around here... "Try it, tell us what goes wrong"
Hopefully nothing.

[beccadin]

I'm most certainly getting ahead of myself here, but what do you think about connecting the Microsoft Surface Touch Cover with the Kindle 4? Would that require soldering the ribbon cable connector to the USB cable?

http://imgur.com/a/viAUK/