14 DAY TRIAL // Some hackers in Brazil have managed to put the iPhone's virtual keyboard on a Nokia N800 handset. That is only one of the attempts (both successful and failed) of many people around the world to break the iPhone myth of perfection.
The Brazilian hackers' intention was one of testing their own limits and managing to play a bit with the iPhone's limits. They have managed to do this successfully, as all features available on Apple's phone have been transferred to the Nokia N800 keypad. The similarities are considerably high, along with design features and the way the keypad responds to commands.
The hackers initially planned to hack the iPhone's keyboard in less than a week, but it took more time than they previously expected. There are some disadvantages, as the keypad has lost several features on its way from the iPhone to the N800 tablet. The new version is not capable of type prediction, word hint, cursor navigation or key composition. Moreover, accents are not possible. With a bit of work, they could even find solutions for this problem too, just to show us all they can.
The keyboard for Nokia N800 has been developed in Python and looks highly similar to that of the iPhone's. Putting aside the small number of drawbacks, this one proves to be just as efficient and it interacts in the same way with the user.
The iPhone is not available in Brazil at this time, with no word on a future release. People in this country have to do their best with what they have as to compensate for the real thing. It is quite unlikely to see that the keyboard solely manages to make up for not having an iPhone, although the hackers seem pretty confident with this. Perhaps in time we will also have the iPhone's browser, menu and, dare we hope, even calendar. What a thrill!