The TV and radio host-producer — no stranger to Silicon Valley — is one of the founders of and investors in Typo Products, a startup that plans to start shipping a $99 keyboard attachment for iPhones in January. It’s supposed to cut down fat-finger typos (hence the name) and speed up text entry with a tactile keyboard a la the traditional BlackBerry.
The “American Idol” emcee and Laurence Hallier, real estate mogul and CEO of marketing firm Show Media, have invested more than $1 million in the L.A.-based Typo. The duo expect to plow more than $5 million into the venture, according to a source familiar with the startup, confirming an earlier report by AllThingsD.
According to Typo Products, the genesis of the company’s formation goes like this: Seacrest and pal Hallier were out to dinner — each with two phones, and both frustrated with typing on touchscreens. They checked out other smartphone keyboard add-ons but found them wanting.
The company claims the Typo Keyboard, which took nearly two years to develop, is sleeker than other options: It adds just under 1/4 inch in thickness and less than 1 inch in total length to an iPhone. The device will be unveiled at the 2014 International CES (although the site is taking pre-orders) and is slated to ship Jan. 13, initially for the iPhone 5 and 5s, with versions for other devices and tablets in the works.
Seacrest doing it real big here. This is a real life iBerry. I caved and traded in my berry for an iPhone last year and typing on this thing is the biggest pain in the ass. This keyboard barely makes the iphone bigger. $99 is a bit out of my price range, but if I save up this time next year I will be no look texting like the good old days.
PS That took two years to develop?
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