Pandora & The Alphagrip Keyboard

[sausage]

Hi Guys, this is mostly a question for the developers of the Pandora... would the Alphagrip AG-5 USB Keyboard be likely to be compatible?

Of course I realise that it is not likely any of the developers own this particular keyboard to try out, but I have listed the attributes of the keyboard below from usbview in windows. The item is a USB Keyboard/Mouse combo with an internal HUB I believe:

Device Descriptor:
bcdUSB: 0x0110
bDeviceClass: 0x00
bDeviceSubClass: 0x00
bDeviceProtocol: 0x00
bMaxPacketSize0: 0x08 (8)
idVendor: 0x0510 (Sejin Electron Inc.)
idProduct: 0x100B
bcdDevice: 0x0102
iManufacturer: 0x01
0x0409: "SEJIN"
iProduct: 0x02
0x0409: "AlphaGrip AG5 USB Keyboard"
iSerialNumber: 0x00
bNumConfigurations: 0x01

ConnectionStatus: DeviceConnected
Current Config Value: 0x01
Device Bus Speed: Low
Device Address: 0x03
Open Pipes: 2

Endpoint Descriptor:
bEndpointAddress: 0x81 IN
Transfer Type: Interrupt
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0008 (8)
bInterval: 0x0A

Endpoint Descriptor:
bEndpointAddress: 0x82 IN
Transfer Type: Interrupt
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0004 (4)
bInterval: 0x0A

Configuration Descriptor:
wTotalLength: 0x003B
bNumInterfaces: 0x02
bConfigurationValue: 0x01
iConfiguration: 0x03
0x0409: "HID-Compliant Keyboard & Mouse"
bmAttributes: 0xA0 (Bus Powered Remote Wakeup)
MaxPower: 0x32 (100 Ma)

Interface Descriptor:
bInterfaceNumber: 0x00
bAlternateSetting: 0x00
bNumEndpoints: 0x01
bInterfaceClass: 0x03 (HID)
bInterfaceSubClass: 0x01
bInterfaceProtocol: 0x01
iInterface: 0x04
0x0409: "HID-Compliant Keyboard"

HID Descriptor:
bcdHID: 0x0110
bCountryCode: 0x00
bNumDescriptors: 0x01
bDescriptorType: 0x22
wDescriptorLength: 0x003E

Endpoint Descriptor:
bEndpointAddress: 0x81 IN
Transfer Type: Interrupt
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0008 (8)
bInterval: 0x0A

Interface Descriptor:
bInterfaceNumber: 0x01
bAlternateSetting: 0x00
bNumEndpoints: 0x01
bInterfaceClass: 0x03 (HID)
bInterfaceSubClass: 0x01
bInterfaceProtocol: 0x02
iInterface: 0x05
0x0409: "HID-Compliant Mouse"

HID Descriptor:
bcdHID: 0x0110
bCountryCode: 0x00
bNumDescriptors: 0x01
bDescriptorType: 0x22
wDescriptorLength: 0x0034

Endpoint Descriptor:
bEndpointAddress: 0x82 IN
Transfer Type: Interrupt
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0004 (4)
bInterval: 0x0A

I did read somewhere that I may not be able to use a low speed device in the standard Pandora USB ports, but I might have read that wrong and my interpretation of the USBView output may not be accurate.

Many thanks,
Wayne

 

[WizardStan]

If nothing else, you can get a cheap, non-powered hub to do the USB1.1 to 2.0 conversion; or you can get an OTG adapter and plug it into the second USB port which does support low speed.
At a cursory glance, however, I would hazard a guess that it will work. Maybe. At least it claims to be HID compliant devices, so there's no need for any special drivers.

 

[musicalwoods]

In case people are curious, this is the keyboard he is talking about:

And I agree, it looks like it reads as a standard keyboard, and it works just fine in Linux, so there should be no problem using it with a Pandora.

 

[renwils]

Reminds me of this for some reason.

 

[sausage]

Thanks guys. Yes, besides games, one of the things I am looking forward to is sitting under a tree with the Pandora mounted on top of the AlphaGrip (I'll make a bracket) and working on a novel.

The Pandora packaged with the right software options (word processor out of the box) bundled with a foldable usb keyboard could easily be pushed to journalists and writers. There is nothing affordable like this on the market, I have watched for years.

Of course this is a suggestion down the track but certainly food for thought.

 

[typs lik dis]

Is that a keyboard or a 3rd-party N64 controller? How do you type with it?

 

[j6cubic]

Is that a keyboard or a 3rd-party N64 controller? How do you type with it?

I just did an image search for the thing; there are buttons on the backside as well. Still not that many but definitely enough to have all necessary keys through either chording or excessive use of modifiers. Given that the thing has three kind of shift as well as Fn, the latter should be the case.

 

[sausage]

Yes it uses modifiers, but no chording. All keys are present. Type alphagrip into youtube to see the keyboard in action.

 

[BackAssward]

Yes it uses modifiers, but no chording. All keys are present. Type alphagrip into youtube to see the keyboard in action.

I believe you, but the guy in the first vid was annoying to the point that I wish he was present so I could commit homicide.

Edit: Oh god, that was just the second minute, then his "banana phone" ring tone goes off, and I am thinking of killing his family too. This guy has a show? My god man.

Edit2: and those led's above his desk. My god he is so retro and cool, and his voice doesn't at all sound like nails on a chalk board.

I mean this vid btw:
Some annoying prick

 

[WizardStan]

I mean this vid btw:
Some annoying prick

I think it's a keyboard. He wasn't very clear on that subject.

 

[Enverex]

"Device Bus Speed: Low" makes it sound like it's USB1(/.1) rather than USB2 which means it wont work without it going through a USB2 hub first.

 

[VRAndy]

There exist some really tiny USB 2.0 hubs.

This one could easily be taped to whatever bracket you're thinking of making.

 

[marshal]

There exist some really tiny USB 2.0 hubs.

This one could easily be taped to whatever bracket you're thinking of making.

A bit more expensive but really nice:
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/smartshare-usb

I bought one and the build quality is good and it seem perfect for use on the Pandora (unless you need more than 2 usb)
It was discussed on the forum some time ago...

 

[Tensuke]

Yes it uses modifiers, but no chording. All keys are present. Type alphagrip into youtube to see the keyboard in action.

I believe you, but the guy in the first vid was annoying to the point that I wish he was present so I could commit homicide.

Edit: Oh god, that was just the second minute, then his "banana phone" ring tone goes off, and I am thinking of killing his family too. This guy has a show? My god man.

Edit2: and those led's above his desk. My god he is so retro and cool, and his voice doesn't at all sound like nails on a chalk board.

I mean this vid btw:
Some annoying prick

Hahaha...How did I know it was Chris Pirillo before I clicked the link? :rolleyes:
He does have some interesting things on there from time to time though...