I just got my iMate in the mail today and I love it! Right now I'm typing with an Extended II and clicking with a Bus Mouse II, all coupled to a modern computer running Windows 7! Finally, I have a REAL keyboard with proper keys; my typing is so much better because of it. But I digress...
Visually speaking, the iMate appears to be little more than a single chip bridging USB to ADB, along with a series of small capacitors/voltage regulators. If that central chip isn't too proprietary, couldn't we manufacture our own iMate alternative? I ask because the iMate is no longer sold, and nearly always garners high rates on eBay (often well over $50 - mine was a deal at $35), and if that chip is reasonably available and reasonably open, i'm sure with a hobbyist board, and ports ripped from dead equipment facsimiles could be made.
Just a thought.
On a side note, is it me or does the iMate appear to have a battery on it's underside?
Visually speaking, the iMate appears to be little more than a single chip bridging USB to ADB, along with a series of small capacitors/voltage regulators. If that central chip isn't too proprietary, couldn't we manufacture our own iMate alternative? I ask because the iMate is no longer sold, and nearly always garners high rates on eBay (often well over $50 - mine was a deal at $35), and if that chip is reasonably available and reasonably open, i'm sure with a hobbyist board, and ports ripped from dead equipment facsimiles could be made.
Just a thought.
On a side note, is it me or does the iMate appear to have a battery on it's underside?