Can a phone pretend to be a Bluetooth keyboard?

android ios bluetooth
StilesCrisis picture StilesCrisis · Dec 13, 2011 · Viewed 29.9k times · Source

It seems like it would be super useful if an app existed for iPhone/Android that emulated a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse. e.g., you turn on the app, and suddenly you can type on your iPhone keyboard and your PC/PS3/etc. pairs with it as if it were a Bluetooth keyboard and receives the typed letters.

This idea seems so intuitive to me that I am thinking the only reason it doesn't exist is that it is not possible, but I don't understand why it wouldn't be possible.

Is there a limitation of Bluetooth which prevents a device from emulating a different type of device? Or, perhaps, a limitation in the APIs exposed by iOS or Android which would inhibit this?

EDIT: it looks like the iPhone Bluetooth APIs are fairly limited as you can only communicate with Apple-licensed accessories: Is it possible to develop an iOS app with bluetooth capabilities? This would presumably rule out anything along the lines of emulation of another type of device. The question is still open for Android though.

Answer

Leandro Del Sole picture Leandro Del Sole · Oct 10, 2012

I'm surprised nobody has answered pointing out BlueputDroid as an Android solution for that. At the link you can find further information about device compatibilities.

I know this thread is rather old but I think it's worth to let it documented so others would end up here as me and will find an answer, at least for the Android half of the question.

EDIT: if you have problems to get your device connected to your ps3 like I did, try this out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19881739#post19881739

Related questions

Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth?

I've been reading up on how to transfer data between iOS devices over Bluetooth using GameKit. I'm not writing a game, per se, but do have a need to transfer a small amount of binary data between two devices. Between …

Read More
File transfer between android and iPhone via bluetooth?

I was thinking of developing an iPhone and android application so that they can share data between each other via bluetooth. Is it possible? If yes how? Thanks for your help

Read More
Unity3D for iOS and Android: Multiplayer (Bluetooth Connection)

i'm looking for a way to connect two devices using Bluetooth in Unity iOS and Android Basic for Multiplayer-Gaming. I found: AllJoyn by Qualcomm - Bluetooth works apparently only with Root-Android Devices and currently not with iOS. iOS GameKit Local …

Read More