A new rumor from Taiwanese Apple enthusiast blog Apple.pro suggests that Apple is currently testing three different prototypes of what will eventually become the iPhone 5. One such prototype, the report claims, features a slide-out physical keyboard similar to the one seem above (which is an iPhone 4 keyboard accessory by BoxWave called the Keyboard Buddy). A physical keyboard on an iPhone would certainly come as a surprise considering the company’s prior stance against hardware keypads, though Apple ha...

Yeah, we know that the iPhone’s software keyboard is a thing of beauty, and that the aesthetic argument for a clean, unblemished touchreen interface is a good one. That said, there are days when you just need a little physical keyboard goodness to make it through the 300th email response you have to bang out. A clever iPhone hacker seems to agree, having hacked his jailbroken iPhone to support a physical keyboard. Sure, the interface is a bit… clunky, and the actual connection between the keyboard...