Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has made the company a true hit with all of the iPhone variations. Still, there is one thing that some of us 40-somethings and older often miss in using the phone even if we are iPhone users. No keyboard. That is about to change.

What you will see in January of 2014 is not a new iPhone. It is also not an Apple product, not yet at least. This is called the Typo Keyboard Case for the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s models. The price: $99 for pre-order.

The Typo is shown to be shipping in January 2014. Its website calls it “An iPhone Keyboard Case that attaches to your iPhone 5/5s. Finally keys you can type on!”

Entertainment personality Ryan Seacrest is listed as one of the founders and key backers and the technology blog AllThingsD shows it being released at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) has all but died as the world of smartphones moved into consumers. Most consumers have proven that they do not care about the keyboard, and BlackBerry’s app environment was never as evolved as the apps for iPhones and Android phones. Maybe BlackBerry’s new CEO will take note of this as a signal, or maybe not. BlackBerry has not officially died, not yet at least. Its future is far from certain.

Palm phones died (I still have one somewhere in a drawer). Now it is just about all Android and iPhones dominating, with Windows smartphones making some headway. Still, some of us love the new world of smartphones yet still miss the keyboard functionality.

Tim Cook, Larry and Sergey, and other smartphone executives might want to pay attention here. This Typo Keyboard Case is a move that will allow phone makers to go ahead and produce whatever phone they want without losing their “cool” factor over offering an old-fashioned keyboard. Now an outside keyboard maker can solve the issue of whether or not a phone user wants a keyboard or not, at close to no cost to the smartphone makers.

Technical Specifications for the Typo Keyboard Case are as follows:

• Supported device: iPhone 5 / 5s
• Dimensions: 6.2mm (W) x 14.1mm (T) x 1mm (D)
• Weight: 1.4 ounces
• Battery: 180 mAH
• Power Input: 5V USB charging
• Keyboard Light: White LED’s
• Warranty: 1 Year Operating
• Temperature: 40F – 110F
• Water Resistant: No
• Setup: Simple bluetooth pairing
• System: iOS 6+
• Wireless: Bluetooth 3.0
• In the Box: Typo Keyboard Micro-USB Charging Cable

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