Tips for Using a Bluetooth Keyboard with the iPhone

If you want to use your iPhone for heavy duty emailing or if you want to occasionally write a document while you're away from your computer, you'll need a Bluetooth keyboard. Since the 4.0 OS was introduced, the iPhone has been able to use its Bluetooth capabilities to recognize and interact with Bluetooth keyboards, and it's really a fairly simple feature to use.

Here are a few tips for using your Bluetooth keyboard with an iPhone version 4.0 or later.

Make sure to pick a good keyboard. The first thing that you'll need to do is to select a Bluetooth keyboard. Any keyboard that uses Bluetooth should work with your iPhone, so you don't need to worry about looking for an Apple logo or any nonsense like that. Try to find a keyboard that you enjoy using--always test before you buy. You don't want to end up with a keyboard whose keys are too small for your hands or too big to travel with comfortably.

Pairing your iPhone with the Bluetooth keyboard. The first thing that you'll need to do is pair your iPhone to the Bluetooth keyboard, and this is pretty easy. Go into your iPhone's settings menu. Select Bluetooth and make sure it's on. Search for your Bluetooth keyboard. Remember that your keyboard will have to be on, and you might have to press a "connect" button to make the keyboard send a signal that the iPhone will detect.

When your iPhone recognizes the Bluetooth keyboard, it will ask you to enter a numeric code into the keyboard and press enter. Do this and you'll be all set.

There are a few things that you'll notice right away about using a Bluetooth keyboard with an iPhone. The little text display won't pop up when you click on a text area, and that can throw you off a bit. You also can't use the keyboard's copy and paste commands (Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V, respectively). It can be a little annoying, but it's way better than using the keys on the iPhone touchscreen.

Remember that some buttons won't work. If you've got a big fancy-pants Bluetooth keyboard, you might have things like a track pad or keys for browsers, media players, etc. None of these will work with the iPhone. That's why you should try to find a very simple keyboard if you're only using your Bluetooth for your iPhone--otherwise, you're wasting money on superfluous extra features.

Do you have any questions or tips about using Bluetooth keyboards with the iPhone? Post below.