Lately, many tablets for sale such as the ASUS EEE Tranformer are made up of two components: the touchscreen and the keyboard that allows you to turn the tablet into a laptop. Although on Android you can change the text input mode, i.e. the touchscreen keyboard and even if in Android Jelly Bean the keyboard is much improved, for certain things, it is more convenient to use the classic computer keyboard. It is therefore important to note that an ordinary USB keyboard can be connected to an Android mobile phone or tablet and that, alternatively, there is an application to write to the mobile phone or tablet from the PC keyboard using the wireless network connection.
READ ALSO: Transform and use the tablet as a portable PC (Android and iPad)
To connect the classic keyboard to a Samsung Galaxy, a Huawei or any other Android tablet or mobile phone, you need to buy a special USB cable called USB OTG ( On-the-Go ). It is a cable with a small (micro-USB) input that goes on the phone into the battery cable entry and with a USB female connector on the other side where the USB socket of the keyboard is inserted.
With this USB-OTG cable it is possible it should be possible to connect an external hard disk and, of course, also a USB keyboard.
You don't need to unlock your mobile phone or tablet with Android root permissions to connect a keyboard to it.
This USB OTG cable is not easy to find in stores around the house, but you can order and buy online on Amazon for no more than 5 Euros.
If the mobile phone allows it (for example with the Galaxy SII it works while with other older mobile phones it doesn't), you should be able to connect the keyboard to the tablet or mobile phone and write without any problem and without making configurations.
If you don't have a USB OTG cable, you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard or, if you want to write on your mobile phone or tablet from the computer keyboard, it can be easier to use the free Telepad application.
This application is truly excellent and simple. After installation, open it on Android to read the configuration instructions.
Wifi Keyboard requires that your computer and Android phone or tablet are connected to the same Wifi network .
The instructions on the screen first indicate the internet address that must be written on the PC browser and which will be of the type 192.168.1.121:7777 .
The web page shows a writing field and the main keys to move the cursor. Then you have to go to the settings of Android -> Language and keyboard and enable Wifi Keyboard by placing a cross on the option. To write, just open any application such as Whatsapp, SMS, Gmail or another, change the insertion method by selecting Wifi Keyboard and then write from the computer by pointing the mouse on the space of the browser's web page. To change the text input method on Android you have to touch for a few seconds on the writing field in order to bring up the choice menu.
An alternative app to write with the keyboard, remotely, in Wifi or connected via USB, on the Samsung Galaxy or on another Android mobile phone, tablet or Mini PC is Unified Remote
An important thing when going to use an external keyboard with an Android tablet or mobile phone, whether USB or PC, is to hide the touchscreen keyboard on the screen of the mobile phone or tablet in order to have more visual space (especially on the small screen of A mobile phone).
To hide the virtual keyboard on the Android touchscreen you need to use another application which can be Null Keyboard .
To activate the null keyboard, open Android Settings and go to Language and keyboard .
When connecting an external keyboard, set Keyboard Null and make the touchscreen disappear from the screen.
Alternatively you can use the AntsoftKeyboard application that allows you to configure the automatic disappearance of the touchscreen keyboard when you connect an external keyboard .
