- Foldable for easy transport in your pocket, bag or purse!
- Infrared technology -- no need to buy any other accessories, works with the built-in Infrared port on your Palm PDA!
- Compatible with the following Palm Handhelds -
- Palm Tungsten Series Handhelds
- Palm Zire Series Handhelds
I've had one of these for a few days now, and it seems to work very nicely. The lack of dedicated number keys is indeed a minor annoyance as is the position of the lower hinge (at the spacebar) but everything else has worked quite well with my Tungsten T3.
There are several things to be aware of when you get one of these:
* The driver software in the package is almost certainly out of date, so you should download the newer version from the Palm website. Be sure you get the drivers for the correct keyboard since there are two different wireless ones.
* On a T3 you'll need to set landscape mode to left-handed orientation because of the position of the IR transmitter.
* While it seems tight, the IR wand is long enough to work with an extended T3 in landscape mode you'll have it at what seems an odd angle, but it works. If you use the flipover cover that comes with the T3, you'll need to have the T3 sitting a bit further out and further to the right (the base of the T3 won't be down in the holder area), but it still seems stable you don't have to remove the cover in order to use the keyboard.
* On-screen buttons that don't match the preprogrammed names reachable with the blue Fn key can be selected using Ctrl-Cmd-Letter where Letter is the first letter of the button (or any unique letter in its name).
* The default in the Keyboard driver is to only look for a keyboard signal for a short time after the Palm is powered on generally 10-30 seconds depending on how you set it. After that it will stop looking in order to save power. That means if you turn on your Palm and use it a bit before dropping it onto the keyboard then it probably won't still be looking. If it finds a keyboard, it'll stay on just fine. Most people can probably set this down to the lowest setting and never notice it.
* The up-arrow key is also the "?" key, so if you need to go up while selecting you have to use the blue Fn key (since Shift-Up will just get you a "?"). This'll be clearer when you look at the keyboard. Otherwise selecting text works as you'd expect (Ctrl-Shift-arrow to select words, etc.)
* There's a quick reference/help area in the Keyboard driver that you install on your Palm. It has some useful tips and is always with you (unlike the PDF manual).
* The keyboard does use power on the Palm since the IR port has to be on, so your battery life will be lower while you're using it lower still if you're using both the IR keyboard and a BlueTooth cellphone as a modem. It's still good for a day or two depending on how much you use it (and the shorter battery life is something T3 owners should already be aware of).
* The Tab key can be configured to either switch fields or insert a TAB character by default, with the other behavior available by using Fn-Tab.
UPDATE: After using it for a while, all of the above still stands but I have two additional notes:
* When the Palm is looking for a keyboard, it's looking for a keypress that's what sends a character and makes the Palm realize there's a keyboard present and just being in the keyboard cradle isn't enough. If you miss that window of time you can force it to look again by either powering off and back on or by switching to the Keyboard application and telling it to look again.
* I use a shopping list program and I've found that in some grocery stores the lighting used in refrigerated/frozen foods sections can make the Palm keyboard driver think that a keyboard is present and sending characters (frozen 'p's?). If you run into this, your best alternative is to cover the IR port with your finger.
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The keyboard is a little thinner than my Stowaway keyboard, but bigger in the other two dimensions. Unlike the Stowaway's clever foldout design, this one just folds out in half. Pop the latch (which also serves to support the backrest for your Palm) and fold out the right half of the keyboard. In fact it looks remarkably similar to ThinkOutside's wireless keyboard.You are greeted with a 3 row keyboard layout (with a split spacebar and other function buttons on a 4th row). A blue Fn key gives you access to the numbers and PDA related functions, while a green Fn key gives you access to symbols.
I like the wireless part. The keyboard's IR port swivels into position above my T3. No connector to snap on to, which is good. I've already worn out one button board on my Visor because of the constant snapping into and out of the keyboard.
I suspect anybody who touch types more than 20 wpm probably won't be too enamoured with this keyboard. The hinge just happens to sit where I normally rest my thumb to hit the space bar which keeps me from hitting the space bar properly. I have to hold my thumb in an awkward position to hit the space bar. Maybe I'll just have to train myself to put my thumb a little farther out to clear the hinge.
Having the numbers and symbols compressed into the top row of letters is also inconvenient if you're typing a lot of numbers mixed in with text. Really slows typing down having to reach for those extra modifier keys. It also means the right hand number keys are all in the wrong position (compare with a full-sized keyboard to see just how out of position they are). If you're just doing straight text, it much less of a problem.
Key spacing is all right, somewhat narrower than the original Stowaway keyboard design. 19mm vs 18mm may not sound like much, but it sure feels like a lot.
I think whoever came up with the 3 row keyboard design was never much of a touch typist who entered a lot of numbers. I suppose eventually I'll get used to it, but man, it sure makes typing slow.
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This keyboard is one of the best designed pieces of hardware I've ever seen. You can see the attention they gave to details, from the lock that becomes the pda support, to the rubber strips that won't let the keyboard and the pda slip. You'll never write as fast as in your desktop, but It's a nice package for the portability you get.If the hardware is great, I can't say the same about the keyboard driver. If you are writing in a language with a lot of accented letters (portuguese, french, spanish...) the software makes it almost useless for any serious writing. It's so clumsy that to put a simple tilde (~) in a letter you have to push 4 keys at the same time! Great to slow you to death and to give you some RSI. Why you can't just press the accent, and then the letter (as you do in all international keyboards) is beyond my understanding. You'll be able to use it just for some notetaking without accents.
I've bought the wireless version because I have a Clié palmtop. Palm licenses this keyboard from Thinkoutside, the makers of the Stowaway keybards, and their site says that the wireless model is compatible with almost all palm models. Since I plan to go back to a palm sometime soon, I've bought this for compatibility. After reading the README file, everything worked fine. Unfortunately the price for the infrared connection is a more intensive use of the pda battery.
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I had successfully used a Palm Keyboard with the Palm 105. After purchasing the Tungsten E (which I love) two months ago, it was time for the keyboard. Prices have dropped considerably.However, installation was fraught and I was ultimately forced to do a hard reset in order to complete the keyboard installation. Of course, I then had to reinstall any third party applications. The calculator managed to disappear en route too.
Design is a little clunky. The old keyboard opened with the touch of a button. One has to wrestle with latch on the new keyboard and ladies, you might break a few nails as you do so. The holder that is supposed to keep the handheld in place is all but useless. An upcoming flight will be an interesting test.
Notwithstanding these criticisms, I was very impressed by Palm's e-mail support which was active on Xmas Eve and during the day and am glad to have the keyboard working.
If you need the keyboard, you can't go wrong at this price.
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Bought this last week. After loading the keyboard driver I was able to place my Palm T3 on the keyboard holder and begin typing.I have used other keyboards for the Palm and by the time I got the PDA docked properly ont he connector I usually forgot what I was going to type...
This works exactly as designed. The only knock on it that I've read is that you must turn your T3 to left handed mode if you want to type in landscape format.
This is a very useful device.
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