The people at SuntekStore were very kind to send us in a review unit of their latest special product, the Universal Bluetooth Keyboard (BK600) for PDAs & phones. It is dubbed the "Smart Keyboard" and it sells for $109. It is compatible with the most recent PalmOS/PocketPCs PDAs and a large number of Bluetooth phones. We tested it against the Dell Axim x50v. UPDATE: Pictures added.
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My idea of an ideal portable keyboard comes from Babylon 5 where they had mini-keyboards implanted in their wrists. Now that's something cool to have. More cool than tattoos.
I've been considering getting a bluetooth keyboard for my PDA (I have a Zodiac1) and the price on this one is a little lower than the others I've been looking at. I was wondering how this keyboard's cradle would handle a PDA that "defaults" to landscape mode. Also, since the zodiac is a little concave in the middle in landscape do you think it would have a problem with sliding around on the cradle if it would fit?
It would fit just fine. The "cradle" is actually a "sitting space", not a real cradle, and so anything fits fine, horizontally or vertically. My PocketPC does landscape and so I could test it in landscape mode in which did fit well. The Zodiac should stay put just fine too on it and work as well (as long there are drivers for it of course).
the money people waste astounds me sometimes.
How likely is it that future phones will be added in a timely manner? Its great that so many work out of the box, but I always cringe when buying something like this for fear that a phone upgrade might render things like this useless.
@Robocoastie: Just because you have no use for this, doesn't mean its a waste of money. Troll on.
So far, the manufacturing company is actively working on adding more phone support, so I guess, as long the keyboard still sells, they will keep working on its drivers.
BTW, I was a bit lazy and didn't get a high-res picture of the product (can't find my digicam's cable, need to use the CF reader). Let me know if you require one to get a better look of the product.
This one looks to be a re-brand of http://www.freedominput.com/Freedomkeyboard/index.htm, for $10 more.
Yes, it's the same keyboard, same drivers too. I even link freedominput.com from the article twice (this is where I got the new version of drivers). 
A truly customisable keyboard. It would have a standard key layout, but each key would have an embedded OLED display, allowing you to set any key setup you like (dvorak etc) with per user profiles. Sure, it would be heavy and power hungry, but a man can dream...
I always worry about security with bluetooth keyboards. I don't want someone else on the plane sniffing my keystrokes. Does this keyboard encrypt? Also, is it possible to reassign the "Home", "Today", etc keys to other functions? Finally, I would love to see a picture of the Dell X50 sitting on top of the folded keyboard for a size comparison. 
> Does this keyboard encrypt?
I don't know. Depends what the driver does, I don't have the source code.
>Also, is it possible to reassign the "Home", "Today", etc keys to other functions?
You can re-assign the Function keys (10 keys), not the Home/Sync. I think that's good enough though.
> I would love to see a picture of the Dell X50 sitting on top of the folded keyboard for a size comparison
Your wish my command. I updated the article with pictures. Have a look.
if i take an ordinary keyboard from an ordinary pc...
is it possible making it work with a Palm handheld?
i am thinking about reciclyng some old keyboards laying in my house...
no bluetooth just cable,
maybe some work with circuits and drivers?
why should i spend 100 $ for a new keyboard when i have lots for free?
>is it possible making it work with a Palm handheld?
No.
nice. maybe ill grab one if i can find it localy 
still, im kinda interested in the device over on frogpad.com. as you can then type on the go. all im missing then is a nice HMD solution and i think i spotted one over on engadget.
im a bit surprised that you needed a driver for the keyboard tho. still, i guess its mostly there to support those special function keys. without it i would think that it would behave just like any other keyboard. if not then using it with bluetooth devices that either dont have a driver or dont support the installation of a driver is off limits 
and that kinda undermines the idea of bluetooth...
sorry that is making a second post so soon but i see that i missed the part about it not having a hid profile, well that just eliminated most phones that dont allow a driver install i guess...
allso, i find eugenias comment about sharp phones being popular in europe. maybe its the phone market here in norway thats of compared to whats available on the rest of the continent but i cant say i have seen any sharp phone on market here...
1. brando has it for $99, plus $3 shipping. a better deal, and even though they're in hong kong it'll prolly get to you quicker.
2. i use one, works great with my axim x50v. i get some weird bugs though, when i have to restart bluetooth to reestablish the connection. not a huge deal, reproducable and avoidable problems.
3. i am building a "little" handheld PC like setup with this keyboard, my X50V and a nice metal case i got from gamestop intended for holding your Nintendo DS or PSP. I had been looking for something like this for ages, but didn't want to go ahead until I found something just right, especially when these enclosures and cases I'd found at PDA accesory stores as well as electronic suppliers were expensive- from $40 all the way up to $120 for what I wanted. And then pow, it hit me... Or rather, my girlfriend kind of shook me and pointed out the exact case I needed at gamestop, for a whopping $8! tore some stuff out, added some velcro and now I've something I can't quite pocket (way too thick!) but has my PDA, keyboard, memory cards, extra battery, sync->power dongle (no a/c adapter though) all in the one case. the best part is that I can pop it open and use it like a mini-laptop. no need for a sturdy table, works great sitting on my lap- unlike the kb by itself. the only downside is that the case wasn't thick enough to let my axim have the extended battery (only $49 from aximcases.com!) and fit inside with the case closed. but not a big deal.
if anyone is interested, please reply at my email, rev aaron at hotmail dizzot com... Maybe OS News would be interested in publishing my docs on making it?
And I just got a ClickModem for my m105 on eBay for US$1.50 (okay, US$8 with S&H, but still).
I guess the secret it to wait until PDA hardware is "obsolete" before buying it. :-)
