http://www.osnews.com/story/10220/Review_How_Smart_is_the_Smart_Keyboard_ Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:34:56 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 11:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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? Wed, 06 Apr 2005 11:28:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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). Wed, 06 Apr 2005 11:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? the money people waste astounds me sometimes. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? This one looks to be a re-brand of http://www.freedominput.com/Freedomkeyboard/index.htm, for $10 more. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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). Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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... Wed, 06 Apr 2005 15:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:09:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? > 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. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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? Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:47:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? >is it possible making it work with a Palm handheld?

No. Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? Thanks, Eugenia, you're awesome! Wed, 06 Apr 2005 17:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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... Thu, 07 Apr 2005 01:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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... Thu, 07 Apr 2005 01:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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? Thu, 07 Apr 2005 22:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? 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. :-) Fri, 08 Apr 2005 14:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments http://osnews.com/thread? http://osnews.com/thread? It might work with Palm Sat, 09 Apr 2005 00:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Anonymous) Comments