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.The box includes a driver/manual CD, a nice case for the folded keyboard, two AAA batteries, and a “Quick Install” guide for those lazy enough to not want to read PDFs. The folded keyboard which is already bigger than my PDA when closed, it opens by sliding its button on the side. There is a “Slide shaft” which slides the left-side keyboard all the way to the right and making the keyboard look like “one piece”. The battery compartment can hold two AAA batteries and after you place them in you can turn on the keyboard by turning the power button upward (found on the left bottom side of keyboard). On the top right side t here is a “cradle” slided in. You must use your nail to slide it out of its compartment and lock it vertically to the keyboard’s body. Then, you just place your mobile device on in.
Before I install drivers on my devices, I always hunt down for their latest versions. Indeed, the CD came with v1.34, while here I found version 1.54 which apparently fixes a few important bugs — at least according to a forum discussion. Indeed, 1.54 worked flawlessly for me. I installed the drivers, soft-resetted my PDA, and the “BTKeybd” executable was ready to use from my PDA’s “Today” menu. Clicking it, it loads a three-tab dialog where it includes some options: activate the keyboard to work with the PDA, auto-reconnect on sudden disconnection, repeat rate settings, repeat delay settings, and you can also set up to 10 special shortcuts for the Fxx keys to load the apps you want quickly. The PDF says that you first need to pair with the keyboard before you can use it (pairing code: 0000), but I was able to use it without pairing at all (it seems that the “activation” checkbox from the dialog auto-pairs with the keyboard).
The keyboard has 63 keys and two more alternative levels by using the ALT+a-key and the Fn+a-key. It has support for the Yen, English pounds and the Euro and other symbols, along with extra support for French and German. It also has special keys assigned to special functions, like ActiveSync or “Home”. I am very satisfied with how the keyboard feels. The keys are pretty small and often I hit the wrong key, but overall, for the kind of portable keyboard it is, it does a great job. I was able to type to my PDA from up to 6 meters away, so connection performance is good too. The device has a standby time of 168 hrs (turned on, connected and ready for use at any time) and an operating time of 90 hrs continuously, which is pretty good too.
The keyboard supports many phones, but I didn’t see in the list any support for Sharp phones, which are pretty popular in Europe. However, what really strikes me as odd is the fact that the device does not a have an HID profile, and so it can’t be used with any desktop OS. It would require a special driver, and there is none. I tried it to use it on my Mac, and it indeed did not work.
The other little problem I encountered was that trying to remove/replace the cradle in its slot it’s an exercize in patience because a piece of it keeps popping up and so it doesn’t let the cradle move freely in or out of the slot. Also, my PDA is ~170 grams and the keyboard could not keep all its weight in a steady way. The PDA was slipping away and the keyboard was ready to flip because of the weight (phones usually weigh less though). If you don’t place the PDA on the keyboard’s cradle though, the keyboard is steady and it doesn’t slip away. In fact, without a PDA/phone on its cradle, it’s more steady on my desk than my Dell desktop keyboard.
Overall, this is a great little wireless keyboard for your mobile device. Highly recommended if you need a mobile keyboard that is not limited by infrared’s eye-to-eye need, or the cumbersome and power sucking directly-connected keyboards. Bluetooth rocks. You can buy the keyboard at SuntekStore for $109 US, however I must point out that the actual retail suggested price in the manufacturer’s web site says it should be $99 US.
Overall: 8/10
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.
Thanks, Eugenia, you’re awesome!
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. 🙂
It might work with Palm