Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Have collapsing infrared keyboard, will travel

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 17:09:25 -0400

Have collapsing infrared keyboard, will travel
By David Berlind, Tech Update
April 10, 2003 6:58 PM PT

One of my PDA pet peeves is how the connector and adapter interfaces keep
changing. In my
recurring PDA nightmare, buying a new handheld has often rendered obsolete my
previous
investments in PDA accoutrements.

Here's my road warrior dream: to use my PDA instead of my notebook as a general
purpose
computing device when traveling. A major impediment to this goal has been the
keyboard. The
optimal PDA would allow me to easily create detailed e-mails and large
documents. Built-in
thumbboards and handwriting recognition technologies don't cut it for serious
wordsmithing. For
that, I'm willing to take along a compact, folding keyboard that serves as an
alternative,
high-speed input tool.

During the past year, I've tried a variety of handheld computing devices and
collapsible
keyboards. These keyboards, most of which are members of Targus' Stowaway brand,
are
device-specific. I have one for an older iPaq that doesn't work with the newer
iPaqs. I have a
Targus Stowaway keyboard for an old HP Jornada, another for a Nextel i95cl
phone, and a
Flexis FX100 roll-up membrane keyboard (see image) that works with my
BlackBerry. That last
combination proved unworkable because the BlackBerry is ill-suited to creating
anything other
than e-mail documents and light memos. Also, my typing speed and accuracy
dropped significantly
with the FX100 keyboard's tiny keys.

I was growing weary of collecting new keyboards. For some PDAs, external
keyboards weren't
even available.

Because I was very happy with the Stowaway keyboards, I asked Targus if they had
anything to
go with the Handspring Treo 300 that I'm currently testing. Targus presented me
with their
prototype for a new $79 collapsible keyboard that works not only with the Treo,
but with any
Palm- or PocketPC-based device with an infrared port. The keyboard uses infrared
to
communicate with the handheld, thus bypassing any physical interface problems.

Unlike its predecessors, which were predominantly two-layer clamshells, the
Targus Universal IR
Keyboard has three layers (see image). One layer is the PDA mounting and
infrared interface
layer; the other layers each make up one half of the keyboard. The PDA mounting
layer has a
spring-loaded grip for holding the PDA; an infrared sensor mounted on an arm
that swivels 210
degrees around the PDA's periphery to accommodate just about any positioning of
the PDA's IR
port; and an easel-like angled surface on which to rest the PDA (see image).

When collapsed, the Universal IR Keyboard's dimensions are 5.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches,
making it
bigger than most PDAs. Even so, it fits my bill for portability.

Using the keyboard with either a Palm- or PocketPC-based PDA requires the
loading and
activation of the necessary drivers into the PDA. In my tests with the Treo,
driver installation was
uneventful (a good thing). Next, I mounted the Treo 300 onto the keyboard and
started typing.
Compared to the functionality of a full-sized keyboard, I would rate the
Universal IR Keyboard as
passable, but not nearly as good as Targus’ previous collapsible keyboards.

My biggest complaint is the size of the right side shift key, which is smaller
than the alphanumeric
keys. As a touch typist, I'm used to a much larger shift key. With this one,
your aim has to be near
perfect. The small backspace key is another key that will take some getting used
to if I'm going to
type effectively with this keyboard.

The keyboard's right edge does include hot keys to support fast access to
commonly used Palm
and PocketPC applications. I would have preferred Targus to use the limited real
estate for bigger
shift and backspace keys instead of those hot keys. (I would have been happy to
use my stylus to
occasionally change applications.)

Another design idiosyncrasy is the way the space bar is broken into two smaller
space bars, with a
decent gap placed precisely in the spot where my thumb is accustomed to landing.

If you're looking for a keyboard that can survive the unforgiving PDA upgrade
cycle, and if you
can put up with some oddly sized keys, this new offering from Targus could do
the trick.

In the coming weeks, I'll be testing the keyboard with a variety of PDAs.

http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2913305,00.html

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