Stylus-free typing without requiring a tabletop
Written: Dec 07 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy setup, nice looks, screen protector built-in, major improvement for inputting. No table surface required.
Cons: Not usable with other expansion packs, no CF slot, occasional glitches in operation.
The Bottom Line: Nice for office/home use (or if you can afford to haul extra expansion packs) Possibly consider the MicroKeyboard if you wish to use this with other expansion packs in place.
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| sidraw1's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Compaq (312391-001) Keyboard |
After several months of waiting (all distributors were out of stock), I finally got my Slim Keyboard and started using it.
It has some very nice qualities, as well as some drawbacks.
The cover slips over a 'naked' HP5xxx or 39xx, 38xx etc Pocket PC allowing the user to type with his thumbs on the keyboard at the base. By 'naked' I mean a Pocket PC without any other expansion packs in place. It does NOT work with the HP19xx, HP21xx, HP4xxx units, though I understand that similar products are in the works for those particular Pocket PCs.
The visual effect of the keyboard pack in place is pretty impressive and makes for a very sharp looking unit. HP/Compaq also built their patented screen protector into the unit. I very much like the screen protector and wish every expansion pack could come with it, alas, only those manufactured by Compaq (and now HP) can incorporate it.
I like this keyboard because it can be used anywhere, you don't need a flat surface to set up your portable stowaway keyboard.
Set up is a snap. Put the CD in your drive, connect your unit via Active Sync and install. Then slip your HP/iPAQ into the sleeve, activate the keyboard and start typing.
Features a full QWERTY set of buttons with Function Key accessible numbers and punctuation marks. Arrow keys are included as well as Del/Backspace, Tab, Esc, Ctrl, Shift and Space bar.
There are also four additional buttons corresponding to the standard four on the HP/iPAQ by the Jog Shuttle (Calendar, Contacts, Mail, and iTask) The Jog Shuttle is NOT included.
Also not included are Home or End keys, a drawback in my opinion. Also missing is a semi-colon (;) key, though colon, comma, period, etc are represented.
My iPAQ 3870 slides easily into the sleeve. My HP5555, however does not. I have found that you need to slide it in as far as it will go easily (without forcing) then place your hand behind the unit (on the HP, not the sleeve) and push the base upwards slightly and then it should slide into place. I think this is the same design issue that causes the HP5555 to not sit as flush in the charging cradle as I think it should.
The key tactile response is good, though I have found that when I'm typing real fast, letters occasionally don't register. On the HP5555 at least, there is an annoying tendency for the Start menu to occasionally drop down on you when you are typing. Pressing Fn and Esc removes it and you can go back to your typing.
On both the HP5555 and iPAQ3870 I have had the arrow keys go non-functioning on me from time to time. Deactivating and reactivating the keyboard fixes this, but it is annoying.
I would like to see a little bit more operating system controls build into it. The keyboard works just great once you get into an application and bring up a document or spreadsheet, however getting to that point strictly using the keyboard can be a challenge at times and I find that I have to haul out the stylus from time to time. Once I get into the application, though, I love it with the few exceptions I've mentioned above.
The big drawback I see is that you cannot use this with any other expansion packs. I would like to see something similar that would fit over the base and not look like a block of wood attached to the bottom of my HP. This would be a tricky thing to accomplish, probably, so at the very least, it would be nice if HP would make one of these units with either an additional battery or especially with a CF slot included; preferably both!
Because of this, you have to remove, for example, a CF expansion pack to put this one on so you have to haul an extra pack around which is less than ideal. And if the document you wish to work on is on your CF card.....
All in all I like the product, the increase in typing speed is incredible over a stylus. However, if you want to type into a unit with an existing expansion pack in place, you might consider the Micro Keyboard instead which supposedly slips on over almost any expansion pack.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 65
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Epinions.com ID:
sidraw1
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Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 1 member
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