Nemmeran's Full Review: TARGUS UNIVERSAL PDA/KEYBOARD CASE - BLACK
I recently received the Palm V series portable keyboard as a Christmas gift. I was eager to pop my Palm Vx in and get typing as soon as the wrapping came off. After installing the driver from CD onto my palm, I slid it into the small cradle and began typing.
The keyboard is somewhat durable. There are four sections to the keyboard each being about 2 1/2 wide. The two center pieces just fold in the middle, while the outside pieces must be slid inwards when the keyboard is unfolded. The keyboard has most of the regular keys of a common keyboard, including Alt, Ctrl, Shift[2], CapsLock, Delete, and Tab. The board also contains many palm-specific keys including Cmd, Done, Date, Phone, ToDo, and Memo. There is a function key which makes many of the keys dual purpose. Some of these secondary key functions include scrolling, New, Cancel, Ok, and Delete.
The keys are quiet, and provide a decent amount of resistance to give a somewhat solid feel. The keys are about on par with most laptop keyboards.
I found that the keyboard was somewhat less responsive than a normal keyboard. Often, punctuation and capital letters take a moment to appear upon the screen. This is, however, understandable, since the keyboard actually has to send two commands. I can usually type comfortably with no trouble.
The keyboard draws all of its power from the palm itself via the connector. The keyboard requires no batteries or cords of its own. I have noticed almost no increased power drain while using the keyboard. I had thought it would severely cut back on battery life, but I've found it to be a non-issue.
The wow factor is quite present in this product. Often, while using it in public, I get many people 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing. I definitely love showing my gadgets off.
One of the major fallbacks is that must have a flat surface, such as a desk, in order to use it. If I try to use my lap, there is nothing holding up the small cradle. You must remove any case that you may have on your palm before being able to place it in the cradle. This can be a major drawback especially if you use the Palm hard case. Also, the lettering on the front of the keyboard's outer shell has already begun to rub off in the first two weeks of my ownership. I predict that the lettering will be either ugly or nonexistant before too long. Its really no big deal, as I plan on putting a stylish looking "Don't Panic" sticker on both the keyboard and the Palm case. (The Don't Panic thing is a reference to the Douglas Adams book series 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy')
The Palm V series keyboard is a nice piece of technology, and, now that I have one, I will not go anywhere without it. I would only suggest it to people who would like to write on the run, because the $100 pricetag is quite restrictive for those who do not absolutely need it.
By the way, this review was written on my Palm Vx using the keyboard whilst sitting in class... Finally something to do with all of this wasted time!!
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