A universal wireless keyboard utilizes the infra red port
Less then 1 inch in thickness
Easy to set up, easy navigation, and be able to type with ease with the same standard key layout
Compatible with most PDA
Editorial Review:
Product Description: The latest keyboard that you will ever have to buy for your handheld! iConcepts is revolutionizing the way you input data into your handheld with the new Universal Wireless Keyboard. It utilizes the infrared port to connect with your handheld, eliminating all those messy cords and connectors, and is universally compatible with most Palm O/S and Pocket PC handhelds.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Fine Tune The Keyboard..........Works Great After.....
I was looking for a keyboard to go with the Palm TX I recently purchased and had considered several different units. What steered me to the iConcepts was the price, as it was marked for quick sale. As the keyboard is compatible with Palm Tungsten devices, I was pretty sure it would work with my TX. It does. Wonderfully, after some tweaks.
At first, the keyboard would work intermittantly, which was a frustrating experience. After slightly bending ( up, the bottom contacts; in, the side contacts) the button battery contacts and sandwiching a spacer between the positive terminal and the battery cover, the iConcepts keyboard has communicated reliably with my TX. This includes both portrait and landscape modes and upside down (IR arm @ 8:00PM position).
I have lightly lubricated the keyboard slide mechanism and rotating IR arm with silicone dry spray. All pieces slide smoothly and this also takes some rotational pressure off of the PDA stand while rotating the IR arm to the correct position for the PDAs IR eye.
Keys are slightly small for my large fingers, the three piece space key(s) takes a bit to get accustomed to. The placement of the right hand "Shift" key is to the right of the "Up Arrow, Page Up, Scroll" key and I find myself moving up a line rather than capitalizing.
The "Hot Buttons" on top and use of the function key in conjunction with "dual action" keys, allow navigation around the PDA screen without the use of the stylus. The stylus can be stowed in a hole located in the upper right hand corner of the case when needed.
The addition, the included Palm OS 3.0 ~ 4.0 driver allows the use of the keyboard with my Handspring Visor.
Overall, I am quite happy with the iConcepts keyboard after fine tuning.
Rating: - Hopeless IR Keyboard
What a piece of crap. This item is priced ~50% less than competitors - now I know why. The item simply would not communicate with my iPaq 4355. I tried every angle possible to get the keyboard to communicate with the PDA. Don't waste your money on this item.
Rating: - Setup in a minute...if you know this trick
I overall like it. I took some time to figure out a way to set it up quickly. Here is the trick. Put your PDA on the stand, and set the mirror right(don't worry about being too accurate on the angle, it's ok). Open an edit software on your PDA. Use one hand to hold the keyboard up very close to the mirror. Use another hand to type any key, you should lock the signal right away. Keep typing while slowly putting the keyboard down. If you lost signal, move keyboard up to relock the signal. I bet you'll get it in 3 tries. I had worried about the button battery also, but I found out it's only about 2 bucks, search it on yahoo or bizrate.com. With this trick, and think about the price, I really can complain too much...
Rating: - Definite Room for Improvement
This keyboard, when folded and in its case, is slightly smaller a woman's hand (aka my hand). Still, alot of its bulk does not seem necessary. There is a thick silver plastic attatched shell around the actual keyboard that makes it harder to depress the space key and adds to the size greatly. The keyboard itself, however, is well made and not unattractive. Unfortunately, it uses button batteries instead of the AAA employed by the Micro Innovations wireless keyboard model.
The stand that comes with the keyboard for your PDA looks like something from a dollar store. It is at once the flimsiest, cheapest, most pathetic piece of 'equipment' I have ever seen. The stand folds up, in a complicated puzzle-like way, into a single thick flat black box the size of two credit cards. Figuring out how to set it up the first time was an exercise in patience...I was mainly worried about snapping the thin joints attatched to the piece of reflective plastic that serves as a mirror.
The wirelessness of this device is accomplished through communication through IRA transmission. Unfortunately, it takes FOREVER to find the right location for the keyboard so that you can type. I spent ten whole minutes the first time experimentally hitting keys and adjusting the mirror so that the IRA port on my PDA could 'communicate' with the one on the keyboard. It is not easy to set up, I wouldn't suggest this device if you needed to get it out in a hurry...like to take notes for class or something. The fastest way to connect is to type with the PDA upside down with its port pointing directly to the keyboard's port.
Another major problem with the keyboard is the fact that it does not snap into place. Unless it is on a solid surface, the two sides of the keyboard are apt to slide apart and bend in the middle, making it impossible to type with it on the go.
The keyboard comes with a badly made and rather large ugly synthetic leather case with a pocket for the keyboard and one for the stand.
- Fine Tune The Keyboard..........Works Great After.....
- Hopeless IR Keyboard
