iConcepts Universal Wireless IR Keyboard

Rating:
Summary: Setup in a minute...if you know this trick
Review: 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:
Summary: Definite Room for Improvement
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Hopeless IR Keyboard
Review: 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.