Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but not as sturdy as I'd like
Review: I owned my Jornada 548 for about a month before I broke down and bought a keyboard. After laying out about $500 for the Jornada, another $100 for a peripheral seemed pretty steep ... until I started trying to use the handwriting tools (not bad if you have consistent handwriting habits) and the on-screen keyboard. Neither seemed to work really well for me, so I broke down and bought a Targus keyboard. It really has worked well for me, but it's not as good as it could be.The concept is great - the keyboard folds up to the size of the 548 when it's not in use, but unfolds to the size of a laptop keyboard when you're ready to use it. The keyboard has a connector that sits at about a 45-degree angle and plugs into the Jornada, plus a little metal bar and plastic piece that supports the Jornada when it's plugged in. There is also a place to plug in a power supply so that you can keep your Jornada plugged in, and two small wells in the corners of the keyboard to hold a stylus. The keyboard itself works well, with function keys for some common commands across applications (OK, Esc, power off) and other keys that can be programmed to start up specific applications. In addition, certain characters like the forward and backward slashes (/ and \) cannot be written in the single-character recognizer because the stylus strokes are used for other purposes, so the keyboard helps take care of that. Because the keyboard is laid out like a laptop keyboard, you don't need to relearn most of your typing, as long as you remember that you can't use function keys like you do on your laptop. One thing it won't do, however, is select menu items with shortcuts, as you can do in Windows proper, but this is a Windows CE issue, not a keyboard issue. Another slight drawback is that the Jornada interprets your use of the keyboard as using the on-screen keyboard, so it displays the on-screen keyboard for you, which then takes up the lower third of your screen. I've also had a couple of issues with the keyboard - one is that the support for the Jornada is not great, so you have to use two hands to turn it on with the power button, and the other is that the keyboard occasionally freezes up. I've been able to correct it either by activating the special keyboard application, disabling the keyboard, and re-enabling it, or by using the on-screen keyboard to type a letter. Neither is a real show-stopper, but they certainly are annoyances. Overall, the keyboard is a great time-saver, and it will certainly draw attention, especially when you fold it up and store it. The size of the keyboard and PC combined may be a drawback for some, and the way in which it works could be a little better. I'd still recommend it if you intend to do a lot of typing on your Jornada.
Rating: 
Summary: Great addition to your Pocket PC
Review: This keyboard is great for taking notes on your Pocket PC. The layout is full sized, which is nice if you have big hands. The Key travel is similar to laptop keyboards, so it is not too unnatural. The unit itself is a mavel of engineering, folding up to a nice package only a little larger than the Pocket PC itself. The only complaint is it doesn't have enough support to sit on you lap directly. I've found if you have a legal pad or portfolio, it makes a nice platform for use on your lap. I would recommend downloading the latest drivers, especially if you are running a Pocket PC 2002 device, since the drivers on the included CD do not seem to work that well on the new OS. All-in-all, this item is well worth the purchase price if you find youself wanting to do more data entry on your Pocket PC, but can't seem to write fast enough.
Rating:
Summary: Nice design; but software a bit anti-social
Review: First of all, I'm not sorry I bought it. For times when I have to do some serious data entry, it's wonderful! The keyboard is as big as a regular keyboard, although the distance the buttons travel is a bit low. But having said that, I am a bit frustrated with the software that came with it. I use HackMaster, and AppHack, and (1) the application buttons do not work when AppHack is loaded, and (2) I always (regardless of HackMaster/AppHack) have to go into the Keyboard panel and turn the keyboard off, then on again, to get it to work. Once it's working, it works great, but then I have to backtrack if I want to use AppHack again.
Rating:
Summary: Practical as well as Stylish
Review: I have an old Handspring Visor - the 2MB RAM variety. Buying this keyboard ...has breathed new life into this older hand held. I'm using it to write down short story and novel ideas as well as rough drafts - not exactly light weight typing tasks. The keyboard performs flawlessly and has a great tactile feel. Once I had to do a hard reset of the Visor while holding down the delete key to remove a line of text, but I attribute that to my setting the keyboard repeat rate too high. What's great is even without the LapTopHack software, there are a lot of operations you can perform without using the stylus. You can launch palm applications, execute OK, New and Cancel commands among others with the provided function keys. Certain applications are designed to take better advantage of these functions, so if you by one, look for software that's designed to work with this keyboard. WordSmith, for example, is fantastic. I'm pretty utilitarian when it comes to gadgets. Style is at the absolute bottom of my priority list. Still, I have to say this is one very slick, very stylish piece of hardware. I can't say enough good things about this keyboard. It's taken my Visor from being buried under a pile of paper under my desk to significant daily use. Thanks Targus and Think Outside!
Rating:
Summary: Good gizmo
Review: I purchased this keyboard through Amazon, and like it. Works like a laptop keyboard. However, a bit tricky to clip on and take off the Visor. I'm always afraid I'll break something. The keyboard itself works great, and the way it folds up is very clever.
Rating:
Summary: Great for lectures
Review: Replaces notebook in class - Great for note taking (I can type faster than I can write with a pen).
Rating:
Summary: instant laptop
Review: This keyboard turns a PDA into a poor man's laptop. If most of what you need it for is document driven, it's fantastic. I can type almost as fast as on my desktop, and with Wordsmith (an inexpensive but pretty powerful word processing program), I can create full length documents to review. Niceties such as spell checking and grammar (etc) can be done after syncing with a PC. I've been using this as a substitute for a pad at some meetings. A couple of caveats. I've seen some reviews that say that the Stowaway will work on your lap. I wouldn't advise it. The parts feel rather delicate--particularly the connection point. Use a table or, if you think you'll be doing lots of lap typing, go with GOTYPE. If space is a concern and you normally have meetings at tables, then this should be fine. (Moreover, there's a "gee whiz" factor to consider. The thing is just cool). Second, because of the small screen, one can write long documents, but it becomes tedious to read them. Bookmarking functions ameliorate this problem, but don't cure it. Still, it's obvious that a lot of thought went into the design of this product, and it pays off. The keys have good tactile response, and the function and shortcut keys were well thought out. If you have the cash and the inclination, definitely worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: great product
Review: I'm really pleased with this product. I would buy more if I had more money. If you want a great keyboard at and expensive (but well worth it) price, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Productivity booster
Review: The Targus keyboard immediately boosted my productivity using my Handspring Visor. I often had been in meetings where I would jot down brief notes on the Visor using Graffiti. Now because I can type in notes I capture much more information. I remember what was said in the meetings better. Of course, it's not always convenient to pull out the keyboard and begin typing, so I still use Graffiti at times. An added benefit is that Targus is such a quality input device. It feels like a full size keyboard even with shortcut keys, and it is quiet. No noisy clicking going on during meetings.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding product.
Review: If you own a visor, then you need to own a Targus Stowaway keyboard. Your productivity level will triple along with your ability to type. It works great with PalmOS and various third party applications. Use it to take notes in class, telnet, send email, you name it. Then when you are finished, fold it up and its roughly the size of your visor!
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