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PalmOne Ultra Thin Keyboard for Palm m130, Tungsten, m515, and i705 series

PalmOne Ultra Thin Keyboard for Palm m130, Tungsten, m515, and i705 series

List Price: $99.99
Your Price: $89.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Cool!!
Review: It's great. i had no problem with this keyboard. easy install....if it works perfectly with docs-to-go and sheets-to-go...i'll be really happy..really portable..

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Does not work on older palms
Review: Okay, since I upgraded my m515 to a Zire 71, I found that the keyboard does work with me Zire; however, you must disable the keyboard to use the camera, and very often when I enable the keyboard drivers and attach the keyboard, the palm thinks it is sync'ing with the computer. But the keyboard does have the best function keys of any I have used and is worth the few bugs and kinks that need to be worked out. I would not recommend it for the m515, though, as I never could get it to work on that system.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Needs dedicated number keys
Review: Size, weight, and Palm connection are great. The lack of dedicated number keys, and awkward character key fingering have become a real problem for this computer science student.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Will Fall Apart
Review: The piece that holds the palm to the keyboard fell apart - little metal and plastic bits everywhere. It's impossible to put back together. I hadn't mistreated or mishandled it, it is just very fragile. (In fact, I wish I had done something bad to it - I'd feel better.) I do not recommend that you buy this keyboard.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Wish that it worked!
Review: This gorgeous, engineering marvel - a full-size keyboard that's about the size of a pop tart when folded - would be great if it worked! Mine was defective, producing random characters, skipping letters and the like. Palm tech support was very nice and told me that a month ago, 30% of these keyboards were coming out of the box defective. Now (mid-April 03), he said, it's more like 50%. I did the whole new drivers drill, hard resets etc. to no avail. I returned mine and am very disppointed at the waste of time and money. If you end up buying this item, I hope you are one of the lucky ones who gets one that works!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This is a marvelous piece of engineering and it works great. One of the best compact keyboards that I have seen or used, and it is well built.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Tungsten C
Review: This keyboard did not work with my Tungsten C. Some of the keys did not function. Some keys produced the incorrect character. I returned the keyboard. After having this problem, I have read reviews on other web sites indicated similar problems for other Tungsten C users.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Ultrathin Palm Keyboard on the Market
Review: This remarkable ultrathin Palm keyboard is made by Stowaway, the same folks who delivered the original fold-up Palm keyboard. I've used other ultrathin keyboards from Belkin (two of them) and Pocketop (the one that connects via infrared), but this version from Palm is definitely the best of the bunch.

The Palm/Stowaway ultrathin comes housed in a sleek, aluminum skin that unfolds in the middle to reveal a comfortable, full-size keyboard. The small size is achieved by removing the top row of numbers, and by splitting the space bar down the middle. Typing is remarkably accurate. Keeping my thumb to one side of the dual space bar took a bit of practice, as did inputting numbers using the "function" key and the top row of letters. Fortunately, there's also a "function lock" key which accomplishes this feat full-time.

This ultrathin keyboard is striking for its extraordinary small size and sleek appearance. It never fails to elicit oohs and aahs when I unfurl it in meetings. And people are still impressed that I can take notes - and input action items directly into my to-do list - without ever having to use traditional pen and paper.

I might also mention that the ultrathin keyboard stays completely rigid when it's open. This is great for typing on one's lap (like a notebook computer) -- which is something my previous Palm keyboard wouldn't do since it was floppy in the center.

I've tried other ultrathin keyboards from Belkin (2) and Pocketop, and all are decent; but none are as good as the Palm. The Belkin units position the shift key in an inconvenient position far out to the right. And the Pocketop requires a special stand and reflector in order to receive the keyboard's infrared signal, which made the combined unit (keyboard and stand) much more cumbersome to carry.

Since it fits easily into my pocket, I've found the Palm ultrathin to be my keyboard of choice for taking to meetings. At my desk, however, I still prefer the original Palm keyboard, since inputting phone numbers and due dates into my Palm is something I do quite frequently, especially when I'm checking my voice-mail.

Installing the software is very straightforward. If you plan, however, to use both keyboards (old and new) as I do, here's a watch out. The ultrathin keyboard software will replace the original keyboard software when you install it. Both keyboards will run just fine. But strangely, I've found that I need to soft boot my Palm whenever I switch between keyboards - since using one will normally screw-up the key recognition by the other.

If you're looking for a keyboard that's more portable and sleek than the original, this new Palm ultrathin is exceptional. Among the new ultrathins - it is definitely the one to get!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Would be nice if it worked
Review: What for many people has been an excellent product, for another set, including myself, this keyboard is a disaster. For no apparent reason, this keyboard does not interface properly with a variety of handhelds with the Palm Universal Connector.

Affected handhelds include the m515, m505, m500, and m130. The difficulty lies in that it is not possible (or at least it is not generally known) how to tell when it will work or not. When connected, typing produces random characters. Updated drivers, including unreleased internal drivers have not solved the problem. Even a hard reset with the driver as the only installed program has not helped.

While this keyboard is certainly more attractive and smaller than its predecessor, the previous version now offers much better compatibility for a lower price.


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