Palm M500 Series Pda Keyboard

Rating:
Summary: Clunky Design. Others Are Better.
Review: This is one of two keyboards offered by Belkin. This one is bigger and offers four launch buttons for the major Palm applications (date, phone, to do and memo) which I never use. The keyboard unfolds into two sections which click together. It has a full row of numbers, but breaks the space bar 80/20, which I found to be somewhat inconvenient. The right shift key is also half-size - and located out beyond the up/down navigation arrows - which I often miss-hit, especially when typing quickly.

The PDA's placement towards the left side of the keyboard seems strange, but works fine in practice. The keyboard is fairly rigid when open, which is great for typing on one's lap like a notebook computer. But the entire unit is fairly large when folded - and even larger if you use the padded case that comes with it. So, in total, this keyboard doesn't offer many advantages versus Palm's original (which is about the same size), other than the ability to type on one's lap.

Belkin's other model, the G700, is actually much better, (especially if you don't need the application launch buttons). It's smaller and sleeker, and offers the traditional convenience of a complete row of numbers.

If you're looking for a full-featured keyboard, the original Palm model is still better. And if you want something sleeker or more stylish, check out the Belkin G700 (also available from Amazon) or Palm's new ultrathin version - which is definitely the "coolest" of them all!

Rating:
Summary: Clunky Design. Others Are Better.
Review: This is one of two keyboards offered by Belkin. This one is bigger and offers four launch buttons for the major Palm applications (date, phone, to do and memo) which I never use. The keyboard unfolds into two sections which click together. It has a full row of numbers, but breaks the space bar 80/20, which I found to be somewhat inconvenient. The right shift key is also half-size - and located out beyond the up/down navigation arrows - which I often miss-hit, especially when typing quickly.

The PDA's placement towards the left side of the keyboard seems strange, but works fine in practice. The keyboard is fairly rigid when open, which is great for typing on one's lap like a notebook computer. But the entire unit is fairly large when folded - and even larger if you use the padded case that comes with it. So, in total, this keyboard doesn't offer many advantages versus Palm's original (which is about the same size), other than the ability to type on one's lap.

Belkin's other model, the G700, is actually much better, (especially if you don't need the application launch buttons). It's smaller and sleeker, and offers the traditional convenience of a complete row of numbers.

If you're looking for a full-featured keyboard, the original Palm model is still better. And if you want something sleeker or more stylish, check out the Belkin G700 (also available from Amazon) or Palm's new ultrathin version - which is definitely the "coolest" of them all!