Customer Reviews

Palm 3169WW Universal Wireless Keyboard

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

The Palm Wireless Keyboard makes life easier for me. My information/Review is based on my own experience with this keyboard.

Installation: Put the disc in, follow instruction, perform hot sync, and wala! I'm done in 3 minutes. I don't know why others have problem with this.

How to use the keyboard: You have to turn the keyboard on FROM the PDA. On my Palm T|X, I go to the keyboard shortcut and turn it on. Maybe that's why others are having problem. It is not a plug and play type keyboard. You have to turn it ON from the PDA before you can use it. And by the way, your PDA has to be in place and align with the keyboard's IR to turn it on.

Design: C'mon, it's a black keyboard. How different is that from the other keyboards? You're supposed to use this keyboard to make life easier, not to compete in a "who has the prettiest keyboard" competition. The design is no different from a laptop keyboard. I can agree with others that this is not an easy keyboard to use if you are on a meeting trying to type everything. I can type 60+ words per minute on a regular keyboard but maybe 30+ on this keyboard only because I'm not used to it. But if I'm on my own pace I don't even notice.

Stability: I don't have any stability issues with this keyboard. I used this bad boy on the plane, train, school, ship, bus and at home and I never had any stability issues. Unless you are running or experiencing an earthquake, then yeah, stability would be an issue. And remember, this is a PORTABLE KEYBOARD; it folds so you can carry it with you.

Battery: two AAA batteries lasted me 3 months. Not bad at all. No complaints there. And yes, I use this keyboard at least 5 hours a week when I'm in the US and about 7 hours if I'm overseas.

Overall: It gets the job done for me. I can do my assignments, chat with my daughter, surf the web, check and send emails, calculate numbers and use PowerPoint with it. Don't be intimidated by other reviews. Find out for yourself. I'm glad I did and life just got a lot easier when using my T|X. I hope my experience can help you with your decision. Trust me, you won't regret buying this keyboard.

Length:: 3:35 Mins

Compact & Easy to Use

The keyboard is great, stores easily and great for the classroom or to create a portable mini office. First thing: DO NOT USE THE DISK!!! Download your drivers from the Palm website. You will need the driver that is meant for your model. I have the Palm TX.

Second is that you need to play around with the commands on the keyboard to get it to work. The infrared eye is on the arm. If you flip it up, you can use Your Palm in portrate mode. If you flip it down, you can use the Palm in the right-handed landscape mode. They don't explain this anywhere in the directions.

If you have large hands, this is not a keyboard you would like. It's not quite a full-sized keyboard.

If I didn't have to spend so much time trying to figure it out, I would have given this keyboard a 5. With Documents to Go, you need to add in a command key so you can go straight to that program without using the stylus pen.

Thank you to everyone else that added your comments. I learned more from all of you than the so called directions. The only reason why the direction book is so large is because it's written in several languages.

A very good keyboard that doesn't take very much space when folded, but unfolds to an almost full-sized keyboard. The interface with my device (Palm TX) works very well. I had some small problems in the past using the previous wireless keyboard from Palm with my Tungsten T3, but this works as a dream. Some improvements from the old model:
-A fourth row for numerics
-The IR-arm swings from the right and if you have a PDA that supports landscape viewing and has the IR on top, then you don't even have to release it
-The keyboard now locks open so it doesn't fold on uneven surfaces (still, you won't use this in your lap unless you have something solid underneath it)
-To save on keyboard batteries you can now switch the keyboard off even when it is open, just slide the PDA-cradle to the left along the keyboard (may sound strange to anyone who hasn't seen the unfolding solution). When slid into OFF the folding lock also releases, which I like since the unlock button isn't very handy.

After trying a few keyboards with my Tungsten E, I found this one to be user friendly ... at least for adults. It allows you to access the number keys & special character keys just like a regular keyboard (no need for function keys in awkward places). It also has blue icons above the numbers to automatically access Palm home, contacts, calendar, memos.... when you simultaneously press the function key. There's a programmable command key which when pressed with a number will open whatever application you wish. You can orient your Palm vertically or horizontally. So what's so adult-friendly & not so kid-friendly (I'm using these with 3rd graders)? Opening it. Rather than pull it open, you slide it open. To close it, you need to push a little release button. For me, I love it.

What a wonderful little keyboard! Sleek, compact, lightweight and quite comfortable to type on.

Within two minutes of opening the box it was up and running with my T5 - one minute to download the software (word of advice... /never/ use a CD that comes with any electronic device till you've checked the website for an update), one to sync and restart, and voila. The infrared works flawlessly in both upright and landscape. The number keys are easy to reach, and don't require any special key to access.

Some issues other reviewers mentioned:

1) The software. Yep, the CD was out of date. It generally is, what with the pace of patches and updates these days. It's not like companies can yank all their stock from the shelves for repackaging every time they patch. Make a habit of downloading software for any new device, and this one goes away.

2) Stability. No, this little keyboard isn't meant to be balanced on your knee while driving cross-country (did you honestly think it was?), but it's just fine for picking up and carrying across the room to a different table.

3) The '?' key. It is indeed on the 'wrong' side of the shift key, but this is a design advantage, not a flaw. It allows them to build in arrow keys while keeping the shift right where it belongs - under my pinky. Within a few sentences of practice I was used to the new position, and liking it.

Looking forward to leaving the laptop at home!

This is, overall, an excellent keyboard. Allowing the little TX to function practically as a laptop if a pretty brilliant piece of engineering. Once I figured out how to use it, it has worked flawlessly.

The main thing is the almost full-size QWERTY keyboard with a very good feel. Some of the things like quotation marks are not laid out like the real thing, and this is where I take off a star in the rating.

Otherwise, it does work very well. I don't see it as particularly flimsy. Is it built like a tank? No, but it's not flimsy. I got it free in an Amazon deal with the Palm TX, so I can't complain anyway, but even if I had paid the $45 that Amazon normally sells it for, I would think that it is worth it for what it allows me to do, and conveniently.

(UPDATE)
I now give it 4 out of 5 stars.

PalmOne has updated the drivers to version 1.05, dated 12/13/04, which fixes the worst problems. Be sure to download this, and ignore the driver on the CD, or you might be in a LOT of pain.

ALSO - DON'T install the PalmOne Phone Link Update dated 11/29/04, as the keyboard.prc will cause a "fatal exception" if this is also loaded (only tested on Tungsten T3).
(/UPDATE)

I would have given it four or five stars, the keyboard hardware is a good implementation.

But the driver kills one of PalmOne's top of the line devices, the Tungsten T3. I suggest you wait for a driver update before purchasing this item (current BAD driver 9/22/2004 77,790 bytes).

It's so bad that I had to disassemble my T3 (voids warranty), disconnect battery to wipe RAM. Others have same BAD results with this UW keyboard on their T3 PDAs. See post at brighthand for more information.

Warning: If this also happens on the T5 device, then one's only solution would be to send item back to PalmOne for repair. Because the RAM on the T5 is non-volatile. But I've not heard if this problem happens on the T5.

FWIW - It DID work when I had NOTHING but keyboard.prc loaded on T3. But otherwise keyboard is unusable on T3.

I purcahsed this keyboard for use with my Palm Tx to write e-mails and documents as doing so by hand can get tedious.

In its folded form, the keyboard is about the size of the PDA with case, and is completely enclosed and therefore durable enough to stuff into a backpack.

Opening it is not intuitive, but after about three times, works well. The design, though, seems a bit flimsy and awkward. The back support for the PDA is at an angle that is too deep for proper viewing when set on a table. The infrared light is set on a flimsy beam that must be bent in order to rotate. The PDA also does not fit tightly into the support. The keyboard is also impossible to use on a lap.

The keyboard, though, is a good size and if on a table, is easy to use. All of the keys of a full-sized one are available. There is sufficient tactile feedback. It serves its function as a keyboard, but a better design is required.

I returned it. VERY nice, full keyboard, if it works with your handheld or phone. Though it worked, somewhat, with my T3, the "keyboard" program installed on my T3 couldn't be used/customized, and the driver may have corrupted my T3, forcing me to do a "hard reset", deleting all info on my T3. It didn't actually damage my T3, though, as earlier posters noted, using the earlier/shipped driver that came with the keyboard on the install CD.

I think I'll go with a Think Outside brand, "Stowaway" keyboard.