PalmOne Portable Keyboard for Palm m100/m105, III Series, and VII Series Handhelds

by Palm

Product Details

Product Manual [4.40mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00004WHF9
• Item model number: P10713U
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

It's always a wonderful feeling when gadgets work seamlessly and live up to their plug-and-play promise. The Palm portable keyboard is such a gadget. It's possibly the best hardware add-on for Palm devices currently on the market--it installs easily and helps you increase your Palm productivity.

Installation of the Keyboard application onto the Palm handheld is easily accomplished during a typical HotSync. (To prepare the app for HotSync, simply add it to the Install Tool on Windows, or the Install Handheld Files in the Mac HotSync Manager.)

Once the app was installed, we were ready for testing at a meeting. We sauntered in and unfolded the keyboard in a flourish--clicking it open from its folded position, laying it flat, sliding the keyboard parts together (it's broken into thirds for folding), and attaching our m100 in a matter of seconds. The attendees at the meeting were suitably wide eyed and impressed with our James Bondian device. (This model of the Palm Portable Keyboard also accommodates Palm VII and Palm III series handhelds--even the Palm IIIc. A separate model is available for the Palm V.)

But the Palm portable keyboard is more than a flashy toy--it's a productivity juggernaut that has some of the best keyboard action we've ever experienced. The keys are not soft and mushy like other keyboards we've tested for handhelds. Instead, they're a bit on the tight side but with a lot of give. Also, the more we used the keyboard, the more we found ourselves shying away from tapping the screen to navigate through a screen or perform actions such as switching applications or opening up the Details section of a Memo or Address Book contact. With the Palm keyboard, you can do virtually all your work without taking your fingers off the keyboard.

The keyboard includes custom buttons for the built-in Palm applications (Date Book, Address, To Do List, and Memo Pad). Several keys have added functions, such as the ability to open up the Apps screen, scroll through a screen, or turn on the backlight. You can also customize your own shortcuts list of applications loaded onto your Palm handheld. This is done using the Keyboard app, and you can assign the number keys 1 through 9 (but not 0). After making our designations, pressing Cmd-1 immediately took us to our favorite diversion--YahtC--during a lull in our meeting.

All told, we have nothing but praise for the Palm portable keyboard, not just for the ease of inputting text but also for changing the way we use our Palm handheld. Since we started using the keyboard, we now often travel without any laptop, confident that any degree of writing or note taking during meetings can be handled by our Palm alone. (It should also be noted that we typed this review on our m100 while sitting comfortably at our local coffee shop.) If you are a heavy Palm user, the Palm portable keyboard is an essential and very cool tool. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• Highly portable
• Customizeable Cons:
  • Will need to work on flat surface

Product Description

Get a full-size keyboard in a pocket-size package. Carry the Palm Portable Keyboard to take notes at your next meeting or write reports on an airplane.Leave your laptop behind. This small lightweight portable keyboard is perfect for sending and responding to e-mail composing memos or taking notes when you're away from your desk. Travel light. Weighing in at just 8 ounces this compact keyboard folds into its own case that's just slightly bigger than your handheld. Take a shortcut. Up to nine user-programmable keys let you instantly access the applications and programs you use most. Start right away. Just install the Palm Portable Keyboard software set your Palm handheld in the custom docking cradle and start typing. Forget about batteries. The keyboard uses minimal power from your Palm handheld - no additional batteries required.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate Dilbert-esque power accessory, December 31, 2000

By 

Stephen M. Bainbridge "www.professorbainbridg... (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PalmOne Portable Keyboard for Palm m100/m105, III Series, and VII Series Handhelds (Office Product)

I love my battered old Palm III (with no suffixes!). With PocketMirror's latest synch program on my PC, I have no trouble synching with Outlook 2000. To be sure, I'm almost out of memory, but I muddle by. There is only one fly in my Palm ointment - I have never mastered Graffiti. After years of using the Palm III, I'm still barely at 90%+ accuracy. Consequently, I was an early adopter of the Palm keyboard. One of the great moments was a conference I attended at which everybody around me was using lap tops. I zipped out my Palm keyboard, whipped it open, snapped on my Palm and was the envy of everyone in sight. Palm probably owes me hundreds of dollars in finders fees for that one event.

The Palm keyboard is really a remarkable device. It folds down to next to nothing - smaller than a paperback novel. It slips easily into a jacket pocket. Yet, it unfolds into a near full-size keyboard with remarkably accurate and 'life-like" action. It is actually easier to type on the Palm keyboard than on my Dell laptop. Taking notes or entering multiple contact data, let alone writing e-mails of any length, is now a breeze.

Why did I subtract one star? First, several friends who bought the Palm keyboard have had hardware and/or software problems. One has had to return the keyboard 3 times. I have had NO dififculties, but your mileage may vary. Second, the keyboard cannot be used on your laptop. Unless you have it on a hard surface, it tends to sag in the middle. Third, I had to fiddle with the settings a long time to get the keyboard delay right. Those quibbles aside, however, I highly recommend it to any power Palm user.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest accessory for the Palm, December 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: PalmOne Portable Keyboard for Palm m100/m105, III Series, and VII Series Handhelds (Office Product)

This turns the Palm into an even more valuable tool. I now take notes at meetings very unobtrusively and write email on the plane. It's a very elegant solution and has won many awards. It's on the cover of PC Week as the best design product of the year. It's almost magical how it works and it folds up to the size of the Palm. It attracts attention from everyone. I looked at other options and there really were none. This is the only device that allows me to enter lots of text into my Palm quickly and easily. I'm not a touch typist, but I can type so fast with this. The keys are like my IBM notebook, very high quality. It's really easy to move from my notebook to the Palm Portable Keyboard, but I hardly ever take my notebook with me on short trips anymore.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool gear!, January 28, 2001

By 

Daniel and Jennifer Hall (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PalmOne Portable Keyboard for Palm m100/m105, III Series, and VII Series Handhelds (Office Product)

I work as a writer for a software design company. I do a moderate amount of travelling, and tons of moving around the company campus to various meeting locations.

Before I bought the keyboard, I used a notepad and pen to take notes. This meant that everywhere I went I had to remember to take my Palm, notebook, and pen. Then I would type my handwritten notes into my PC. It was time consuming, and less than ideal.

Now, I just plunck down my IIIc and keyboard and type away. Then I hotsync, and - presto - my notes are on my PC. No muss, no fuss. The keyboard is quiet enough to use during meetings, and small enough to fit on an airline tray-table. I love this thing!

Highly recommended for those who do a lot of writing on-the-go. Much better than the Go-Type keyboard (which I investigated, but didn't buy), as I can put my IIIc in one coat pocket, and the keyboard in the other, and never notice that they're there.

I've had none of the problems indicated in other reviews - the software installation was a breeze, the keyboard itself has worked flawlessly, and it has withstood heavy use quite well. One caveat - the keyboard must rest on a solid surface other than your lap, as the center hinge will allow it to "sag" slightly in the center if it is not supported.

A great gizmo for gadget-heads.