Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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!

I ordered this keyboard after trying the "Thumbboard" which was an absolute disaster. It took me about two days of trial and error to get the feel of this new keyboard. More challenging was figuring out how to navigate my Palm 515 without switching between stylus and keyboard. However, after persistence and a bit of frustration, the keyboard is a gem. I can now do almost anything with my Palm that I can do with my laptop. The keyword in that last sentence was "almost." If you have a great deal of patience, then this keyboard will work just fine for you!

This keyboard is NOT compatable with the tungsten E or E2s (which do not use the 'universal' connector. I can't say anything about what other models may or may not work with it, but be aware that the Palm 'universal' connector is NOT in fact universal. It may be a marvelous keyboard, but I bought it based on the information that it was compatable with my palm...

Frankly, I love this keyboard, and enjoy using it.
I think the complaints about the 4-row limitations
are of no real importance in general use
(accountants and programmers may disagree!)
and find it generally to be a sweet little contraption.

My only complaint / concern is its fragility.
I'm generally extremely careful about such things,
but it slipped from my hand (folded and latched)
and fell to the carpeted floor once; it has been
reluctant to close ever since.

It still works just fine - it just no longer wants to close,
and every time I do so, I wonder if *this* is going to be
the time I break it.

I find that very annoying, and my joy in it is dimmed:
tools one must fuss over are counter-productive.

It's a rough-&-tumble world, and products must be
rugged enough to survive actual use in the real world;
this accident was as mild and moderate as they come,
& a productivity tool aimed at busy people on the move
should provide greater dependability than this.

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.

Despite all warnings I did buy the keyboard, because I needed it. It works super om my Tungsten T. Really great.
Before this I owned a Palm V with the stowaway keyboard which I already rated high. But the ultraslim types just a little bit better. And I make my money typing .. so I'm a real hardcore user (also on graffiti).

pro's
First: it is stable. You can use it on your knees and in bed. Quite an improvement over the older keyboard I used... although the Mrs might think different about that :)
Second: key-quality is better. You have better control over your typing. I now know when I miss a letter (like I know it on my notebook) and that was a feeling I lacked using my older keyboard.
Third: it is fixed and firm. You can actually move the whole shebang while shifting locations without having to fold it. That alone saves me a lot of time.
Fourth: it is so much smaller im comparission with my older keyboard, while having the same functionality.

On the other side, the slim size comes with one 'problem': It has only 4 rows of keys. Although everything is present with green or blue FN keys, it forces me to look at my keyboard more than I would like to and it makes me hit air, while I'm looking for backspace ... something I still have to got used to.

In all a great piece of work, small and firm. Definately a must have.

I had no problems getting the keyboard to work - though there is an annoying bug in the current driver that creates a hassle for syncing to a Mac.
The beauty of a portable keyboard is that you can really type quickly and comfortably, as if you were using a standard computer. But the Ultra-thin has slightly smaller key spacing. Also, certains keys are smaller and displaced slightly from their position on a normal keyboard. One can't just focus on the content of what you are writing, rather, it is necessary to pay attention to where your fingers are going. The space bar, delete key are problematic as well as those characters such as parens that require unusual combinations of keystrokes.
The ultra-thin does have greater rigidity, but this is not useful because the whole unit with the weight of the PDA attached is too unstable to use if not at least on a magazine on your lap -- and this is certainly enough support for the standard palm keyboard. Also the Ultra-thin is unsupported at the ends of the keyboard, so it can be unstable when typing keys at the right and left extremes of the keyboard (this is not a problem with the standard keyboard since it is flat on the bottom)
Palm's standard portable keyboard is infinitely more comfortable to use. This far outweighs a marginally more cool look. I returned my ultra-thin and bought the palm portable.
I think those who think the ultrathin is great - are comparing it to entering lots of text with the stylus -- it is certainly an improvement over that! However, for a touch typist interested in productivity, the Ultra-thin is inferior.

I've owned two of these keyboards, both of which I bought new, and both had dead keys (specifically, J through L) after a few months. It's a pity, because the size and layout of this keyboard is excellent. I now use the much cheaper Logitech keyboard, because at least when that dies it'll only cost 7 bucks to replace.

I bought my "ultra-thin" keyboard a couple o days ago, and i really do have to say that this is very nice, very clean, slick, and small. I had bought mine from Fry's electronics and the only one they had was an "open box," it didn't come with a cd, but i just found the .prc file with little trouble fro mthe palmone website. Anyway the Keyboard itself is very easy to open and close, the back support is decent though i am somewhat afraid i may bend the wire, but then again i'll always have it on some flat surface...whcih brings up another thing, the board itself is not very lap friendly, for a seventeen year old guy taking notes in church anyway...i would suggest placing like a book or compostion book on your lap, something that's hardback so that 1) you can type at your lap and 2) it won't slip around with the rubber "feat" things, though it kinda needs some support on the right "wing of the keyboard, i kinda "hit" the keys and the other side of the board comes up.
it does take a couple of hours getting used to the keys, especially with craftsman hands, but i'm still typing nonstop throughout the day. I do tend to mess up fro time to time, sometimes the space key along with backspace and enter don't respond like they ought to and i have to use the arrow keys, and the fact that right right arrow key is placed to the left of the delete key doesn't help out with my typing errors.
The board does have other language capabilities i guess you coud lsay, by pressing alt and some other letter on the keyboard, you can type in the language of your choice although you don't know which key changes the accent on the letter etc. but it'd still help out in my last couple of french classes im going to be taking.
and the board is relatively silent too, which is pretty dag.
All in all this Ultra-Thin Keyboard is really a must buy for those who want a good quality keyboard for their palm.

I've just bought the keyboard, and it seems versatile and useable. I would have liked another row of keys; however, it is incredibly small which is nice.

One thing I ran into was that after the first time that I used it, I couldn't hot sync to my PC. I found that if I go into the keboard icon on my Palm and uncheck "Enable keyboard" that I could hot sync again. That was a little scary at first, but now that I have discovered the fix, it's just an inconvenience.