Customer Reviews

Stowaway Shasta Bluetooth Keyboard for Blackberry

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I just got this keyboard today. Despite the other reviewer's suspicions, this keyboard is actually Bluetooth, not infrared.

The keyboard itself is decent size. It is almost exactly twice the size of my Blackberry 7250. It is slightly thinner than the blackberry. One nice thing is that the keyboard fits neatly in the inside pocket of my jacket - almost like the pocket was made for it. Your mileage may vary with your pocket size. Regardless, the keyboard is not too large to be easily thrown in a coat pocket or purse. You wouldn't want to carry the keyboard on a belt clip - it's too big for that - and it's too big for pants pockets.

The weight of the keyboard is very close to the wieght of my blackberry, so it's not a burden to carry.

The fit and finish of the keyboard is nice, somewhat stylish and not too obtrusive. Once you open it up, you see a full sized, laptop style keyboard. It does NOT have a numeric keypad or the standard Windows keys, or a Ctl key. You shouldn't need them for a Blackberry anyway.

It does have all of the keys that a standard Blackberry has, plus a few convenient additions, like a top row of numbers and symbols - like a standard PC keyboard.

The touch/feel of the keyboard is very similar to most laptops I've used. It's not a full-sized PC keyboard, but it seems like a laptop somewhere is missing it's keyboard. It has decent touch/response and I can type on it easily, with very little adjustment as compared to my laptop. It has a function key that allows you to have one key access to most of the Blackberry functions. You can change thier assignments in the options of the Blackberry, though I haven't played with that yet.

The keyboard folds in the middle, and doesn't require any messing around - sliding this part into that part - like some of the early Palm keyboards I've seen. You just open it. That's it. It has a sliding lock that will hold the keyboard flat so you can use it on your lap or an uneven surface. The lock feels rather flimsy to me, and I would be afraid to break it. When typing with the keyboard across my legs, there's a fair amount of bounce caused by the flimsy lock, but it's workable. The lock is also difficult to engage and disengage because it's recessed and you can't get a grip on it. I have resigned myself to only use it when there's no flat surfaces around.

Also the keyboard has a flip out holder for your blackberry. It holds the blackberry at an angle so you can see the screen as you type. The holder is offset - or not centered on the keyboard - because that's where the keyboard folds. That may bother some people. I haven't found it to be a problem. The holder has a rubber pad at the base in an attempt to keep your blackberry from sliding around. It does an adequate job as far as typing on a flat surface, but I doubt it would be much help in a moving vehicle. You'd need some tape to keep your blackberry in place for that.

The keyboard pairs with your blackberry easily. Just load the driver disk and run the Blackberry Desktop Manager to load the application into the blackberry. Once loaded, you pair by starting the app on the blackberry and pressing a connection button on the keyboard. Once the keybboard is connected, you can just start using it. You can easly use the keyboard to navigate the blackberry menus and apps, just as easily as using the buttons on the blackberry itself. I didn't find myself reaching over for the blackberry to "hit this" or "press that".

The pairing is a bit clunky though, in that if you exit the keyboard app incorrectly, you'll disconnect it. I found that to be a hassle until I figured out what was going on. Also, the keyboard doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. So it will stay connected for a certain ammount of time, which can be set in the options. I assume that it stays active as long as you're typing, but I haven't tested that. In my opinion I think the keyboard functionality would be greatly improved if it would have a power switch, and would automatically pair with the blackberry as soon as it's turned on. As it is now, you have to use the app to connect every time you want to use it, and that seems rather redundant. I feel that my blackberry and the keyboard should pair once, and then have my permission to connect whenever available after that. Alas, it doesn't work that way.

The only serious complaint I have about the keyboard is that mine types a period when the comma key is pressed, and types a comma when the period key is pressed. The keys are mislabeled! They're in the right place, as compared to a normal keyboard, so if you don't look at it, and just type, you'd never notice.

In the light of my minor complaints about the keyboard, I gave it four stars. Part of that is because Amazon is selling this for $63.99 and everyone else sells it for over $100. So buy one if you're a blackberry user that needs to frequently type long emails. For that it's practically perfect. Plus it will save you from carrying your huge laptop around, just for email.

This keyboard really makes the BlackBerry much more useful! The keys are large enough to type easily, and it is a full 5 row keyboard. I've found 4 row keyboards hard to use, but with the full 5 rows, typing was very natural.

The other reviewers are right, out of the box the keyboard does have some issues, but, after scouring for solutions I stumbled upon MyMobileGear which sells a driver for the keyboard that solves all of the issues mentioned.

With this third-party driver the keys work as you would expect and the BlackBerry shortcut keys work (e.g. C or L for responding to an open email). The driver will switch the comma and period if you prefer so that these keys actually work the way they are printed on the keyboard. And turning on the keyboard is easy, you just push the pairing button on the keyboard and the driver automatically detects this on the BlackBerry and activates the keyboard.

Even without this driver I would recommend the keyboard, but I would probably only give it 3 stars instead of 5.

Also, be aware that if you are using BES, you must have your administrator install some software and change the security permissions so that your device will work. Essentially you need to change the Keyboard Injection permission for the device and set it to Allow (it is Deny by default).

I had high hopes for this product. The idea of a keyboard that folds compact yet allows me to type at full speed on the blackberry sounded great. Unfortunately, the execution is not there. After spending several hours with this product, I finally concluded that it will not work on a blackberry 7130, which is the Verizon equivalent of the Blackberry 7100 from T-Mobile.

To make matters worse, when I called the manufacturer for support, I repeatedly heard the greeting "your call can not be connected at this time". After a few hours, I got through to an auto attendant, and when I pressed zero for the operator, I was offered the opportunity to leave a message in the generic mailbox.

The only support option this company offers is via email, so I emailed them with my configuration and the error message I was receiving. After 3 days I still have not received a response. Furthermore, their web site has only very basic information on the product, and offers virtually no troubleshooting support.

Finally, I assumed that the reviewer below who commented on the comma key and period key being swapped must have received a unit from a bad batch, which surely would be corrected by the time I received my unit. Wrong! My unit had the same two keys reversed too.

How can a company operate like this? They should be embarassed, and you should avoid this product at all cost. There are other bluetooth keyboards out there from more reputable manufacturers that have more pride in their operations.

For what it's worth, the unit did work on a blackberry 7100 from T-Mobile. Unfortunately, I bought it for myself, so it didn't do me much good.

This keyboard does not work with my Blackberry. After several frustrating tries, I gave up and tried to contact the supplier. After repeated attempts, they sent an email duplicating info already in the instructions. I have emailed both Amazon and the supplier to return this product, but so far, neither Amazon nor the supplier have responded to my request. Needless to say, I am unhappy with both!

I just purchased a Blackberry Storm and had no idea what operating system it used. I should have done my research as this product was discontinued several years ago. There is no support for it and the company who made it, iGO, has nobody on staff to provide any help nor have they developed any updated software.

Don't do as I did, and think that this will work with any Blackberry product. It is only for older models. I just threw away my money as it was my fault. When I revisited the product description, I see now that it is not for recent Blackberries.

David Berg

Yes, you heard me correctly. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT FOR THE BLACKBERRY STORM.
It simply won't work. Silly me, I didn't research the manufacturer's background, so lesson learned.
That being said, allow me to explain. This product is dated and probably a precursor
to other current keyboards like it, the Freedom keyboard, for example. Therein lies the issue.
The company, Think outside, no longer supports this product or even lists software
for integration and installation. You simply can't find anything online. Period.
What's more, after using the installation disk included with the keyboard,
I found my blackberry Storm will freeze and require a hard boot restart to
regain functionality. Not to consider it a lost cause, I initialized pairing
with my stepdad's blackberry curve 8830. His froze too. So I leave you with this:
If you still use an out-dated piece of technology like prehistoric Palm Pilots,
this product is for you. If not, you'd be better off fushing your money down
the toilet, as I have. Currently, I'm awaiting the delivery of the Freedom keyboard.
Let's just hope that isn't a complete failure as well. I sure wish I could rate this
0 stars... I definately would have.

Product was purchased with high hopes that were dashed upon receipt. We utilize the Enterprise Blackberry Server and this product which (considering it is just a keyboard) requires permissions and setups within the Server. The EBS configures extensions per user. I also had instances whereby the device would search and find other nearby Blackberry enabled devices like phones and mice but not this device. This is another company whose motto is DO NOT CALL US!!!! All communication must be by e-mail and then they send out their STD FORM MSG. When looking into buying the product no where is there any caveat concerning the EBS issues.

I tried contacting the maker to help me connect to my blackberry. I never received a response. I tried for over an hour on the phone with my phone provider and then blackberry to set it up but had no luck. Since this product is made by a third party and not by blackberry they had no way of knowing what products it actually works with.

The keyboard works easily and flawlessly with my new Blackberry 7290; instead of being all thumbs -- all sore thumbs -- I'll be touch-typing and often using the two devices as an ultra-portable substitute for a notebook computer.

A word of praise is also in order for Think Outside's online tech support. I've read complaints about the quality of their service, but they responded promptly, helpfully and repeatedly to a problem that arose only because of security settings in my newspaper's BlackBerry server (settings that prevented the handheld from responding to key-stroke signals from the keyboard.) I'm a happy typer on every count.

There are not a lot of options out there for Blackberry users who want a foldable keyboard to use with their device. I was hesitant to purchase the Think Outside Stowaway Shasta because of some of the reviews here and elsewhere. I gave it a try thinking I could return it if it didn't work well. Here is what happened:

It works perfectly. I don't know how well the product performed prior to now but the period is the period and the comma is the comma. I tested every key and each works as it should. As far as the claims that it doesn't work with enterprise, let me say this to the cry-babies: Get your own Blackberry purchased by you - not your employer - and I guarantee this keyboard will work for you. On their website and in their instruction manual they state very clearly that if you are on enterprise you have to have permissions to use this. What a bunch of freeloading trash.

Nothing else to say. This keyboard works and deserves better than the three stars it has. If you are thinking about it, get it. You won't be disappointed.