Customer Reviews

Targus PA870U Universal Wireless Keyboard

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

...and make some REAL use of your Visor.

As a software developer and author, I find myself writing notes and articles in many places outside my home or office. I have tried carrying my laptop occasionally, but the thing is really not a comfortable platform to lug into a lecture or squeeze into a small car. This accessory for the Visor has changed my manner of writing entirely. I can carry my Visor and keyboard in one pocket (khakis...and it DOES look funny), if necessary. Try THAT with a notebook. The keyboard is much sturdier than it appears, as its case and structure are metal, and it has a nice heft to it, not like a featherweight piece of junk. The keys themselves are large enough for real touch-typing, and don't constrain you to the minimal limits that the clamshell keyboards or built-ins do.

The connector for the Visor itself IS a bit questionable. I'm not horribly afraid that it will break, but compared to the version for the Palm, this connector is ridiculously difficult to use. Additionally, when the keyboard is setup, the two outer hinges are locked open, but the center one still moves, making the use of the keyboard on your lap a bit problematic (unless you keep your knees together). You will find yourself wanting a better word processor than the Memo Pad. Invest in a real program like Pedit, and you'll be able to write larger documents in a more feature-rich environment.

The best thing about the keyboard? People think that this keyboard is the neatest thing they've ever seen; you'll get quite a crowd gathering when you unfold it. Overall, an excellent product well-worthy of praise. It takes the Visor to a new level of usefulness.

I previously used Landware's GoType! Keyboard with my Palm IIIx. I was happy with it, but the keys were not full size, and at times made it difficult to type.

I have been using the Stowaway keyboard for over a month now, and am quite impressed with it. It far exceeded my expectations. There are reviews that might say that it is fragile, or you can't type with it on your lap. I don't find this the case at all. The keyboard when folded is housed in a metal case (compared to the plastic GoType!). You can type with it on your laptop, although on a hard surface is preferred due to the folding nature of this accessory.

Bottomline, it is a full size keyboard that fits in your pocket ... need I say anymore?

The Targus Stowaway turns your Visor into an ultra-compact, mobile office. The Stowawy's size--both in the full-size utility mode and the folded storage mode--far surpasses the GoType! The Stowaway is about the same size as the Visor in the bifold case when folded for travel. When expanded, though, it really does become a full-sized keyboard with plenty of Palm-specific options like "Done," "Cancel," and "OK" keys.

While it can be used on your lap, it does help to have a firm surface under it. I find it much sturdier than the GoType! and do not worry about breaking it. I'm more concerned about damaging my Visor than I would ever be of damaging the Stowaway.

While it doesn't have a built-in HotSync ability like the GoType!, the point of having a keyboard is to have rapid data entry away from your computer. If you were at your computer and could HotSync, you certainly wouldn't be using a smaller keyboard like the GoType!'s.

The Stowaway is certainly the best external keyboard on the market, but at [the price], you really have to be committed to being away from your computer and have the need to enter a lot of data before the dividends offset the investment.

I take a lot of meeting minutes in my job--what a pain it used to be to have to write them all and then type them out on my computer! When I got my Visor prism, I determined right away that I couldn't possibly keep up with the pace of the meetings using graffiti. I add this keyboard and voila! Since I can type faster than I can write, my notes have never been as detailed and organized. The other benefit of the keyboard is that, although I normally love click keyboards, this one is very quiet, which is useful in a meeting. I sat next to the President of our university in a meeting and transcribed what she said and the only distraction was her constantly looking down at my "neat gadget." Add those features to the cool factor (I think I've sold ten of these things just from people seeing mine) and the incredible portability (may not be quite as small as a deck of playing cards--but is as small as a deck of Traot cards) and you have a real winner. I agree with the initial frustration of trying to figure out how to connect the unit, but it took only a minute or two to learn to do it and now I can connect it easily. All in all, a great product.

Even the packaging is awesome... but most of all, the functionality is supreme.

The keyboard closes to form it's own strong protective casing... I have mine flopping around lose in my purse and it still works like a champ.

Folded up, it's not much bigger than the Handspring in the leather case.

Everytime I take out my keyboard in a meeting, at least one person in the meeting will say outloud, "WOW... what is that thing, and where did you get it?!"

I've recommended it to a number of people who have bought their own and are thrilled with it.

I can't say enough about how handy it is with taking notes.

To take down a quick note, I'll still just use grafitti, but I've been in meetings where I've been asked to take minutes and I can't imagine having to do that w/ a stylus. No matter how fast you get w/ a stylus, it can't match the speed of typing.

The keyboard stretches out to accommodate normal adult human hands which is a treat.

My wish is that they come out w/ a new version that has a 10-key set as well... it would be a nice option for those who don't mind having one that's a little bigger. I'm always having to jot down IP addresses and other numeric data, and having to use the regular number buttons above the letters is a bit tedious. Otherwise, I highly recommend this.

After a modem, the Targus portable keyboard is an absolute "must-have" accessory for the Visor. The Visor is outstanding, but for any serious work (long e-mails, faxes, etc.,) the graffiti system is too slow and painstaking to be really useful. The Targus portable keyboard enables you to be truly productive when traveling without the need to lug around a heavy laptop computer. I have been using the keyboard for about a month, including while traveling, and it works like a charm. It is lightweight, and appears to be somewhat fragile, but I have not had any problems while carrying it with me everywhere.

Combining the Visor, a modem, the Targus keyboard and a good e-mail (Multi-Mail Pro) and fax (Mobile WinFax Pro) program, I have a complete, lightweight solution for most of my needs for a mobile computer. I may never travel with my laptop again.

Imagine your keyboard is printed on a piece of paper. Fan fold it vertically in four equal sections so it is now about the same size as the Handspring itself and about as thick! This is worth the $99 if all you do is unfold it at parties and amaze your friends! On top of that, it works great, travels great and accomplishes the task of getting information in your Handspring quickly. It is lightweight and probably won't take alot of abuse, but what keyboard will? I love it, use it and highly recommend it.

This device is all you need to turn your handspring (or palm if you buy that version) into a "portable computing" solution. The keyboard is pretty close to full size - much nicer for typing on than the non-folding style keyboard (I forget who makes that one).

One thing you can't see from the picture is that it's not rigid at all - so it needs to be placed on a flat surface for typing. I'll post here again if I have problems w/ it not lasting very long (due to it's flexibility) but I don't expect it'll be a problem.

How nice to have this sitting in my briefcase - I'm much more spontaneous now w/ creating memos and emails "on the go."

There has a been a lot of fuss over the universal IR keyboards among PDA users, and this Targus model is no exception. Even though there have been many bad reviews here regarding this keyboard, I bought it anyway, because if there's one thing I've learned about PDAs, it's that the same products will often work differently for different people.

Perhaps I am in the minority, but the Targus Universal Wireless keyboard works perfectly on my Toshiba e355. Because the e355 runs on the PPC 2003 OS, I downloaded the updated driver software (V1.25) directly from the Targus website and didn't even bother with the included CD. The installation was a snap; very quick and painless, and none of that "window on top of another window" business some users experienced. The keyboard itself works great on my PDA; there is no elfing -- the letters appear immediately after pressing a key. I normally type up to 70wpm, and this keyboard had no problems matching my speed. In fact, I typed this review entirely using the Targus unit.

The size of the keyboard is pretty comfortable; it has approximately the same width as a regular keyboard. The travel feels about right; it will provide the same tactile motions as that of a desktop. I do, however, have certain issues with the keys. One is that this keyboard is modeled after a notebook's, so the keys are flat rather than protruding. This requires adjusting, for sure, but I got used to it after about 30 minutes of typing. Also, the keys are not arranged quite like a regular keyboard; the letter keys are fine, but others like numbers, "shift," "space," "control," etc. are noticeably smaller and rearranged slightly differently. Particularly problematic is the "space" bar, which is divided into 2 smaller keys. However, these are not issues exclusive to this Targus model; all foldable keyboards have to be rearranged for them to be compact, and so require some adjustment on the part of the user. After a little practice, it really does start to feel like a regular keyboard.

Since the keyboard can be locked into the flat position, you can use it either on a desk or on your lap. (I actually find it more comfortable to type with the keyboard on the lap, because it's so thin when opened that it doesn't have the natural height of a regular keyboard. On the lap, you can manually create an incline more easily.)

The mouse pad function is cute, but it's not really that functional. For one, you have keep pressing the pad for the arrow to move across the screen; I could have just used the stylus and done the same thing in half the time. Still, it might be useful in situations, say, when you lose the stylus.

I do wish that this keyboard included cursor buttons, since I tend to rely on them to move between lines when working on a document. But a lot of other handy functions do make up for it. Things like "backspace," "cap lock," and the "delete" buttons are items that I didn't realized I missed until I had them again. Also, the programmable keys, that launch applications such as Excel and Word, magically work when pressed. If you are a big fan of shortcuts (i.e., Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, etc.), then you will be glad to know that they work with this keyboard as well.

The PDA holder slate has these three metallic, wire arms that are supposed to keep the handheld in position when the keyboard is in use. The Toshiba e355 is one those ultra-thin devices that will not fit too well; I find that mine can slide around if I do not use the keyboard on a flat surface. Alternatively, rubberized arms would probably provide more grip.

Although in the closed position the keyboard is a bit thick, it is still adequately small enough that I would want to take it with me when traveling or for meetings.

Overall, I feel that this is a great product; it does everything that it's supposed to do and connects to my handheld wirelessly. Despite minor issues, I would still highly recommend buying this keyboard if you want something that can work with multiple PDAs. At the Amazon price (I've seen this unit at Circuit City and Best Buy for almost twice the cost), its a steal.

The idea here is great. The keyboard has an Infrared transmitter on a very ingenious built-in stand, so it should work with just about any PDA. And the keys are fairly large comapred to competing IR keyboards from Belkin and Pocketop.

However, the designers made some mistakes so critical you have to wonder if these people type.

1) There's a big plastic space between the split spacebars -- RIGHT where my right thumb usually hits the space bar. Slows my typing to Graffiti speed because I have to use the wrong thumb for space.
2) No cursor keys.
3) On a Palm OS device, when you access the menus with the mouse pad thingy, there doesn't seem to be a way to access anything except the first menu.
4) Page Up and Page Down are mapped to Fn-7 and Fn-8? Ugh.
5) Only ships with Palm OS 3.x/4.x drivers, but the web site has OS 5 drivers. However, these OS 5 drivers for their "universal" keyboard don't work with Palm-brand OS 5 handhelds, just Sony.
6) The base won't hold an iPAQ unless you take off the expansion jacket.
7) Did I mention the lack of cursor keys?
8) Uses CR2025 batteries. Try to find those at the airport.
9) No cursor keys.
10) Noticeable delay between hitting the key and the words appearing on a Pocket PC. I can type an entire sentence at my fastest typing speed and when I finish the last 5 words are still appearing on the screen. It's as if there's a tiny elf in there repeating my keystrokes, but he's not as fast as I am. (The Palm OS driver doesn't have this problem.)
11) It would have been nice if they'd included cursor arrows.
12) It's about as thick as a club sandwich when folded.
13) Did I mention that it lacks cursor keys?

So much potential, but unusable by touch-typists. None of the IR keyboards are ready for prime-time. Go for a Fellowes Stowaway and just upgrade the keyboard if you ever buy a new PDA.