Belkin F8U1500 IR Universal Wireless Keyboard

Other products by Belkin

Product Details

Product Manual [1.58mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008W81P
• Item model number: F8U1500
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #28 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > PDAs, Handhelds & Accessories > PDA & Handheld Accessories > Keyboards & Styluses
  #53 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Networking Products > Modems

• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 17, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Using dual-beam infrared to communicate with your PDA wirelessly, the keyboard no longer has to be attached to your PDA. Since the operation of the keyboard is based on the universal infrared technology, the keyboard is compatible with many Pocket PC and Palm devices available in the market. It can also be compatible with future PDA devices through driver updates. The Universal IR Wireless PDA Keyboard may be the last PDA keyboard you need to buy. Runs on a single AAA battery.

Advantages

• Quick-start keyboard application keys
• Generous key spacing and comfortable key travel
• Wireless connectivity
• Compatible with following models:
  1. HP iPAQ 3600/3700/ 3800/3900/5400 series Pocket PCs
  2. Toshiba e310/e570/e740 & 2032SP Series Pocket PCs
  3. Dell Axim X5 Series Pocket PCs
  4. Palm III, IIIx, IIIe, IIIc, V, Vx, VII, VIIx m100, m105, m125, m130, m500, m505, m515, i705, Zire & series handhelds
  5. Sony CLIE S/N/T/SL/SJ/NR& TG 50 series handhelds
  6. Casio E-200 Pocket PC
  7. Mitac 338 Pocket PC
  8. O2 XDA Pocket PC
  9. Asus Zayo A600 Pocket PC
  10. Audiovox 2032SP Pocket PC
  11. Handspring Visor/Deluxe/Edge/Prism/ Platinum/Neo/Pro, & Treo Series Handhelds
  12. IBM WorkPad c3/c50x Series

Product Description

Using dual-beam infrared to communicate with your PDA wirelessly, the keyboard no longer has to be attached to your PDA. Since the operation of the keyboard is based on the universal infrared technology, the keyboard is compatible with many Pocket PC and Palm devices available in the market. It can also be compatible with future PDA devices through driver updates. The Universal IR Wireless PDA Keyboard may be the last PDA keyboard you need to buy.This keyboard is compatible with the following systems: HP iPAQ 3600/3700/ 3800/3900/5400 series Pocket PCs;Toshiba e310/e570/e740 and 2032SP Series Pocket PCs;Dell Axim X5 Series Pocket PCs;Palm III, IIIx, IIIe, IIIc, V, Vx, VII, VIIx m100, m105, m125, m130, m500, m505, m515, i705, and Zire Series handhelds;Sony CLIE S/N/T/SL/SJ/NR/series handhelds;Casio E-200 Pocket PC;Mitac 338 Pocket PC;O2 XDA Pocket PC;Asus Zayo A600 Pocket PC;Audiovox 2032SP Pocket PC;Handspring Visor/Deluxe/Edge/Prism/ Platinum/Neo/Pro, and Treo Series handhelds;IBM WorkPad c3/c50x Series.For a complete compatibility list please refer to the original manufacturer's web site.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time if your a mobile user, May 29, 2004

By	Vegan Traveler "A Vegan On A Journey" (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews

I have been using pda's for 6 years and most people use them because they aren't sitting at a desk.My current one is the Ipaq 2210/2215 (love it). My first pda was the palm vIIx and I had their portable keyboard. The pda had to attach to it, but it always worked - every key! Great for the hotel stay or any desk.
With this Belkin unit you first have to update your driver (go to the Belkin website). You may have to uninstall other keyboard software first. Some PDA's have the ability to turn the screen sideways in Word or Excel which is good. Mine doesn't and the only way to get it to line up is to sit my pda in the FLIMSY holder UPSIDE down. Trying to line up your pda to the infrared using the adjustable metal shield is difficult. Even when I turned my pda upside down half the keys wouldn't work. If you wasted enough time reading this then I may have saved you $$$ and headache. I won't even offer to sell mine.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not quite universal, March 31, 2004

By A Customer

Before you buy this keyboard, check Belkin's official PDA compatibility list on their website, at http://web.belkin.com/support/download/downloaddetails.asp?download=1234&lang=1. (If link is deleted by Amazon, go to Belkin d.t com and then PDA accessories and then input devices and then wireless keyboard. You should see a link to the compatibility list in small font.) You should heed the list because you'll see a lot of PDAs (esp. newer ones) not on their list. The biggest problem is if you have a Pocket PC with the IR port on the side, and the Pocket PC does not support screen rotation, then you won't be able to use this even if the driver works. So this is pretty stupid as you can imagine. It would have been so easy for them to make the IR port on the keyboard rotatable.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Compact & Stylish, December 17, 2003

By A Customer

I picked up this keyboard for my Toshiba e355 which runs Pocket PC 2003. When I first tried to install the keyboard drivers using the supplied CD, it did not work. You have to go to Belkin's website to download the new drivers for PPC 2003.

After the brief installation mishap, I was typing away. All the keys are much smaller than your regular desktop keyboard, or even most laptop keyboards. The small keys definitely make me type more slowly.

It took a little getting used to such tiny keys, but their size allows the overall size of the keyboard when folded up to be wonderfully compact. I was also very impressed by the stylishness of this Belkin product (compared to the others I've owned which are all office gray). The exterior is made of some metal alloy (like many laptops these days so it doesn't feel like cheap plastic), making the entire keyboard feel like a very sturdy piece of equipment. The silver tone of the exterior is also quite attractive--more so than the Targus model!

Another benefit is that it runs off one AAA battery. Some of the other wireless keyboards use the more expensive (and tiny) lithium batteries.

As for actual typing, I'd say it takes a bit more pressure to use this keyboard compared to most full-size keyboards. The up arrow is placed awkwardly in between the / key and the shift key, making the shift key much less accessible if you have small hands like me.

There are 4 customizable buttons that are very handy. I use them to quickly launch the calculator, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, and the Contacts program. There are no function (F1 - F12) keys.

The infrared wireless feature is pretty good. I can still move my keyboard around a bit without losing signal. It sure beats additional wires, but I'm looking forward to affordable Bluetooth keyboards someday.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this keyboard. I wasn't sure if it'd work with the Toshiba e355 and PPC 2003, but it does seamlessly! One comment about another review's frustrations in finding out that this keyboard doesn't work with Sony PDA's...Sony makes just about everything proprietary, including its PDA compatibility technology. While shopping for this keyboard, I ran into several ones made by Sony exclusively for Sony PDAs. I'm not surprised that Belkin didn't pay Sony exorbatent fees to license Sony's proprietary technology to make this keyboard Sony-compatible.

The keyboard is made in China, as most accessories are these days. I guess that helps make them so affordable.