iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for PDAs and Handhelds
by Think Outside
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Our Price: $229.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $78.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for PDAs and Handhelds
Customer Review: Worked within a half hour
Summary: 5 Stars
I am really impressed with this compressed keyboard! It has a nice tactile feel and the drivers loaded straight over the internet. I had it working within a half an hour after I received it. The only bad thing about it is the instructions on how to open and close the keyboard came on a white sticky tape/adhesive, wrapping around the inside and outside of the keyboard. The adhesive was so strong, I scratched the cover and logo right off the silver-brushed casing. But I blame me for that.
The good news is that the keyboard still works, and the keys have an amazing amount of "travel" for such a small keyboard. The electronics itself is wafer-thin and it looks like it stands less than about 1/2" above the desk. The blue and green function keys are easy to get used to, as long as you don't scratch the lettering off the keys. The slash (/) and [Delete] keys are in the lower right of the keyboard and that is a bit awkward (the slash is to the right of the [Shift] key) but all other keys make perfect sense to me. The top row, QWERTYUIOP-=, shares the same keys as the numeric/punctuation keys. For example Q shares the 1 and !, W shares 2 and @, and so on; using the blue and green Fn keys. As long as you are not color blind and can't understand the difference between the Right-Fn-Key (blue) and the Left-Fn-Key (green), then I think you will like this Stowaway keyboard. Just FYI: I have a Dell Axim X51V, and like I said it was working in less than a half an hour. Here is another BTW: I have owned and operated a Belkin thumb keyboard with this same Dell Axim, and I stopped using it within a week of opening the package. I'd give the Belkin a two-star rating. Obviously I have a much higher opinion of the iGo Stowaway.
Customer Review: With Audiovox SMT 5600 Smartphone - so far , so good!
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this Bluetooth keyboard to augment an Audiovox SMT 5600 Smartphone (from Cingular) running Windows CE v4.21 (aka Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone Edition).
The keyboard I just received didn't come with the newly release drivers for the Smartphone, so I downloaded them from Think Outside's web site and installed according to the corresponding docs. Everything worked on the first try.
The device was certainly engineered in a clever way and the construction feels good. The padded vinyl case included should protect while traveling. The decision to go with a full-sized qwerty key set at the expense of a top row of number keys seems like a good trade off.
Although I haven't properly studied the manual, I also haven't been able to quickly find a fn key combo to operate the Phone's "Soft keys" (directly under screen). Without these to invoke application-specific menus and select options, one apparently must actually stop and pick up the phone from time to time :-). Example: actions like "Reply" or "Reply to All" while reading through email messages...
That said, the preset (and labeled) function keys correctly switch the phone to the expected applications (like Calendar, Tasks, Inbox, Contacts, IE, etc). Such keys are apparently programmable, so perhaps I'll figure a way yet...
I'll reach for this keyboard when I feel the need to compose a more lengthy email message and can't be bothered to open the Laptop... This is essentially why I bought the thing, so I'm pleased thus far.
Also, a positive nod to Amazon.com - best price by a decent margin according to Froogle along with prompt delivery.
Customer Review: Works with the N770 with no issues
Summary: 5 Stars
I just wanted to add my own confirmation for anyone thinking of buying this for the N770. It worked out of the box. I am specifically referring to the XTBTUEI version of the keyboard, because I had a lot of reservations before ordering it if there was something different about it from the XTBTUE version. I was worried that what looked like people saying this keyboard worked with their tablet might be them confusing one with the other. So again, I am talking about the XTBTUEI version that says it is for Blackberry's. I only installed the Bluetooth add on to my N770, which took about a minute. I opened the keyboard, put in the batteries and told the N770 to connect using the new icon at the top of the screen for bluetooth. It is just like the network icon. I pressed and HELD the ctrl-blue_fn-green_fn keys on the keyboard and a light at the top of the keyboard started to blink. The tablet connected and I was connected and started typing. It is that easy. I didn't need to enter codes or pair with device or anything like that, it just worked. I have been wanting one of these keyboards for my tablet ever since I bought it, because I had one on my Palm and it was awesome. I can't believe the price this was.
Also worth noting, the original packaging doesn't even mention Blackberry devices. It says on the front, Ultra-Slim bluetooth keyboard for smartphones. The only mention of the Blackberry was a sticker stuck on the back of the packaging on the outside with a barcode.
The original packaging also says....
Truly universal - works with almost any bluetooth enabled device. (note it doesn't say almost any bluetooth enabled smartphone)
Customer Review: Good chance this will work when nothing else will
Summary: 5 Stars
I took a chance and ordered this, even though my mobile is not officially supported. While the marketing material is thin on information, the technical implementation is quite good, and it works perfectly with my SE P1i phone.
Officially, you're supposed to pair the keyboard with Symbian devices by pressing CTRL+leftFN+rightFN, and then sending an SIS file from the host device. But check this out: to pair with *any* other bluetooth device, all one has to do on the keyboard is press CTRL+leftFN+rightFN to put it into pairing mode, type a paring code such as "1234" (you have to hold down the leftFN key to do this) then press enter. On the other device, enter the same code. Works perfectly. Other nice touches are the solid locking mechanisms, and two positions for the detachable stand.
This shows me that the iGo engineers are a thoughtful lot. Though my phone is unsupported, the device can do a lot more than the marketing materials indicate. To be fair, the reason my particular device is unsupported became evident pretty quickly: there's no way to turn off the UIQ3 character shortcuts in my phone (i.e. pressing a period four times in quick succession gives you an ampersand, just as it does on the phone's keyboard), so a novice user might be confused by the behavior of the keyboard, and there's nothing iGo can do about it. It's consistent, though, and the bottom line is that it works.
With this keyboard, I've finally arrived at the point that I can touchtype a long multi-page document on the run (or when the laptop's battery has died) without difficulty. Pretty amazing for a pocketable device.
Customer Review: Pretty Good - will take some time to get used to, though
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been in the market for a really good PDA keyboard as the functionality of my Palm LifeDrive is seriously undermined without a keyboard. Anyway, after reading a lot about this one, I decided to go for it. I'm not one for reading manuals and such - I just jump right in & start playing with it; that's the easiest way to learn to use a new gadget as far as I'm concerned. It looks like this one is going to take a little extra time though. I'm happy with the key size b/c it's standard and very easy to type (my fingers don't feel cramped). It opens quite easily & I'm glad for a change, this one came with batteries. The left AND right 'Fn' keys are throwing me a little - that will take some time to get used to...and I consider myself a very seasoned (and fast) typer. With so many functions/cababilities stuffed into so few keys, (I don't expect anything else from such a compact keyboard...it must be quite a feat for the manufacturer), you have to literally stop typing and look for the exact key sequence you need. The stand is pretty good - not super solid, but from what I've heard of other keyboard stands, this one is passable. The break in the spacebar is not as much of an issue as some other users may make of it - that is a personal judgement call though. Overall, a good keyboard, it should turn out to be a good investment unless something completely weird happens. It will take some time to get used to & I feel like I'll definitely use it. The more I use it, the more comfortable I should become with it. I would recommend this keyboard; I loved that I got free shipping...that's always fun. Product arrived on time for me.