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 $69.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for PDAs and Handhelds
Customer Review: great engineering
Summary: 5 Stars
This little keyboard is great. I got this keyboard after I gave up on my defective Menotek brand flexible keyboards. It's size is so small and I like the thought process put into making this piece. There's no dedicated number row but that's all taken care of by a blue function (2nd) key. The little stand that pops out when open too is great as well. With a little adapting and juggling of your Idevice, you can have a charger cord connected as well while you lean it on the stand prop. It comes with a leather bi-fold zippered case too for traveling with the keyboard. I love showing up to a coffee shop seeing all these jokers on their hunky laptops and I bust out with my keyboard, bluetooth mouse and iPhone all on my person with no bags whatsoever. All of that fits into my cargo pocket. My little "office" sets up in seconds with thanks to this part of the gear-list. One reason why I transitioned to this keyboard is the hard button keys and completely flat bottom. You'll see on the bottom of other bi-folding keyboards that there will be somewhat of a hinge still there causing the keyboard to not be flat and susceptible to a wobble when laying on a flat surface. Not this keyboard, again I like the engineering behind the design and what they thought of and were aware of upon creating it. I give this keyboard 5 stars and the only problems I see are the high price and that Igo no longer makes this product. If they re-made this product, I wouldn't hesitate buying again so I can give it away as a gift to one of my student friends. Good to go Igo. My stamp of approval is evident on this piece of gear.Customer Review: A change of heart
Summary: 1 Stars
It seems that this keyboard acts a little like those gold fish you bring home in a plastic bag from the pet shop. You have to put the whole bag in the tank until it acclimates to it's new surroundings. I went from wanting to love the thing for the sheer coolness factor....to boxing it up to send back when it wouldn't sync to my Axim x50v....to giving it another chance and after it was good and ready to work flawlessly, I now love it again. The keyboard is smaller than standard but very useable. It's great for writing a longer e-mail, inputting contacts, or writing a letter in word, when you don't want to peck at the screen with your stylus endlessly. The construction feels solid and opening and closing is a snap. Pun intended. The only major flaw is with the cradle that holds your PDA. It is removable which is the desired use to space the PDA a little further away from you. But the feet that clip it to the keyboard just don't want to let go. The plastic it's made out of doesn't seem especially robust and I feel certain it will snap off eventually. Also the curved lower part of the cradle that holds your Axim, et al, is a little under developed and if bumped will readily jettison what it's holding. Other than that it works very well and never ceases to make me grin when everyone passing your table at Starbucks has to stop and ask you about it. I previously gave it one star, but now that it's acclimated and working I give it 4 only because of the cradle shortcoming or else it would have been a full 5. I know it shows one star, but Amazon wholdn't allow me to edit the scale.Customer Review: Good keyboard for blue tooth
Summary: 3 Stars
After my iPAQ 3900 series PDA kicked out, it made my Stowaway IR keyboard irrelevant. That keyboard was on its way out also. One of the keys were sticking and the hinge on the lower edge had broken and was repaired with deft application of duct tape. Since there doesn't seem to be a large selection of keyboards I decided to take a chance with this newer model of Stowaway Keyboard for my new HP 2495B. On first unpackaging the keyboard I noted it was better constructed. The problems I see with it down the line is that it has moving parts of metal and plastic. It's the plastic that I'm concerned about. However, unlike the previous version of the keyboard the main metal joints which permit the keyboard to open and close are metal screws. These screws connect with the metal body of the keyboard and two plastic joints. Hopefully this plastic is better quality. Now if you don't subject this keyboard to heavy use it isn't likely to be a problem. I do use the keyboard quite heavily so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Loading the keyboard drivers on to my PC and PDA was easy. The keyboard also comes with a nice case. The blue tooth connection with the HP 2495B seems to vary in quality. Somtimes it takes as long as 20 seconds to connect and other times it is really fast (1 to 2 seconds.) I couldn't seem to get it to connect securely so I do without it. It is a decent keyboard that serves it purpose but I wish it would connect more reliably with my PDA (though in fairness this may be due to the PDA not due to the keyboard) and it was actually all metal in the all of the areas with moving parts.Customer Review: Design Brilliance Marred -- literally -- by Packaging Cluelessness
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my third Stowaway keyboard, having used earlier IR and Bluetooth models (both great). The Think Outside engineers are a clever bunch, creating a full-size keyboard that folds up ever so elegantly into a package you can pop in a pocket. But somewhere along the line, evidently, Think Outside executives figured that an all-genius staff just wasn't going to cut it. So they hired, shall we say, someone a bit challenged upstairs. And, alas, they put him or her in charge of packaging. If you're reading this, you've no doubt already read about the sticker that's affixed to this keyboard. It's all true. It's a mess. If the Space Shuttle used glue like this, there would never be any problems with tiles falling off. That said, stickergate isn't fatal. The sticker covers just a small part of the keyboard real estate, and if you peel and scrape and pull carefully -- someone here suggested using a blade in the gaps between the keys to pop the sticker up; a good idea -- the residue left on the keys is fairly small, and can be cleaned up in a few minutes. It's the underside of the keyboard where you're going to find the grief. I'm still scraping off mine. Fortunately, it's on a part of the base that is covered both in use and in storage, so it's just annoying, not unsightly. For $30, this is still a great buy. But, really, Think Outside, everyone who had anything to do with this bonehead idea needs to be seriously scolded. I'll write more in a year or two when I've removed the rest of the sticker. Sigh.
Customer Review: Works with Blackberry's
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this keyboard as an impulse purchase when I saw it in the gold box. Then I read the reviews and thought I had really made a mistake in purchasing it.
I had no problem getting it to work with my IPAQ and my Blackberry Pearl. It does take a number of steps for setup and the drivers are not on the CD provided. Go to IGO website and then support and drivers. The Blackberry Drivers are listed under RIM drivers and that may be confusing some as they might be looking for the word Blackberry. I did download the drivers for both my Blackberry Pearl and my IPAQ to my computer and then synced them to the device. Then the keyboard must be discovered by the device. The Quick Start Guide for the IGO explains how to make the keyboard discoverable and then follow the instructions for your Bluetooth device to discover the keyboard. Then go to the Keyboard icon and your device and set the permissions.
It does take a number of steps and a little extra effort to get it connected but it is worth it. I am typing away. The keyboard is responsive, fits in my pocket and is easy to type on.
It did have a sticker across the keys on the keyboard. That was a crazy but I got an alcohol based computer cleaning pad and got all the sticky off.
For those that gave up on this keyboard, give it another try and take it one step at at time. If you have problems post them in the comment section, it looks like there are some very good tips for installation there.