Pocketop Wireless Keyboard Reviewed

[Andy Whiteford]

When it comes to the world of Pocket PCs, everyone has his or her own ideas about what an essential accessory is. For example, a high capacity memory card, protective case or a screen protector. Once these fundamentals are covered, the list of essential items may well increase depending on how you use your pocket friend and what you use it for. For those users who need to enter a lot of text or are looking for a smaller solution than a laptop, a portable keyboard will most likely be high on the wish list. While the stylus in conjunction with the onscreen keyboard or Transcriber may be adequate for writing a small email, jotting down a quick note or adding an appointment to your Calendar, it’s not the most effective way of entering a lot of text. There are various options on the market that allow a more efficient way of entering a lot of data such as software solutions that replicate large onscreen keyboards or make predictive assumptions of the word you are typing or the hardware solutions like clip-on thumb keyboards. Most solutions out there have their merits but I personally find that nothing quite compares to the touch and feel of a full-sized keyboard. In my opinion, this would definitely be the preferred method of data entry but carrying around such a keyboard to complement a Pocket PC just isn’t a viable option. Luckily, there is now a good selection of foldable keyboards available and the wireless keyboard from Pocketop Inc. is one of them.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><!><br /><i>The design behind the Pocketop keyboard is simple. Create a relatively full-sized keyboard that folds up to approximately the size of a Pocket PC. The actual construction of this product is anything but simple, however, as this is one cool piece of design.</i><br /><br /><span><b>So what do you get?</b></span><br />In the box you will find the keyboard, a driver disc, PDA stand with fittings, stylus, battery and a user manual. The keyboard itself when folded up is protected in its own, hard case. This gives it great protection when not in use and added rigidity when opened out for working with. Opening the case is as simple as pushing two small buttons on the corners of the case. This releases the keyboard which then folds out like a book with a single motion. This is all you need to do to have the keyboard set out and ready for action. While the keyboard is almost full size, this is in the laptop sense i.e. there is no separate cursor key section and keypad as found on a desktop equivalent. The cursor keys are located in the lower right side of the keyboard and similar to laptops, there is a Numlock function that lets a section of the keys operate as a keypad if you have a lot of numbers to enter. These numbers can also be selected from the top row of keys however they share their function with the first row of letters and need to used in conjunction with the Numlock key.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-2.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: The contents of the box</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-3.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: The keyboard folded out and ready for use</i><br /><br /><span><b>Using the Keyboard</b></span><br />The included disc contains the keyboard driver and electronic user manual, however, Pocketop also include a small flyer that points you in the direction of their Web site for the latest version of the software, something which I consider to be good practice. This is a simple installation that sets up any compatible PDA for use with the keyboard.<br /><br />The driver contains various settings that enable you to customize how the keyboard operates, however, the location and layout of this new driver configuration is different from what is in the manual. When installed, you can use the Pocktop keyboard by selecting it from the same input method menu as you use to select the standard Pocket PC input metho (Keyboard, Transcriber, etc.). Once selected, you can use the keyboard straight away. When Pocketop is in use, there is a small tool bar at the bottom of the screen with the various options that allow you to rotate the screen, adjust screen brightness, create a shortcut macro or toggle the key click sound on or off. The two final icons on this bar allow you to view the Help and About information. <br /><br />To the left of the icons is a blank portion of tool bar that displays any toggle keys as they are pressed, such as Shift or Numlock. The rotate screen option is intrinsic to how you use the PDA and keyboard combination and a very valuable component, in my opinion. The short cut macro function is another very handy option that allows you to map a series of key presses or text to each of the alphabet letters and is recalled by using the Function and letter key combination. You could effectively map long or commonly used text strings to a key, for example, your address, and have the keyboard type this into the application at the touch of a button. This is a great feature, however, it will be hard to remember 26 different macros. Selecting this function from the tool bar can look these up but this will interrupt the fluency of your typing, as you would need to tap on the screen. Because these macros are just a collection of key presses, there is no easy way to undo the text if you select the wrong macro shortcut by mistake. Using CTRL-Z to undo your last action only removes the last character of the macro so you would basically have to backspace through the entire macro. It would be nice to have an undo macro feature to make this feature more foolproof. You can turn sound on or off and this function provides an audible confirmation that each key press has been registered. These are the only driver options available to the user and it’s surprising to find no option to change the likes of key repeat rates or delays. While I never found this to be an issue, everyone has different typing styles and these options really should be present.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-8.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Selecting the keyboard from the input method menu</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-9.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 4: Rotating the screen is simple</i><br /><br /><span><b>Layout</b></span><br />On the top right of the keyboard are four application keys that give you access to Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes and a further four applications: Start Menu, Task Manager, Calculator and Find, when used in conjunction with the Function key. There are many other useful shortcut keys to such things as popular applications like Word, Excel and Inbox and useful functions like turning off the Pocket PC and OKing on screen prompts.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-10.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 5: The tool bar provides one click access to the relevant options</i><br /><br /><span><b>Technical setup</b></span><br />I found setting up this keyboard a breeze and there are a number of options for the way you physically use it. The keyboard works wirelessly through Infrared and because of this, we need a line of sight between the IR ports on both the keyboard and device. Pocketop has included a handy PDA stand with a moveable mirror that lets you set up your device in a convenient position in front of you. The mirror will reflect the wireless signal to the IR port on the top of your PDA where most devices have this placed. The port on the keyboard is placed left of centre and this also allows you to place a PDA with a left-sided port in a good location for use without the need of the mirror. I am not aware of any devices with a right-sided IR port so I think this is a well thought-out design point. This bundled PDA stand is a good solution that many users will be comfortable with but I am the minimalist type of user who prefers to not rely on extra accessories to make the most of a product. This is where another strong design feature comes into play: Screen rotation. This built in utility will allow you to place the Pocket PC flat on the desk in front of you with IR ports aligned and then rotate the screen in any angle 90-degree angle to get the optimum viewing position. Simply flipping the screen upside down but still in portrait mode without the need for a soft reset is a quick and convenient way to have you typing without carrying the stand with you. Rotating the screen to landscape mode does require a soft reset but will give you the benefit of typing with a wider entry line.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-6.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 6: No need to use the stand</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-7.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 7: But you can if you prefer</i><br /><br /><span><b>Thoughts on ease of use</b></span><br />Typing on this keyboard demonstrates good quality when you consider the dimensions of this product in its folded state. The keys are of a decent size and have a good amount of travel with a very tactile feel. The one thing to note here is that compromises have been made to attain the small dimensions when closed in a single fold. Of the three main rows of letter keys, only the middle row is full sized with the rows above and beneath employing a smaller size of key. To make the compromise more comfortable, the keys on these two rows are contoured towards the middle row to make it easier to push them. This makes the feel of the keyboard something different to what most people are used to and does take a bit of getting used to. That being said, through use, the keyboard does become more comfortable and intuitive.<br /><br />The underside of the keyboard sports small rubber feet that keep the keyboard in place when you type. However, the spine of the casing has a smooth, brushed metal finish that supports the centre of the keyboard when in use. Due to the light weight of the keyboard, I found it would slip around a little on a smooth surface when using keys towards the middle. I would love to see this metal spine have some form of thin rubber strip to eliminate this minor but annoying problem.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-4.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 8: A stylish little unit when folded up</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/andyw-feb03-pocketop-5.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 9: A nice compact size next to the Axim</i><br /><br />In use, the keyboard has a rigid feel, however, the hinge in the centre of the keyboard has no such locking mechanism. On a flat surface, this causes no issue, but it does mean you can’t use the keyboard on an uneven surface such as your lap. This is only a minor point and common to a lot of similar keyboards but I can only assume there was some manufacturing reason why a simple sliding tab was not used to lock the centre of the keyboard and see this as a missed opportunity. Otherwise, using this keyboard is similar to a laptop keyboard but not in the same league as a standard desktop PC. For convenience, there is a small stylus well to hold the included stylus which will keep it in close range if you need to make changes on the screen itself such as selecting check boxes etc.<br /><br /><span><b>Gotchas</b></span><br />The biggest issue I have with this keyboard is the size of the keys. It will take time to grow accustomed to this and I think some people will find this a hindrance when entering large volumes of data. It would be great if Pocketop could increase the size of the smaller keys to fill out the dimensions of the keyboard meaning larger keys within the same compact size of the unit. The smooth centre support also creates a minor issue with keyboard movement when typing and some form of rubber support in this area could easily rectify this.<br /><br /><span><b>Where to buy</b></span><br />The Wireless keyboard can be purchased from Pocketop Inc.’s <a href="http://www.pocketop.net/">Web site</a> for $99.99 including shipping.<br /><br /><span><b>Specifications</b></span><li>Weight 4.2 ounces (120 grams)<br /><li>Folded .57 x 3.28 x 4.68 inches (1.43 x 8.2 x 11.7 cm)<br /><li>Open .38 x 3.28 x 9.2 inches (.95 x 8.2 x 23 cm)<br /><li>Key Travel 2.1mm<br /><li>Key Spacing 17 mm<br /><li>Driver install - 610.5kb<br /><li>Battery*- one 1.5v AAA - Approximately 6 months @ 2 hours per day at 120 keystrokes per minute<br /><li>nine programmable keys<span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />This really is a handy keyboard to have, although will take a little bit of use to become accustomed to the small, contoured keys along the top and bottom rows. The very fact you can carry such a good keyboard around in your pocket and set it up so easily without any further add-ons is excellent. Response from the keyboard was first rate and I noticed no form of lag at all when typing although I’m sure there are many who can type a lot quicker than I can. This is a recommended accessory and if you are one who would welcome writing a lot of text on the go, the Pocketop falls into that category of being essential. I could quite happily leave my laptop at home knowing I could use the more portable combination of my Pocket PC and Pocketop to achieve the similar results however I would recommend regular typists trying one out first to ensure you can work with the smaller keys.<br /><br />If you enter extensive amounts of text on your PDA, I think there are other, more comfortable solutions out there with the whole complement of full-sized keys. If you have access to more than one type of PDA or upgrade your device regularly, the keyboard from Pocketop comes into its own through its sheer universal compatibility. It’s a close call and you really need to decide what is most important to you.

[MPSmith]

Nice review. I hadn't thought of using it without the stand, as you suggest. I do have one comment. You said:

"In use, the keyboard has a rigid feel, however, the hinge in the centre of the keyboard has no such locking mechanism. On a flat surface, this causes no issue, but it does mean you can’t use the keyboard on an uneven surface such as your lap."

You are absolutely correct, but I've found a simple way to lock the keyboard hinge so it feels more secure. Leave the stand attached to the side of the keyboard. Open the keyboard, then slide the stand halfway into the other slot on the opposite side of the keyboard. The stand will be sideways. Open the back kick-stand and situate the PPC in landscape mode. It works great on my Axim!

You won't be able to use it in your lap, but it makes the whole arrangement feel a little more secure.

[dartman]

Andy,

As usual another great review.

I dragged my feet all last week trying to decide whether to buy one of these for $30 (after rebates) at CompUSA. In the end I decided that I really didn't do much data entry on the PPC so I passed. I was intrigued by the ability to use it with different devices. I also thought it might be nice to actually find a use for the IR.

This represents a breakthrough for me in that I actually elected not to buy something that I might not use even though the technology was very cool.

I probably wont show as much restraint when the BT keyboards come out. Maybe by then I'll either rationalize more use for a keyboard or revert back to my old habits of letting technology drive my purchasing decisions.

If your review had been out last week, I'd have bought it.

Keep up the good work.

dart

[Paragon]

In use, the keyboard has a rigid feel, however, the hinge in the centre of the keyboard has no such locking mechanism. On a flat surface, this causes no issue, but it does mean you can’t use the keyboard on an uneven surface such as your lap.

Actually it does have a locking method......not a great one but it does work. You can slide the hinge "pin" of the stand into both halves of the keyboard and use it in landscape mode. I've been meaning to find a a small piece of wire rod, or dowel that would fit in place of the stand pin.

http://www.devans.ca/pocketop.jpg

Dave

[Andy Whiteford]

Yes you can use the stand to lock the keyboard in place but this only really works out when the keyboard is on a flat firm surface, the very time when the locking mechanism is not required.

I was referring to a small lock on the keyboard itself so you could use it on your lap. If you had the stand attached with a PDA, the movement whilst working with it on your lap would probably have the device falling off the stand. Ideally, you shouldn't have to rely on the stand to make it work as this only makes it necessary to carry another accesory around with you.

[Paragon]

Yeah, you are right Andy. I think there should be a better method of locking it open. I just thought I would point that out for those who might find it useful.

Dave

[WolfDaemon]

Just FYI, the Audiovox Thera has a right-side IR port. Wouldn't work with the stand, but I suppose one could always do the screen rotation bit with a flat surface.

[baggins]

Does the keyboard allow re-assigning of keys to, e.g., foreign letters? This would come in handy for a lot of users, IMO.

Baggins

[Macguy59]

Just FYI, the Audiovox Thera has a right-side IR port. Wouldn't work with the stand, but I suppose one could always do the screen rotation bit with a flat surface.

I guess the same would go for the 1910 which has IR on the left side of the unit?

[rudolph]

You can't reassign keys to foreign letters, but you can get a "character map" type thing when you press Function + O, which has characters with accents & some other symbols.


Also, FYI the keyboard doesn't work well with Terminal Services Client. Well it works, but you can't type numbers or any other punctuation, which makes it almost useless in that situation. I've emailed Pocketop about it, but they said yes it doesn't work with Terminal Services Client, and nobody (besides me) has emailed them before about it so it's unlikey that it will be fixed soon.... bummer.


I have a question for those who have they keyboard. How do you program the "nine programmable keys"? I can't find how to do this on the PocketPC 2002 OS. You can assign the text macros' strings but not the shortcut keys. Any ideas?

[MPSmith]

"The included disc contains the keyboard driver and electronic user manual, however, Pocketop also include a small flyer that points you in the direction of their Web site for the latest version of the software, something which I consider to be good practice. This is a simple installation that sets up any compatible PDA for use with the keyboard. "

It's well documented on this site, but worth mentioning again. DO NOT USE the CD that comes with the Pocketop, it is not up-to-date (As he says above, this is a "good practice").

This is especially true if you are a Dell Axim user. Many have reported that if you try to install the driver from the CD onto an Axim, not only will the keyboard not work, but won't be able to load the correct driver until you hard reset the device. OUCH!

Just FYI...

[Paragon]

For those with devices with the IrDA window on the side, the stand works in landscape. As long as the driver works you should be ok. You could also use it without the stand as Andy showed in his review.

Dave

[rogrees]

does this keyboard work with the ipaq 1910?

[Paragon]

does this keyboard work with the ipaq 1910?

From the PocketTop website:

PDA driver development under way
- T-Mobile/O2 XDA. ETA March 21st 2003.
IPAQ 1910 and 5450 Series - ETA March 21st, 2003
Toshiba e330/e335 - ETA March 21st, 2003

Dave

[Ipaqman]

Just a thought....While talking to a friend about this device, he noted that he had read an aricle whcih warned of using this device to log onto secured Web sites. He stated that the article mentioned that transmitting information via IR opens up the possibility for others to grab your secured data (i.e. passwords, acct #'s, etc.). Has anyone experienced this or heard of this? At the time my friend could not recall the source of the article.

[Paragon]

In fact it's possible....In reality it's not. When you consider how far an IrDA beam travels, and the narrow width of the beam. I think you would know when someone was scoffing your data, because they would be sitting on your lap. :)

Dave

[jlp]

My question is akin to Baggins' but a little different.

There are at least 3 utils out there that change the software keyboard on PkPCs to allow the use of national keyboard layouts; i.e. instead of QWERTY you get e.g. the French AZERTY or the Swiss or German QWERTZ. Would these utils allow the Pocketop keyboard to follow these layouts based on the virtual keyboard layout?

If not, how would you type, for example these characters: éàèç, etc.

[Pony99CA]

Gotchas
The biggest issue I have with this keyboard is the size of the keys. It will take time to grow accustomed to this and I think some people will find this a hindrance when entering large volumes of data. It would be great if Pocketop could increase the size of the smaller keys to fill out the dimensions of the keyboard meaning larger keys within the same compact size of the unit. The smooth centre support also creates a minor issue with keyboard movement when typing and some form of rubber support in this area could easily rectify this.

I think you left out one of the top two Gotchas. Key size is one, but the fact there are only four rows of keys is another. You have to shift to use the number keys (which you did mention, but not in the Gotchas section).

For comparison, the Think Outside/Targus Stowaway keyboard has five rows of keys, so you have all of the number keys (and the shifted punctuation keys) where they should be.

Steve

[Pony99CA]

Just a thought....While talking to a friend about this device, he noted that he had read an aricle whcih warned of using this device to log onto secured Web sites. He stated that the article mentioned that transmitting information via IR opens up the possibility for others to grab your secured data (i.e. passwords, acct #'s, etc.). Has anyone experienced this or heard of this? At the time my friend could not recall the source of the article.
As Paragon said, it's probably possible, but not likely. Look at the range you can get beaming with your Pocket PC.

When Bluetooth keyboards come out for Pocket PCs, with a 30-foot range, it might be a bigger deal, unless the Bluetooth signal is encrypted.

In both cases, however, somebody would probably have to sit and wait for a long time to find a password or credit card number out of all the typing someone is doing.

Steve

[Andy Whiteford]

I think you left out one of the top two Gotchas. Key size is one, but the fact there are only four rows of keys is another. You have to shift to use the number keys (which you did mention, but not in the Gotchas section).

For comparison, the Think Outside/Targus Stowaway keyboard has five rows of keys, so you have all of the number keys (and the shifted punctuation keys) where they should be.



I personally don't consider this as a true Gotcha, mainly because the trade off with losing the row of numbers is the smaller size. It's easy to hold down the Num key in unison with one of the top row of letters to get a number and you can use the Numlock function if you have a lot of numbers to enter. This is just my opinion and while it is perhaps not as convenient as having that fifth row, it doesn't cause me any issues.

The Stowaway keyboard does have this fifth row of keys but because I was reviewing the Pocketop keyboard on it's own merits, any direct comparison was out of scope for this review. Just for the record, the new Stowaway XT keyboard only uses four rows in a similar fashion to the Pocketop and I don't think they would have followed this route if it was going to cause any major issues.

[hulksmash]

I'm still a bit apprehensive of the smoothness of typing and having it recognize all characters via IR. IR seems a bit unreliable via a little reflective device along the top of the device... :roll:

[Pony99CA]

I think you left out one of the top two Gotchas. Key size is one, but the fact there are only four rows of keys is another. You have to shift to use the number keys (which you did mention, but not in the Gotchas section).

I personally don't consider this as a true Gotcha, mainly because the trade off with losing the row of numbers is the smaller size. It's easy to hold down the Num key in unison with one of the top row of letters to get a number and you can use the Numlock function if you have a lot of numbers to enter. This is just my opinion and while it is perhaps not as convenient as having that fifth row, it doesn't cause me any issues.

Yes, the size would be bigger with another row of keys, but I think having to hit an extra key to get a number (or punctuation) on a device intended to ease data entry is a bad trade-off. I don't even like thumb boards that have only four rows, and I don't think a fifth row would make the device that much larger.

Regardless of whether it would increase the size or not, I think it's still a trade-off (ergo a "Gotcha" that a user should be aware of).

As for size, you said:

The biggest issue I have with this keyboard is the size of the keys.
It will take time to grow accustomed to this and I think some people will find this a hindrance when entering large volumes of data.

I'm not sure how they could make the smaller keys bigger. From the photo you provided, the keyboard looks pretty full, except at the top where the IR emitter (I think) is. Where would you enlarge the keys?

Regardless, you said it will take time to grow accustomed to hitting smaller keys, which is the gotcha. Don't you think it will take time to get accustomed to having to shift to get numbers? :twisted:

Oh, and I forgot to ask about punctuation. Does the Pocketop have the full complement of punctuation available, via shift or some other means? Most four-row keyboards I've seen omit some of the punctuation on the keyboard, and you have to enter it either with the SIP or a special utility provided by the keyboard maker. Not having the common punctuation symbols available would be another Gotcha.

Steve

[Andy Whiteford]

That is an obvious clash of opinions then. I find when normal typing that I am more likely to enter ! or ? than a number. These both require use of the Shift key on a standard keyboard. Having to use aqnother key to access an occasional number therefore has no real hindrance for me and as I pointed out, the Numlock is available to allow single key entry of numbers where required. I guess it just depends on how much value you put on being able to enter the occasional number with a single key, not something that I personally value that highly and as noted, the loss of this row of keys is not without it's benefits i.e. more compact size.

Regarding the use of smaller keys, the Stowaway XT is a similar compact size and design but manages to fill out the entire keyboard surface with full sized keys. If Pocketop manage to do the same, they would probably have four rows of full sized keys or very close to it but with the added universal nature that IR affords. This would probably make it the ultimate portable keyboard in my opinion.

I don't have the keyboard here just now to check the punctuation but I'm sure all is present. I'll try and confirm later.

[Pony99CA]

That is an obvious clash of opinions then. I find when normal typing that I am more likely to enter ! or ? than a number. These both require use of the Shift key on a standard keyboard. Having to use aqnother key to access an occasional number therefore has no real hindrance for me and as I pointed out, the Numlock is available to allow single key entry of numbers where required. I guess it just depends on how much value you put on being able to enter the occasional number with a single key, not something that I personally value that highly and as noted, the loss of this row of keys is not without it's benefits i.e. more compact size.

Yes, punctuation is likely used more often than numbers. However, the issue isn't so much whether you have to use a shift key or not, but whether your familiar typing rhythm is upset. If keys are positioned differently on your various keyboards, accessing any characters that aren't in their "standard" positions becomes more difficult, especially to touch typists. Why do you think people are still using the QWERTY keyboard, even though you can enter text more quickly (after training) on a Dvorak keyboard?

The number keys contain some frequently used punctuation symbols on most keyboards, not just numbers. Having to relearn where the "!", "@", "$", "%", "&", "*", "(", ")" and "-" keys are will slow down your typing. If you've ever switched between a full-size keyboard and a laptop keyboard, you know how it takes some getting used to finding keys like Backspace, Insert, Delete and "\".

Look at this image comparing the Pocketop to the Stowaway.

http://www.pocketop.net/images/news-2002-05-02-2.jpg

Is that minor difference in size worth having to relearn your key placements? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not saying the Pocketop designers made a bad decision doing it this way; I'm merely pointing out that it is a trade-off that people might not expect, and is a Gotcha that should be mentioned in a review. You're free to say that it isn't a major issue to you, but why insist that it's not an issue at all (and not worth mentioning in a review)?

Regarding the use of smaller keys, the Stowaway XT is a similar compact size and design but manages to fill out the entire keyboard surface with full sized keys. If Pocketop manage to do the same, they would probably have four rows of full sized keys or very close to it but with the added universal nature that IR affords. This would probably make it the ultimate portable keyboard in my opinion.

To do that, it looks like they'd have to shrink the size of the IR emitter. That would likely mean your PDA placement would be more difficult. As the Stowaway XT relies on a mechanical connection, it won't have that issue.

Steve

[Andy Whiteford]

You're free to say that it isn't a major issue to you, but why insist that it's not an issue at all (and not worth mentioning in a review)?

Okay this could go on for some time and this is the purpose of allowing feedback after these reviews. The quote above is incorrect as I did mention it in the review although not quite how you have stated it. That's why I have followed up here in response to your comments. I also stated that it does take a little getting used to and through time it will be more intuitive.

I think most people can see in the review that these number keys are doubled up with the top row of letters and as stated require a second key to activate the number. They can surely make their own mind up if this is a Gotcha for them or not. It's not for me because the functionality is still there, there is an added benefit of a more compact size and the Numlock function is also present. These are the reasons I did not list it as a Gotcha.
Hope this makes sense to you regardless of whether you agree with it or not. As I have also mentioned, Thinkoutside have also gone down this same route with their new line of Stowaway keyboards, the XT range so there must be some benefits in reducing size over the original Stowaway keyboard and also losing the dedicated row of number keys.

[Pony99CA]

I think most people can see in the review that these number keys are doubled up with the top row of letters and as stated require a second key to activate the number. They can surely make their own mind up if this is a Gotcha for them or not. It's not for me because the functionality is still there, there is an added benefit of a more compact size and the Numlock function is also present. These are the reasons I did not list it as a Gotcha.
Hope this makes sense to you regardless of whether you agree with it or not.

Well, it doesn't really make sense because your position isn't consistent. Most people can also see the non-home-row keys are smaller, too, and that was mentioned as a Gotcha.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree whether keys not being in their traditional positions is a Gotcha, even though we both agree that keys in their traditional positions but smaller is a Gotcha.

Steve

[Andy Whiteford]

Hey Steve, can't we just hug and make up... ;)

My main concern with the size of the keys is people with bigger fingers hitting more than one key at a time. I agree that we will always disagree on this topic but it's healthy for others to see other people's opinions.