Stowaway Keyboard 2.0 Drivers Finally Released - Windows Mobile 2003 Compatible

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.thinkoutside.com/support/hpipaq/driver8646.html' target='_blank'>http://www.thinkoutside.com/support...driver8646.html</a><br /><br /></div>I received a tip from someone at Think Outside last night that the new drivers were going to be released today, and sure enough, "Driver (v2.0) for Pocket PC 2002 & 2003" is shown on their support page. Many of us have been waiting for this (myself included), and I'm very pleased to see this finally be released. I just wish it had been two months ago... :roll:

[hamishmacdonald]

YAAAAAAAAAAAY! Oh my God, but this is going to make my life better. Thank you very much, Jason, for alerting us to this update.

That development team deserves a case of beer or a cake or something. I tried not to rage, but to just be patient. And it paid off: they didn't just deliver a cobbled-together patch but a whole new driver and interface.

Oh. But it makes a silly typing noise. I must figure out how to make that go away.

Update: Turning on and off the sound is available in "Options", accessible from the input selector on the bottom-right of the screen. I know this because ThinkOutside has updated the manual, too! Well done.

- Hamish MacDonald

[Scott R]

So does the Stowaway XT (the really tiny one) work with the iPaq 2200-series? I see on the home page that it lists the iPaq under the Stowaway XT on the left column, but if you click on "iPaq" it doesn't do anything. I would imagine that the connector would be different, so there would need to be an entirely different model. Not to mention that the original XT has a Palm logo on it, right?

Scott

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Man... I was starting to wonder if my old Stowaway keyboard was going to turn into a large paperweight.

Thank goodness they didn't forget about us.

[Ed Hansberry]

Very nice! Notice that the UP/DOWN arrow keys work on your word completion menu. :D

Too bad it doesn't automatically swtich between the Stowaway and your preferred keyboard SIP when you dock, but that is a pretty small issue.

[Ed Hansberry]

Two words baby.....


KEYBOARD ACCELLERATORS :rock on dude!:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2003/20030925-stowaway2.gif

[G-squared]

Thanks for pointing this out! I have been waiting for this so that I could use my 5550 without having to soft-reset it every time or having to edit the registry time and again. Ed, the keyboard accelerators work great in Textmaker! :rock on dude!:

[Oleander]

Whoohooo! ....Not! :evil:

I breaks both Paragon Interkey and Sunnysoft Interwrite..

Why oh why is it that in the year 2003 theres still only native support for one keyboard layout?

It's not friggin 1980! :cry:

[Kathy_Harris]

Anyone got the driver to work with a 2200?

[Ed Hansberry]

Anyone got the driver to work with a 2200?
Works fine here AFAIK.

[clintc]

Anyone got the driver to work with a 2200?
Works fine here AFAIK.

My 2200 does not seem to fit well on the connector. It just barely goes on the end of it. I am afraid to really push on it. Is this the experience of others?

[Ed Hansberry]

Anyone got the driver to work with a 2200?
Works fine here AFAIK.

My 2200 does not seem to fit well on the connector. It just barely goes on the end of it. I am afraid to really push on it. Is this the experience of others?
Oh, this is on the regular Stowaway? Yeah, the 3800 adapter/connector doesn't work. A Dremel tool fixed that for me. :mrgreen:

[Phoenix]

Could someone please clarify something for me?

I called up ThinkOutside a short while ago and they told me that the Stowaway XT won't work with the iPAQ 2215 at all because HP had re-orientated the connector on the bottom of the 2200 series 180 degrees from what it's been and still is originally in the other iPAQ's, resulting in an inability to even plug the iPAQ 2215 in and use it (meaning that, depending on how you interpret "180 degrees", either the 2215 couldn't be plugged in at all, or the 2215's screen would be facing away from you and you'd be staring at the back of the iPAQ while typing, which of course, would be worthless). Does this make any sense?

I have a hard time thinking that someone who works for this company doesn't have a clue about their own product, but did this guy fall on his head before he came to work that day, or what? I mean, does the XT work with the 2200 series at all - can you plug the 2215 into the XT just fine? And now that these drivers are out, does the XT keyboard work perfectly with the iPAQ 2200 series? Just want to figure out what the heck is going on before I attempt to drop $100 on one.

Feedback is appreciated.

[Ed Hansberry]

Could someone please clarify something for me?

I called up ThinkOutside a short while ago and they told me that the Stowaway XT won't work with the iPAQ 2215 at all because HP had re-orientated the connector on the bottom of the 2200 series 180 degrees from what it's been and still is originally in the other iPAQ's, resulting in an inability to even plug the iPAQ 2215 in and use it (meaning that, depending on how you interpret "180 degrees", either the 2215 couldn't be plugged in at all, or the 2215's screen would be facing away from you and you'd be staring at the back of the iPAQ while typing, which of course, would be worthless). Does this make any sense?

Yes, but they are mixed up on the product line. What they said is 100% correct for the 1900 series. HP changed the connector rotation specifically so you couldn't attach keyboards because the 1900 doesn't support serial.

The 2215 works just fine, as do all 3600-3900 and 5000 models.

[Phoenix]

Ahhh, I see. Well thanks for the feedback, that clears things up. Finally... a keyboard for my 2215! Yea! :alfdance:



By the way, does anyone recommend a good place to find and purchase the XT for iPAQ? Just thought I'd check while I'm at it.

Update: I found the following site... this IS the correct XT keyboard for the 2215, is it not? (I'm assuming there isn't more than one XT for iPAQ's, is that correct?).

www.thenerds.net/productpage.asp?un=155782&s=1

[nGage]

Shall I be the first to note that the caps lock indication is not (yet) supported by Wisbar Advanced. Otherwise quite exstatic about not having to reset everytime I want to use my kbd.

[Ed Hansberry]

Well, not real excited that the keyboard accelerators are on ALL THE TIME even when there is no keyboard attached, but that ts a small matter I guess. :?

[Christian]

:bday: Now, time to get out the Dremel so that my 2210 will actually fit :D

[apextwin]

Seems to me like they are still not quite there with the latest update.

Every time I hit the blue function key (on the left of the space bar) and the delete key it turns off my Ipaq 2210. As far as I'm aware this is not a standard shortcut. I find this mildly annoying because I oftentimes leave one finger on the function key when I type numbers and then delete some.

Also, when I turn the Ipaq back on it displays the owner information, the password prompt (I have mine turned on), and the Today screen - all at the same time on top of each other. This also happens on any regular power up. And this is clearly something that shouldn't happen. I wonder what it is with power-ups that causes the Stowaway driver so much trouble.

Does anyone have the same issues?

[FernandoD]

Hi,

I have a 2215 and using a dremel it is possible to make the adaptor fit the curve of the 2215. It works and is quite easy.

Now for the bad part, I need the Spanish layout for the keyboard. The only config file that the installer puts in windows folder is StwyUSStd. Does anybody has any other file? The very same happened with 1.7 drivers and I had to use 1.6 in my ipaq 3630. Any clues?

Best regards / Fernando

[ThinkOutside]

Apextwin,

We've tested all the latest iPAQ's with our new 2.0 driver and haven't seen the issues you're seeing. The blue Fn key combined with the backspace key does turn off the iPAQ but blue Fn + Delete shouldn't do anything (on a Palm it dims the backlight). Which model iPAQ are you using? I've copied my technical team on your issue to see if they've heard anything about your multi-window/turn on issue.

[apextwin]

Thank you for picking up on my issues. It's very refreshing to see a prompt response from Thinkoutside after the past months of waiting.

I have an Ipaq 2210. The only additional software that is currently installed is the game "RocketElite".

Currently I am not seeing the multiple overlapping screens on startup anymore. So the power on/off function works like it should (though I am still getting the user information screen when the device turns on, even if it was just turned off for a few seconds - I don't think that happened before I installed the new drivers).

I was mistaken on the blue Fn key + delete key issue, by the way. What I really meant to say was that the device powers down when I hit the blue Fn key + the Backspace key. Any thoughts on that one?

[ThinkOutside]

This is a feature of the driver. It's covered in the new Stowaway XT User's Guide which also covers the other key commands and shortcuts. You should download a copy from our website to make sure you can access the new menu/toolbar commands that are also a part of the new driver. Note that we now have 2 User Guides - one for the 5 key row Stowaway and one for the 4 key row Stowaway XT. Hope this helps.

[FernandoD]

Hi Thinkoutside,

Do you know if different keyboard layouts for international support are included in the drivers? When I do the installation, only US layout is installed.

Best regards / Fernando

[ThinkOutside]

At this time, we will only be releasing an English (US) version of our driver.

[FernandoD]

Is there any third party software company developing keyboard layouts for the Stowaway? I recall that some soft company (I dont remember the name) did some international layouts for this keyboard. Since they were not freeware and since 1.6 drivers came out, I did not purchase it but they worked fine. Now I would pay for them if they work. :roll:

Best regards / Fernando

[ThinkOutside]

Haven't seen anything like that. We've done international layouts for some of our products in the past and will likely do so in the future. At the moment however, we don't have any plans for an international PPC driver or key layout. Maybe one of the international eBay sites has something you're looking for?

[D.psi]

Just a quick question, the dremmelling of the keyboard adapter was required on the ipaq 3xxx series adapter for the standard stowaway keyboard due to the lack of curvature of the 2210.

Does the Stowaway XT fit / work with the 2210 series out of the box, or does it require after market mods (i.e. dremmelling of edges or the ipaq 3xxx series adapter)?

I've looked at the thinkoutside product page, but as already mentioned, it's not been updated to indicate compatibility between ipaq's and the Stowaway XT keyboard yet. Any indication would be great.

Thanks

D.psi

[ThinkOutside]

As you noted, the contour of the 2200 series isn't the same as the other iPAQ's. It will fit the XT but depending on how hard you type, you could jiggle it loose from the connection. The XT can be dremmeled on the edges without harming the electrical connector to improve the connection with the 2200.

[D.psi]

Got the new XT keyboard... I am really enjoying the size and weight, as is my wife. Finally a keyboard solution for me.

Had to order it from the States as I did not find a distribution channel here in Canada. But it all worked out in the end.

Good keyaboard, just have to get used to not having any swearing keys without funny keying access... But that's okay too.

D.psi