me
04-30-2005, 11:12 PM
There are three as far as I've heard--the "Think Outside-Stowaway" model (the one that seems to have the most publicity, including here), the one by HP, and one that seems to go under different names, such as "Freedom" (sold on Proporta web site), Javoedge, etc. (Interestingly, I have never seen one of these in a store, even a store that carries a lot of PDA peripherals, including other folding keyboards, both connected and infrared, but no Bluetooth. I've only seen them online. Anyone know why no stores seem to carry the BT PDA kbds?)
Has anyone tried all three, and could compare their advantages and disadvantages, to those thinking of buying one? (If there are others besides these three, please let us know about them as well.)
The most well-known one, Think Outside, has the disadvantage of no number row, having to use function key combinations to type a number. Many have complained about that. Are the designers of this listening, will they come out with a model with a number row? (Both of the other models have number rows.)
I've read good things about the HP, except some negative comments about its battery life. Also, I'm not sure if it only works on HP devices, or on any BT phones and PDAs. It's currently the most expensive model too. (TO's was the most expensive one, but after a recent price drop, discounting, etc., it's actually the cheapest.)
I've seen mixed reviews of the "Freedom" kbd, some very good, others not as good. I believe it had more compatibility than the others before, but now TO has added more devices that theirs work with, so I don't know if they are equal in that department now. It was the cheapest before, but now TOs price, at least at some places like Amazon, has gone below it, or at least equals it. (BTW though, the price on the TO kbd at Amazon has just gone up a few bucks. It was $86 something there a few weeks, as advertised here, now has gone up to $90 something. Not a big change, but a little surprising, as prices on electronic goods usually go down, not up.)
I haven't tried any of these. Thinking of purchasing one, undecided about which might be better to buy. Any comments from anyone who has used one or more of these would be helpful.
Has anyone tried all three, and could compare their advantages and disadvantages, to those thinking of buying one? (If there are others besides these three, please let us know about them as well.)
The most well-known one, Think Outside, has the disadvantage of no number row, having to use function key combinations to type a number. Many have complained about that. Are the designers of this listening, will they come out with a model with a number row? (Both of the other models have number rows.)
I've read good things about the HP, except some negative comments about its battery life. Also, I'm not sure if it only works on HP devices, or on any BT phones and PDAs. It's currently the most expensive model too. (TO's was the most expensive one, but after a recent price drop, discounting, etc., it's actually the cheapest.)
I've seen mixed reviews of the "Freedom" kbd, some very good, others not as good. I believe it had more compatibility than the others before, but now TO has added more devices that theirs work with, so I don't know if they are equal in that department now. It was the cheapest before, but now TOs price, at least at some places like Amazon, has gone below it, or at least equals it. (BTW though, the price on the TO kbd at Amazon has just gone up a few bucks. It was $86 something there a few weeks, as advertised here, now has gone up to $90 something. Not a big change, but a little surprising, as prices on electronic goods usually go down, not up.)
I haven't tried any of these. Thinking of purchasing one, undecided about which might be better to buy. Any comments from anyone who has used one or more of these would be helpful.