Which IR keyboard?

[Stephen Beesley]

Well I have decided it is finally time to retire my trusy Stowaway keyboard in favour of one of the IR keyboards, but which one I ask myself. Having read as many reviews as I can find I am particularly attracted to the Targus IR keyboard and a cheaper one simply called the "wireless IR keyboard" by ENR Technologies http://www.pocketirkeyboard.com/simple.htm.

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/58/58427/wireless-keyboard.jpg

Neither of them use a mirror system which seems pretty clumsy to my mind. The Targus keyboard appears to be pretty big but has the advantage of brand recognition and I really like the sound of the on screen mouse pointer and the ability of the keyboard to lock so that you can type on your lap.

The ENR technologies keyboard seem to provide a lot of similiar features but at cheaper price and in a smaller package (although I wonder about things like driver support etc).

Anyone out there used either of these keyboards (or any others) and care to give their views/comments?

Goldtee

[CTSLICK]

I have the Targus and use it on my Dell. I guess its bigger than other keyboards but compared to lugging a laptop its still a winner. I like it because I can work in Landscape or Portrait (assuming you provide the screen rotation software). It was also readily available from a local retailer...just in case I hated it. You've obviously read some reviews so I give you my opinions and skip the detailed stuff like repeat rates and defining function keys.

Overall the Targus is a decent solution. The keys work well and are big enough for a hunt & peck typer like me. The space bar takes a bit of getting used to. I tend to use a mixture of short cut keys (Ctrl-X, Ctrl-V etc) and screen taps when working on things. In my view, the mouse pointer is nice but not a major feature. I tend to use the mouse cursor pad as an arrow key substitute a lot more than I use it for pointing and clicking. Pressing Ctrl-left cursor pad moves the cursor one space left, Alt-Left Cursor Pad moves left one word. Also works nicely in Excel to move from cell to cell. You get the idea.

I have used it to work in Word, Excel, and PIE and have liked the results. HanDBase also worked ok although it didn't seem to want to tab out of a couple of fields. No big deal. Its not ideal for hours of work but its a nice trade off to leave the laptop at home when I know I just have some light work to do on some docs, spreadsheets or databases.

Yes, the keyboard locks at the folding hinge but I wouldn't trust it on my lap. The lock still allows some movement at the hinge and frankly it doesn't feel that sturdy. The mechanism that hold your device is a spring loaded affair and does not hold it that tightly. It would not take much wiggling to have it fall out in my opinion. Bottom line is that I would not trust my Dell to stay in the keyboard while on my lap.

It runs on CR2032 batteries. I've used it for about 20 hours without replacing the batteries it came with. Keep in mind that when the keyboard is open it is using battery power. There is no on/off switch.

The IR port is easy to align and not very picky. Its pretty forgiving about staying connected even if things are not perfectly aligned.

The driver is a bit of a pain. It does not integrate into the standard SIP pop up with Character Recognizer, Transcriber etc. Its a seperate app that you have to open to enable the keyboard. I've seen more elegant solutions from other keyboard vendors.

The driver also provides no screen rotation. You'll need something like Nyditot Virtual Display to rotate the screen to work in landscape mode. I have heard that some have used the free driver from the Pocketop keyboard just for screen rotation. I've never tried this.

Also take a look at your CF port and you IR port. If you have any CF cards that stick out the top you will need to make sure that the IR arm for the keyboard can still "see" the IR port. This was important for me since my CF bluetooth card sticks well out of my Dell. Luckily my IR port is to the left side so I can use both at the same time.

Well, thats all I have time for. If you have specific questions let me know.

[dh]

I was using the Pocketop driver for screen rotation for quite a while before I got the keyboard to go with it.

The Pocketop keyboard works very well for me. It's super small but the keys are shaped nicely for typing.

To use with the Axim in portrait mode, it takes just a few seconds to get the mirror set up (usually anyway).

When in landscape mode, the mirror isn't needed and the mount can be attached directly to the keyboard. My Axim kind of rolls around in the holder in this orientation, I believe the mounting piece was originally designed for a Palm 505.

All in all, I would say it's a really neat design and I glad I bought it. Only potential is that I don't know i the driver is WM2003 compatible yet.

[CTSLICK]

Only potential is that I don't know i the driver is WM2003 compatible yet.

hmm...that makes me wonder if the Targus will work. I have my upgrade on order. Time for an email.

[CTSLICK]

Just a quick note. Targus has an updated driver on their site that appears to support PPC 2003. I won't know for sure until I get my upgrade CD from Dell (stop laughing).

It also seems to deal with keyboard app always staying open. It looks like if you disable the keyboard that it will allow you to close the app. We'll see if that holds true in practice. I'll have to check it out tonight as I forgot (gasp) my keyboard at home.

[Stephen Beesley]

CTSLICK - thanks for your views and experiences. It pretty much confirmed what I was thinking about the Targus. Although it is no doubt bigger than some of the other solutions I doesn't seem to be any bigger than the stowaway that I am using at the moment and the lack of mirrors is really something that appeals to me.

The other similiar keyboard I was looking at does look good, but I am just not sure about going with something where I do not know anything about the vendor and have not really seen any reviews.

Thanks
Goldtee

[Cortex]

ive recently purchased the targus for my t-mobile ppc phone.

i echo everything ctslick said. the lock does feel flimsy and i doubt it would hold up on a lap for long -- but i havent tried it.

it is bigger than i expected.

it probably is bigger than your current targus keyboard because the ir piece has a lot of plastic that wasnt really needed. That entire chunk of IR/pda holding plastic folds on top of the folded keyboard in a trifold type design. so its basically as though you increase the thickness by 1/3.

its also kinda heavy. i had seen pictures of it being compared to the size of the pocket pc phone and it looked like it would be small/light -- its not. its not gigantic but its not small or light either. someone had posted that its 3/4 of a pound! and i believe it.

the holder that grips the pocketpc is a little flimsy -- it works, i was just suprised that they didnt design something more eligant....

more should be said about the space bar. its in the right spot for my thumb but the problem is the keys of the keyboard are within the shallow box of the case. the edge of this box is just high enough to get in the way of one's thumb coming down to hit the space bar. i have yet to get used to it -- but its only been a week.

finally the driver does drive me crazy! it basically comes on every time you turn on the device asking if you want to enable the keyboard AND you have to "nuke it" to get rid of it, otherwise its stealing some of my memory... i used to have a go-type keyboard for a casio em500 some time ago and their driver was basically a separate file that you could run from the sd card -- so you turned it one when you needed it. targus needs to fix this -- its really annoying.

but with all the gripes -- i got it for about 55 bucks new online -- it is universal unlike my casio em500 go type keyboard in my closet and it does have nice sized keys. i just dont know if i'll use it as much as i thought i would.

it would have been a much nicer device if they had gotten rid of all the plastic in the ir housing piece. i'll post some pics... (crappy ones i know -- but its my webcam)

things to note are:
1. its a trifold design -- the top piece could have been integrated into the keyboard with some thought...
2. theres a lot of plastic in the top piece that not doing much but adding weight and bulk
3. without the top piece, the folded keyboard is quite small, light and slim
4. the view with the keyboard bent is actually with the lock on and one side propped up so you can see how flimsy the 'lock' is
5. the bars that hold the device in place are just made of plastic and feel flimsy
6. the edge of the casing for the keys is almost at the level of the keys making the space bar tough to press
7. get used to the screen in the first pic -- thats their retarded driver that greets you everytime you turn on the device!

http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/1.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/2.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/3.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/4.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/5.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/6.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/7.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/8.jpg
http://www.brainthoughts.com/targus/9.jpg

[Stephen Beesley]

Great pictures - thanks. Boy that sucker does look - big!

By comparision, pictures of the ENR Technologies keyboard can be found here:


http://www.enrtech.com/501.php


Very similiar idea - but much smaller!

Goldtee

[Cortex]

the ENR Tech keyboard looks nice!

its much more like what i envisioned should have been done to the targus keyboard -- batteries in the keyboard itself and the ir arm/ppc holder is just a simple extension.

i wonder if it would work with my pocketpc phone since the ir port is on the upper left corner.

[Stephen Beesley]

the ENR Tech keyboard looks nice!

its much more like what i envisioned should have been done to the targus keyboard -- batteries in the keyboard itself and the ir arm/ppc holder is just a simple extension.

i wonder if it would work with my pocketpc phone since the ir port is on the upper left corner.

Yes the keyboard itself looks very nice, they are also cheaper than the Targus so I am thinking of taking the risk and getting one anyway.

If you are interested I just found a review here Wireless IR Keyboard Review (http://www.pocketpclouisville.com/reviews/wireless_IR_keyboard_review.htm)

Goldtee

[faustus67]

I first bought the ENR keyboard as it was cheap and small. It worked - once. Once I took my 3950 away from the keyboard, then wanted to use the kb again, it didn't work. Unless I uninstall the driver and then reinstall, it does not work. If I could find a new driver on the net for it, maybe that one would work.
So I bought the Targus - yes, it is big. But it works consistently and the keys have a nice feel to them. Fit's just fine in my briefcase, too.
So if anyone in the UK want to buy my ENR keyboard, make me an offer!!

Dave R.

[CTSLICK]

finally the driver does drive me crazy! it basically comes on every time you turn on the device asking if you want to enable the keyboard AND you have to "nuke it" to get rid of it, otherwise its stealing some of my memory...

I downloaded that latest driver yesterday and its seems to have cured this behaviour. Once you disable the keyboard in the software it allows it to close. Check it out and see if it works for you.