Adapt The iPAQ Thumb Board To Your 2200 Series iPAQ

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.mybigpocket.com/hp/thumboard.htm">http://www.mybigpocket.com/hp/thumboard.htm</a><br /><br />"The mod is fairly simple. Remove all the plastic screw covers and all the screws, and there are quite a few. After pulling it apart. You will need to snip the small legs that the standard iPAQ sits on. I just took off about 1/2 of each of them."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2003/20031008-2215thumbboard.jpg" /><br /><br />He has a complete tutorial on completing the mod, including pictures. :way to go:

[RobertCF]

Wow, ugly AND useless.

Props for great ingenuity, though!

[Scott R]

Will the h2215 be held firmly in place like this such that you can hold just the thumbboard and type while standing, or will the h2215 be at risk for falling out easily? If the latter, I don't see how this could be useful.

Scott

[MikeUnwired]

Looks like you have to derive from the photos that a liberal slathering of electrical tape is required to cover-up the guts of the keyboard mechanics. (A real man would have used duct tape :lol: )

Just from the photos, it looks like the 2215 is at risk of being unsupported from the rear and could tilt away from the keyboard and to the harsh reality of that sudden stop at the bottom of a fall. You could simply Dremel (the geek jackhammer) a slot on either side of the keyboard housing near the rear top of the unit and insert an elastic strap of some sort to snuggly hold the 2215.

Of course, you could fashion a more permanent attachment scheme and utilize the side rails where your cold dead lifeless rubber grips had been once they shear away from your expensive, yet poorly constructed, 2215... :mrgreen:

[Lday]

FYI, for what it's worth, I have seen a 3rd party thumboard for the 38xx and up veing clearenced at my local Ross dept store for $9.99. Since I don't have a 2210, nor an Ipaq of any sort, I can't test it, but at that price it seems like it would be worth someone experimenting.

[David C]

Well, it's crude, but certainly more versatile than the humongous G1000 or the h4355.

[Kevin Daly]

Well, I suppose it has the advantage of making the 4355 look aesthetically pleasing by comparison :D

I'd really love to see a version of that sexy micro keyboard that was announced for the "old-style" iPaqs a few months ago developed for the 2210 (which is odd, because I'm still stuck with my old Jornada and the 3870 I have from work, but I have plans).

I'm still asking myself which matters more to me, built-in WiFi support or a Compact Flash slot (I'm leaning towards the latter).

[griph]

Wow, ugly AND useless.

My thoughts exactly - design aesthetics just isn't in this guy's dictionary! 8O

[Don Tolson]

Interesting, but as stated before definitely LOOKS like someone hacked this together. I thought about it when I initially saw it, but on second look, it isn't something I'd want to use on a daily basis.

OK, HP, now that you've got a 'bestseller' on your hands with the 2210, why not provide one of those 'slim keyboards' we saw for the 3xxx, etc. series? We know you can do it!!!

...and while you're at it, how about including a flip cover for the screen? Something like the keyboard cover for the J568???

[Kevin Daly]

While I'm contributing nothing by saying so, I'd just like to say I agree with everything Don Tolson said above.

[Shuffles around, tries to look like a focus group]


The slim keyboard was a winner (including its colour-coordination aspect), and many, many, many people miss the flip-cover design of the Jornada (although one that could be easily removed and added without so much danger of breakage would be nice).

So come on HP, how about it?
0X

[JohnJohn]

It is useful :D I never claimed to be a pro at adapting things. Just had a sick day and didn't feel like cleaning out my closet. :D

FWIW: I can hold it by the keyboard upside down and the iPAQ does not fall out. If it wasn't for the ugly e-tape I would really use it more.

I with all ya, I would ditch this POS for a real one that fit my 2215. I'm hardly every sitting at my desk, the "desk needed" larger keyboards are not practical for me. I wish I had another option for data entry. Come on HP let me retire this thing.

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http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18915&highlight=