Dave's iPAQ Reviews iBIZ's Virtual Keyboard

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://davesipaq.com/articles/000063/ibiz_virtual_keyboard' target='_blank'>http://davesipaq.com/articles/00006...irtual_keyboard</a><br /><br /></div>I think we might be able to reclassify the virtual keyboard as exists-but-hard-to-getware. ;) Dave over at Dave's iPAQ got his hands on one and gave it a spin.<br /><br /><i>"As you can see in this picture the unit projected beautifully and I was pleasantly surprised. It took us about an hour to get used to the typing style and also for us to get the feel of typing on a flat surface. I liked the overall clarity of the projection and also was impressed with the availability of an up,down,left,right arrow this was a nice touch and responded appropriately."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20040625-DavesiPAQVK.jpg" /><br /><br />Now, the million dollar question is, when will it come out?

[Vasant56]

I wonder what it looks like in a regularly lighted environment

[Jason Dunn]

It's great that Dave got one for review, but if it's true that the device never received FCC clearance and that it's illegal for it to be sold in the US, then the problems aren't over yet...

[Steven Cedrone]

It would be cool if it had a place to mount the device (maybe on top) so that you could look directly at the device while typeing...

Just a thought!

Steve

Oh, and I really do hope this makes it to market. I would love to get my hands on one to test...

[x999x]

As cool as this sounds, it doesn't look very comfortable, and I'm not just talking relearning to type. I'm referring to the way the PDA has to rest, and in such a way that it's own chord doesn't get in the way of the laser's field. With having to add extra luggage like a stand for example, what exactly is a keyboard like this supposed to be saving us from that the current batch of foldable keyboards don't do well enough already?

I guess it's got that gadget appeal, because even after all that, I'm still intrigued... :devilboy:

[Perry Reed]

The author mentioned having to get used to the style of typing needed on the device, but failed to talk at all about just what the style is! I've heard rumors that you need to "one finger" type with large movements of your fingers, which to me sounds very slow, but I'd love to know just how you do type on the thing.

[Steven Cedrone]

The author mentioned having to get used to the style of typing needed on the device, but failed to talk at all about just what the style is! I've heard rumors that you need to "one finger" type with large movements of your fingers, which to me sounds very slow, but I'd love to know just how you do type on the thing.

Hunt and peck maybe? :lol: Hey, that's the way I type anyway! :wink:

Steve

[szamot]

Considering the amount of lawsuits this company is trying to wrap its head around I don't think we will see this baby any time soon, if ever. Too bad as this thing has some potential.

http://smartmobileassets.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?,v=display,b=news,m=1088058068

[DavesiPAQ]

The author mentioned having to get used to the style of typing needed on the device, but failed to talk at all about just what the style is! I've heard rumors that you need to "one finger" type with large movements of your fingers, which to me sounds very slow, but I'd love to know just how you do type on the thing.

Perry thanks for your comment. I actually addressed it here


Overall I feel iBIZ has delivered a stellar product. The projector was extremely durable and well manufactured. We did notice though the classic two fingered hunt and peck style of typing works best with the Virtual Keyboard.

[corphack]

Overall I feel iBIZ has delivered a stellar product.

Even though its more than 2 months past its promised shipping date, and even though allegedly it's illegal to sell in the US because it allegedly hasn't received FCC approval?

I imagine there are many people who would consider heroin to be a "stellar product" even though it hasn't received FDA approval and is illegal to sell in the US...

I can understand being gratefull for receiving a prototype unit for evaluation when they're otherwise extremely difficult to locate, but I can't understand Dave's review. I guess my standards are just somewhat higher than Dave's.

[Perry Reed]

Perry thanks for your comment. I actually addressed it here

Overall I feel iBIZ has delivered a stellar product. The projector was extremely durable and well manufactured. We did notice though the classic two fingered hunt and peck style of typing works best with the Virtual Keyboard.


Whoops! I guess I missed it. Sorry about that. But since you're here... :)

Is it at all possible to touch type on the thing? Well not *touch* type exactly, since there are no keys to touch... but can you use all 10 fingers? How fast can one go? My biggest concern is, that if you can't type fairly quickly on the device, it would be faster just to use one of the onboard input methods.

[DavesiPAQ]

The keyboard was not a prototype. I received an actual production model. We were getting a tremendous amount of requests for people who were considering preordering the unit and wanted to know my opinion.

Overall I feel iBIZ has delivered a stellar product.

Even though its more than 2 months past its promised shipping date, and even though allegedly it's illegal to sell in the US because it allegedly hasn't received FCC approval?

I imagine there are many people who would consider heroin to be a "stellar product" even though it hasn't received FDA approval and is illegal to sell in the US...

I can understand being gratefull for receiving a prototype unit for evaluation when they're otherwise extremely difficult to locate, but I can't understand Dave's review. I guess my standards are just somewhat higher than Dave's.

[corphack]

I did order the unit (from MobilePlanet) when they first offered it for sale; after 2 months of repeated unexplained delays I canceled the order.

I value the performance of the product, and of the company to be equally important.

[James Fee]

The keyboard was not a prototype. I received an actual production model.
Really so it got FCC approval?

[Paragon]

Is it at all possible to touch type on the thing? Well not *touch* type exactly, since there are no keys to touch... but can you use all 10 fingers? How fast can one go? My biggest concern is, that if you can't type fairly quickly on the device, it would be faster just to use one of the onboard input methods.

Perry,

I tried one of the at CES a few months back, and found that touch typing is rather difficult to do with it. You must lift your fingers off the surface after each character is typed. Since there is no pressure sensor any contact in the least will cause it to enter that character. I am not a touch typist. I use 2-3 fingers on each hand to poke around, it seems to like this style much better. I didn't find speed had that much of an effect on it....in all honesty I probably wasn't much of a challenge for it, speedwise. ;)

Dave

[Brad Adrian]

Call me a cynic, but there still are a LOT of roadblocks that need to be cleared before this is widely available. Is tihs REALLY something that we'll be using instead of our trusty folding keyboards?

[yslee]

I still don't understand why people are so excited over something that has no tactile feedback.

[jimski]

So is that an AC power cord I see coming out of the left side of that projector thingy? And why can't the projector talk to the PDA via BT?

With power cord, connector cord and projector, this requires two or three times the space of my handy HP foldable keyboard. Maybe for the W?BIC factor, but otherwise "priceless" (would not buy for any price).

[Gerard]

I've gotta agree with the nays on this one. For pure 'gee whiz' it can't be beat. But allowing that it took me two weeks to feel really comfortable with the slightly smaller spacing of a Tagrus IrDA keyboard after 2 years with ThinkOutsie Stowaways (Casio and then iPAQ models), making the leap from fast touch-typing to careful hunt-and-peck just seems too much effort to bother. Add in the need for a wire, apparently, and some fussing over relative location of the components, and it just seems too much bother. If that wire has a device-specific connector on it and not a universal one, then forget that too.

[bjornkeizers]

Here's another Nay.

It's slow, uncomfortable, and it's bulky. I can't carry that with me in my backpack, let alone on my belt. And since it doesn't communicate through BT, I need a special cable for every PDA?? I have a Palm and a PPC, and I change them regularly, so that's not really an option.

I would love to have one for the geek factor, but only for my PC.

[dazz]

Ya, I don't see the appeal either. The review mentions 3 hours of battery time. Geez!! Another thing I need to worry about pluggin in everyday! :roll:

I have a wireless keyboard and the batteries have lastest 2 months so far and are probably still going strong. It folds up very small and cost half as much as the iBiz, and I can type on it just as fast as my desktop.

Like others have said here, other than the whiz-bang factor what else is there appealing about this keyboard? :|

[Paragon]

Like others have said here, other than the whiz-bang factor what else is there appealing about this keyboard? :|

Hey Dazz

What is appealing about this? Well how about the fact that this is just a first generation device, and think about where it can go from here. IF they get this product off the ground, and IF it develops like many other hardware components such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cameras, and so on, it will likely end up being a standard integrated feature on PDAs. I think this would be a fantastic feature if it was built in and the PPC had a hinged flap on the back to act as a stand. I would put big money on this happening 2-3 years down the road.

Dave

[dazz]

Dave,

I think you are being just a little too optimistic here. 2 to 3 years??? No way! I can see something like this happening in 5 to 10...maybe. The problem is that the required hardware still required lasers, reflectors, focusing hardware, etc. This is just not something that can be dumped onto a chip, at least not any time soon.

I agree that there are some possibilities with this but that will not be enough to get me to buy this keyboard. I just don't think it can be as useful as a proper keyboard. Sorry.

I think that this might be more appealing for something like a touchpad set up. Actually, there was another input method a saw a while ago but can't find it. The letters would flow from right to left on the screen (desktop and PocketPC) and would kind of build the words and sentences as your drag your stylus or mouse. Anyone remember what that was called??

Something like that would work well for this because you would not need to lift your finger from the surface. Also, it would probably require a smaller suface.

As with any new technology it may hold the promise of new and useful solutions as does this keyboard. Unfortunately, in it's present form, I think that it is not highly useful or practical.

[Paragon]

Dazz,

Three years ago to do WiFi you needed a PC card ,very big, and a PC card sleeve, also very big, and ugly. Three years ago it was hardly imaginable that you could have a camera in a PDA. Now they are both common features in much smaller PDAs of today. All the lasers, reflectors, focusing hardware are done. All they need to do is shrink it.:)

WiFi in it's first form for handhelds wasn't useful fo many people either. It was big and awkward, and a real pain to setup...now look at it!

Dave

[dazz]

It's nice to see we are both so certain on what can and can't be done in 2 to 3 years. That despite the fact that neither of us is an Engineer. :lol: :lol:

Hey Dave, let's talk quantum physics! :wink:

[Paragon]

Hey Dave, let's talk quantum physics! :wink:

Ok, I give! you win! :)

Dave

[Pony99CA]

IF they get this product off the ground, and IF it develops like many other hardware components such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cameras, and so on, it will likely end up being a standard integrated feature on PDAs. I think this would be a fantastic feature if it was built in and the PPC had a hinged flap on the back to act as a stand. I would put big money on this happening 2-3 years down the road.
I agree with the others that think the VKB has a high cool factor, but a low usability factor. I'd rather have a Bluetooth version of the Logitech KeyCase (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=562,CONTENTID=5063) keyboard that rolls up around your PDA to serve as a case. Too bad it only supports Palms. :-(

In iBiz news, you might want to check out my post (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=258289#258289) in the "Strange Days At iBiz" thread. I gave the Web site of the real developer and found another major company that pre-announced the VKB -- more than two years ago. :-)

Steve

[Janak Parekh]

It's nice to see we are both so certain on what can and can't be done in 2 to 3 years. That despite the fact that neither of us is an Engineer. :lol: :lol:
I'll tell you what, though, Dave makes some awesome woodwork designs. You should have seen the wooden tie he made. It was absolutely amazing. So, I wouldn't throw his estimates out just yet -- he's got a bit of a woodworking engineer's blood in him. :lol:

--janak

[dazz]

I hear ya, Janak! I bought one of the fish that he makes. Great piece of work!!

[RobertS]

If Dave received a production version of the keyboard, why does the lawsuit make clear that iBiz was never supplied with a working production model? They state directly to the court they received 105 defective models only and none of the models ordered for production arrived as of 4 days ago.

I give due honor to Dave's review but I have to agree with some other replies that it seemed implausably optimistic and positive considering the realities as sworn to by iBiz in legal documents (no US approval, 2 months overdue, lawsuit against suppliers, SEC investigation....).

This just keeps smelling fishier and fishier.

[dazz]

In fairness to Dave, I think he has been led down the same garden path as iBiz (sorry Dave!). Many reporters and PDA webmasters HAVE used the keyboards and they do work. It just looks like iBiz does not yet have the rights to sell the keyboard as the companies and individuals they are sueing may not have had the right to offer it. The tech belongs to VKB, Inc.

It is also possible that the keyboard does not have the approval mentioned in the lawsuit. That does not mean they can't be built as prototypes, they just can't be sold.

Dave's review and offer for preorders was certainly done in good faith. They are a reputable site. However, it is questionable how long it will take all of these parties to sort things out.