Clie S-360 keyboard

[shield]

Does anyone know what keyboard will work on this and what, if any major retail stores might still carry it? Best Buy? Fry's?

thank you.

[RD100]

There are two kinds of keyboards for PDAs that I am aware of.

The infared kind, which I believe works with any Palm OS based PDA.

And the type which plugs into the bottom of the PDA, which would need to be made for that exact model PDA.

If you can afford it, I would buy the infared kind, so you don't spend money (around $50 - $100) on a keyboard that only works with a discontinued model of PDA.

That way, if you upgrade to a newer model PDA, you can still use the keyboard.

You probably can just do an internet search in www.google.com to see all the types of keyboards available for PDAs.

:D :D :D

[PDA gadgetfreak]

Targus made a thumb board. You may can find one on a close out. I know Best Buy used to carry them. I had one and the one thing I didn't like was it was easy for the board to lose contact witth the connector. Good luck. I agree with above post, look for one that uses infared and it will be useful on your next PDA. Try doing a search of this site, you may find a link.

[RD100]

I have the Targus Thumbpad.

I got lucky ... and only spent $4.99 for it. It was an open-box item at Best Buy, in almost new condition.

The normal clearance Targus Thumbpads are selling for $29.99 at Best Buy. The original list price was $39.99.

I hardly use mine. I find it easier to just use the on-screen keyboard with my stylus, and it is one less thing to carry around.

The Targus Thumbpad is very small, and it has a hinged cover which folds over the keys, but since I type just as quick on the on-screen keyboard, I don't even bother carrying the Thumbpad with me.

But I can see a use for a full-sized fold out keyboard. That would certainly make typing easier.

One thing I definitely don't recommend is the Targus stick on MousePad. That is a total waste of money. Once again, I got lucky and found an open-box one at Best Buy for only 99 cents, so I figured for that price I'd give it a try. I can't find a single reason to use it. It completely covers the grafitti area, and gives you a mouse cursor which you control with your thumb. I think pointing the stylus to any given location on the PDA screen is much more sensible than using a mouse for the same operation.
The mouse pad originally listed at $19.99 and is now being closed out at Best Buy for $2.99. Even at $2.99 it is a waste of money.
How this thing could ever have been worth $19.99 is beyond me?
It is a little rubber strip which probably costs less than a penny to make, and comes with a small cd containing the driver, which also probably costs around .05 cents. So with packaging, the thing probably costs around .50 cents to manufacture and they wanted to charge people $19.99. Sheesh ????

:D :D :D

[RD100]

Here's a link to a Keyboard for Clies

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005LZNN/ref=ase_yanktancouk/103-4828855-6750214

[MyAdmiral]

The kind of keyboard you need depends on what you're going to use it for. For example, adding a thumb keyboard has totally different advantages and disadvantages from the fold out full-size kind.

I'm a journalist and I've found that a full-size Targus keyboard attached to the Clie is a great way to take notes at meetings or press conferences. You can type way faster than with the stylus or a thumb keypad.

I've never seen an infrared keyboard, but I'm not sure this would work for me because the infrared port is at the other end of the PDA. The nice thing with the Targus is that I can see what I'm typing, especially since the keyboard includes a little stand to hold the PDA upright. Do the infrared keyboards have a stand to hold the PDA upright?

The disadvantage of the Targus is the price (I paid $89, almost half the price of the Clie!) and the fact that it can't be used on another PDA when I upgrade. This really pisses me off no end but having the keyboard is such a productivity advantage that I'm putting up with it.

Admiral

[Rick 098]

I have the stowaway keyboard, and it works great!

[clit]

I also find the Targus Stowaway keyboard indispensible for the kind of data entry I use the Clie for- It's full size and has a regular keyboard feel, with properly contoured keytops to allow for full speed touch typing. It's painfully slow to try to use the onscreen tap keyboard for entry in comparison, and you'd melt the grafitti screen trying to enter data at the same rate.
As mentioned, it all depends on the amount of data you need to enter regularly, and whether you're proficient in touch typing. For my use, the Targus Stowaway was a must have, even though they continue to make these things cleverly dedicated to a single model line instead of offering universal connector adaptors (adverse effects to the bottom line is probably why).

[RD100]

I picked up a Targus Stowaway for my S360 at Best Buy for only $15. Best Buy has the Stowaway for S360 on clearance right now for $29.99, but mine was half that price since it was an open-box.

I love using it! It feels like a good quality laptop keyboard.

Only negative, is you have to use it on a flat surface. So I use a book, if I am not sitting near a desk or table.

But I highly recommend it! It is a teriffic keyboard !

Also .. if you happen to own the Targus Thumbpad as well, the driver for the Thumbpad conflicts with the driver for the Stowaway, so I always disable the Thumbpad driver before using my Stowaway. That solves the problem.

:D :D :D

[clit]

I use a clipboard sometimes when I need to work with it on my lap instead of a desk; I just clip an edge of the keyboard to the clipboard to keep it secure.
Great deal on the keyboard for $15; I'd get one as a spare if I saw it for that. I usually leave mine at work rather than carry it around with me, since that's where I use it most.
I like the way you can wake up the Clie from power off by just hitting a key on the keyboard, and not having to use the buttons on the unit.

I usually edit notes the entries so the CTRL-A works well to jump directly to the edit notes mode.