Fellowes Stowaway XT for NX70V

[Trident/Delta]

Well, got my new keyboard today. I am impressed. The XT is sturdy and is about the same size as the Clie. Driver loading was painless and the keyboard works great. I am a consultant and I was looking for a keyboard that would allow me to rapidly document findings for my clients.

Yes, it requires a few "combo" keystrokes, but, because I am an "old guy" that cut his teeth on the original DOS it is no big deal. Some of the Clie "purists" are *****ing about the key stroke functionality. I say "grow up!" its a damn PDA not a notebook.

I am just pleased as punch that I have a fully functional keyboard that talks cleanly to Documents-to-Go (newest release).

A BIG plus is that the Stowaway XT has a power jack that allows me to charge/run the Clie while it is on the keyboard. When i used the Targus wireless, I had about 1.5 hours of work before I drained the batteries and had to take a break while it recharged. The Targus didn't allow for the unit to be plugged in and on their cradle at the same time. BIG plus.

I got it from Tiger-Direct (www.tigerdirect.com)

I give the stowaway XT 5 BIG gold stars!!!!:D

[trayip]

what's the link exactly, i can't seem to find it on their site..

[Trident/Delta]

this rom a previous thread.....

-snip-
just spoke with John Myers at TigerDirect. He is my account rep for other stuff. I had him look up the Fellowes Stowaway and Stowaway XT keyboards.

He has found the "standard" stowaway for the Clie NX70V available, NOW, for $67.00.

The XT is in the pipe to distributors now (damn middlemen) and will be available through TigerDirect on or about 8 July. Price $99.00

You can contact John at 877-992-8875 (his direct line)
or email at john.myers@tigerdirect.com.

If you contact the regular TigerDirect number, they will be ignorant of the keybords. John did the legwork to get these to the market for me quickly.

I confirmed their availability from Fellowes and if you want to place an order with John for the XT, He will bend over backwards to accomodate you.
.....snip.....

[sandiclaus]

<A BIG plus is that the Stowaway XT has a power jack that allows me to charge/run the Clie while it is on the keyboard.>
I bought the XT Keyboard but I can't find the power jack anywhere! Can you tell me where it is located?

[avventura]

Finally a keyboard that works!

[avventura]

Finally a keyboard that works!

[Unregistered]

Sandi,

Look next to the connector. It is on the right if you are looking from the front or just above the FCC logo if you look from the bottom

[KulturHack]

Has anyone else had erratic performance with the XT keyboard and the current version of WordSmith? The XT works flawlessly with the built-in Memo app, but freezes randomly when used in WordSmith--the Enter key in particular seems to trigger this behavior. Is this a nasty interaction with other apps on my NX80 or have others experienced this? Thanks in advance.

[cosmok]

Originally posted by KulturHack
Has anyone else had erratic performance with the XT keyboard and the current version of WordSmith? The XT works flawlessly with the built-in Memo app, but freezes randomly when used in WordSmith--the Enter key in particular seems to trigger this behavior. Is this a nasty interaction with other apps on my NX80 or have others experienced this? Thanks in advance.
Make sure your "Beam Receive" is turned on. Like the Belkin keyboard driver, the Stowaway can freeze up when the beam receive is off in your general preferences. This is the only problem I know about so far with this keyboard & driver.

[KulturHack]

Cosmok: I own you one. I can honestly say I would not have thought to turn the Beam Receive on in this instance. Keyboard problems vis a vis WordSmith are cured. Do you (or anyone) know the code-level reason for the beam/keyboard driver conflict? Sorry to geek-out, but now i'm curious.

[nowis]

Alas a keyboard which works out for the NX

[pusfarm]

Originally posted by KulturHack
Cosmok: I own you one. I can honestly say I would not have thought to turn the Beam Receive on in this instance. Keyboard problems vis a vis WordSmith are cured. Do you (or anyone) know the code-level reason for the beam/keyboard driver conflict? Sorry to geek-out, but now i'm curious. Yes, thanks cosmok!&nbsp; I just got one of these yesterday and was about ready to take it back in frustration.&nbsp; Still not thrilled with the learning curve on some of these wierd key sequences, but I'll just have to play with it some more.

[Unregistered]

Buy it now $30 + $12 shipping

ebay item #'s
3039414342
3039413962
3039259923
3039256979
3039646676
3039701506

[MikeLang]

What's the difference between the Stowaway XT and the "non-XT" ones? I read it here that they all work for the NX?
Thanks.
-Mike-

[pdagal]

Both are actually made by thinkoutside.com
The XT is the newer version and it's more compact and "modern" looking. It folds in half while the original stowaway has a 4 section folding design. The original stowaway has a top row of dedicated number keys, and on the XT the number keys are embedded as Fn keys (so the keyboard could be smaller).

Originally posted by MikeLang
What's the difference between the Stowaway XT and the "non-XT" ones? I read it here that they all work for the NX?
Thanks.
-Mike-

[Unregistered]

I did a google search and found a japanese website referring to the www.MWave.com listing the Sony keyboard pega-kb100. On the MWave website, the estimated date for the keyboard to be in stock is 8/25/03 so hopefully it will be here in the US soon.

[trayip]

Wait....so is the KB100 gonna be in the US the 25th? Or in japan the 25th? Or should i give up and get the the Stowaway XT?... I want my keyboard for september 2nd

[outdoor]

why isn't thinkoutside.com updating their webpage that the stowaway xt for clie NX is available, when fellowes are already selling it???


btw anyone in vancouver bought the keyboard yet??

[freecia]

trayip,

It seems that sony will be releasing a keyboard on August 25th in Japan. There's really no estimating when it will make it's way to the united states, especially, now that I think about it, the keyboard and drivers would have to be tweaked for the US release.
We usually get Japan released Sony items a few months behind if they're willing to release it for the US market. They don't always. Then you're stuck buying an import.

Get the XT. You'll save yourself loads of worry. And if you don't like it, you can always eBay it.

[freecia]

kb100 available now at sonystyle for $100

sonystyle link (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=BBQyvm_qM0MyllDQo204tSDmUBJcL3aiAfU=?CatalogCategoryID=fxgKC0%2eNg9MAAAD2pcBQK_fZ&ProductID=6KoKC0%2eNkyoAAAD20p1QK_fe)

[Unregistered]

I too am waiting on the KB100 to see how it compares to the XT before making my puchase decision.

The best KB100 pic I can find is here:
http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/PEG/PEG-NX80V/acc.html


Differences/Concerns:

I am HOPING that the KB100 has a place to put your stylus when your typing... like an inkwell, or like the stylus holder on the side of the NX70 cradle. No more putting the stylus on the desk. From the picture above, I *think* I might see a hole for such a purpose.

The Sony keyboard has 5 rows of keys + a partial 6th row.
The XT only has 4 rows, which means a lot of function key-ing apparently. It seems that on the Sony, you will get a dedicated number row. :-)

The XT has the good feature of being fairly rigid, so apparently you can type on soft-surfaces like your lap. It remains to be seen if the Sony has the same benefit.

The Sony comes included with a case, but if I recall correctly the XT does not (?)

Both can power the CLIE and both seem to have the same CLIE holding/positioning arm. (from what you can tell by pics)


My final concern is driver support. The XT seems to come with functional and fairly cool driver support. Will Sony do something better or not?


Oh also, the Sony supports a WIDE range of devices (so they say) but I am not sure about the XT support. I might think initially that the Sony model would support *your next* clie... perhaps optimistic.

I guess the Sony is going to be slightly larger and thus heavier.
Both models seem to hinge once in the middle.

The keys seem to be about the same sizing (the Enter and Space keys for example).

I guess part of it will depend on if you want a cool black key/aluminum keyboard, or a white key/unknown material keyboard. We'll have to see what Sony made theirs with... hopefully not flexible creaky plastic.

Someone else buy both and then let me know which to buy. ;-)
Cheers

[KuKKiwon09]

where can i go to buy the Stowaway XT i cant find i ton these sites