Targus Wireless Keyboard works with the UX50/Mini-Review

[saono]

Targus has released new drivers on their website for the PalmOS5 devices so they will now work with their wireless keyboard.

So far my experience has been very good with this keyboard. I'll outline a couple of the things I've found below.

Response time from hitting a key to it appearing on the screen:
I've read that some of the other keyboards are slow to respond but this one seems pretty snappy. When I type the letters appear immediately on the screen with very little if any delay. I've tested this under memopad and quickword.

Does it work with the expansion battery:
I use the expansion battery on the UX50 and the keyboard stand still supports the entire operation fine. I haven't had it slide off or cause problems.

Does it have an on/off switch:
Per the manual when you close the unit it automatically turns off (you can see the power switch). They have a warning in the manual that when you aren't using the keyboard for an extended amount of time you should close it.

Does it have a real number-line?:
Yes. Condensed but it is there.

Does it feel like a real keyboard?:
I liken it to typing on some smaller laptop keyboards. The keypitch is small so people with big hands/fingers might get cramped but I find that it works well for me even though it took some getting used to. The response on the keys is good, it feels like a pretty normal keyboard with good response and feel.

Does it have the lame split spacebar?:
Yes. It does. Takes a bit of getting used to but I've adjusted.

What type of batteries does it take?:
Not AA's. It takes watch-style batteries. If I wear them out in an amazingly short amount of time I'll post a response in regards to that. Hopefully that isn't the case.

How big is it in relation to the Palm wireless keyboard?:
Thicker and slightly larger. I compared the two and decided the trade-off between having a real number line and not having it was important enough that I would go for the larger of the two.

Can I disable the software/driver when not in use?:
Yes. When you launch the driver application there are very clear Off and On buttons so you can disable and enable the keyboard easily. This also worked when I had beam receive turned off in the general preferences.

Would I recommend this keyboard to other people?:
Assuming the battery life isn't two hours, yes.

[golalmo]

LINK (http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA870U) ;)

[saono]

I just realized that my original message (the first message in this thread) didn't get posted as if I was logged in. That is at least four messages I've posted on cliesource that it didn't log me in for.

Anyway, the original mini-review thing was one of my posts and I find it kind of annoying that although you fill in the login information on the post page it doesn't actually log you in when the post is submitted (yes, I know other people have complained in seperate threads about this before :^))

Just my two cents..

[Sneezy]

Thanks for the review. I didn't realize the battery life was so poor. How about the cursor keys? I understand you have to hit a second key to get them to actually make the cursor move.

I want a keyboard with a set of number keys, and our only other choice is the Belkin Wireless. This keyboard seems to be a much better option. It does not have the spacebar issue, it runs on AAA's which are much cheaper than watch batteries, no cursor key problems, and is much smaller than the targus. Problems that I have heard, though, include hard-to-press keys, and short range for the IR such that you have to actually raise the keyboard up on a book to get the IR beam to be recognized. Those are real deal breakers.

Anyone had experience with the Belkin?

[saono]

Originally posted by Sneezy
Thanks for the review. I didn't realize the battery life was so poor. How about the cursor keys? I understand you have to hit a second key to get them to actually make the cursor move.

I want a keyboard with a set of number keys, and our only other choice is the Belkin Wireless. This keyboard seems to be a much better option. It does not have the spacebar issue, it runs on AAA's which are much cheaper than watch batteries, no cursor key problems, and is much smaller than the targus. Problems that I have heard, though, include hard-to-press keys, and short range for the IR such that you have to actually raise the keyboard up on a book to get the IR beam to be recognized. Those are real deal breakers.

Anyone had experience with the Belkin?

I haven't wore the first set of batteries out yet so I'm not sure on the battery life. They are lithium cells so I'm hoping they hold up for awhile. The mini-review was more of a first impression to address the common questions I've seen raised about other keyboards. At this point I don't know the battery life of the keyboard but will post a follow-up message if the battery life is very short.

As for cursor keys this one doesn't have them even though it does have a cursor that has multiple functions depending on what key you hold down while pressing on it. In order to get standard cursor key action out of it you hold down the Fn button and press the cursor. I don't see this as much of a problem since normally when I'm moving through text I'm not doing much with my other hand anyway. I'll give further feedback if I find the cursor key work-around annoying. Somehow I suspect losing my number line like on the Palm keyboard would be more of an issue for me. After looking at the layout of the Belkin keyboard I could see how that would be a preferred key layout.

I haven't had an issues with the IR on the targus. I've found that the adjustments and built-in stand get it within an inch of the UX50 and that has worked fine up to this point. I'll keep an eye on it and see if I notice any problems relating to the IR but with how close you can get it even with the expansion battery I doubt there will be any issues.