hp handhelds and pdas

There has a been a lot of fuss over the universal IR keyboards among PDA users, and this Targus model is no exception. Even though there have been many bad reviews here regarding this keyboard, I bought it anyway, because if there's one thing I've learned about PDAs, it's that the same products will often work differently for different people.

Perhaps I am in the minority, but the Targus Universal Wireless keyboard works perfectly on my Toshiba e355. Because the e355 runs on the PPC 2003 OS, I downloaded the updated driver software (V1.25) directly from the Targus website and didn't even bother with the included CD. The installation was a snap; very quick and painless, and none of that "window on top of another window" business some users experienced. The keyboard itself works great on my PDA; there is no elfing -- the letters appear immediately after pressing a key. I normally type up to 70wpm, and this keyboard had no problems matching my speed. In fact, I typed this review entirely using the Targus unit.

The size of the keyboard is pretty comfortable; it has approximately the same width as a regular keyboard. The travel feels about right; it will provide the same tactile motions as that of a desktop. I do, however, have certain issues with the keys. One is that this keyboard is modeled after a notebook's, so the keys are flat rather than protruding. This requires adjusting, for sure, but I got used to it after about 30 minutes of typing. Also, the keys are not arranged quite like a regular keyboard; the letter keys are fine, but others like numbers, "shift," "space," "control," etc. are noticeably smaller and rearranged slightly differently. Particularly problematic is the "space" bar, which is divided into 2 smaller keys. However, these are not issues exclusive to this Targus model; all foldable keyboards have to be rearranged for them to be compact, and so require some adjustment on the part of the user. After a little practice, it really does start to feel like a regular keyboard.

Since the keyboard can be locked into the flat position, you can use it either on a desk or on your lap. (I actually find it more comfortable to type with the keyboard on the lap, because it's so thin when opened that it doesn't have the natural height of a regular keyboard. On the lap, you can manually create an incline more easily.)

The mouse pad function is cute, but it's not really that functional. For one, you have keep pressing the pad for the arrow to move across the screen; I could have just used the stylus and done the same thing in half the time. Still, it might be useful in situations, say, when you lose the stylus.

I do wish that this keyboard included cursor buttons, since I tend to rely on them to move between lines when working on a document. But a lot of other handy functions do make up for it. Things like "backspace," "cap lock," and the "delete" buttons are items that I didn't realized I missed until I had them again. Also, the programmable keys, that launch applications such as Excel and Word, magically work when pressed. If you are a big fan of shortcuts (i.e., Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, etc.), then you will be glad to know that they work with this keyboard as well.

The PDA holder slate has these three metallic, wire arms that are supposed to keep the handheld in position when the keyboard is in use. The Toshiba e355 is one those ultra-thin devices that will not fit too well; I find that mine can slide around if I do not use the keyboard on a flat surface. Alternatively, rubberized arms would probably provide more grip.

Although in the closed position the keyboard is a bit thick, it is still adequately small enough that I would want to take it with me when traveling or for meetings.

Overall, I feel that this is a great product; it does everything that it's supposed to do and connects to my handheld wirelessly. Despite minor issues, I would still highly recommend buying this keyboard if you want something that can work with multiple PDAs. At the Amazon price (I've seen this unit at Circuit City and Best Buy for almost twice the cost), its a steal.

I have an old Handspring Visor - the 2MB RAM variety. Buying this keyboard ...has breathed new life into this older hand held. I'm using it to write down short story and novel ideas as well as rough drafts - not exactly light weight typing tasks. The keyboard performs flawlessly and has a great tactile feel. Once I had to do a hard reset of the Visor while holding down the delete key to remove a line of text, but I attribute that to my setting the keyboard repeat rate too high.

What's great is even without the LapTopHack software, there are a lot of operations you can perform without using the stylus. You can launch palm applications, execute OK, New and Cancel commands among others with the provided function keys. Certain applications are designed to take better advantage of these functions, so if you by one, look for software that's designed to work with this keyboard. WordSmith, for example, is fantastic.

I'm pretty utilitarian when it comes to gadgets. Style is at the absolute bottom of my priority list. Still, I have to say this is one very slick, very stylish piece of hardware.

I can't say enough good things about this keyboard. It's taken my Visor from being buried under a pile of paper under my desk to significant daily use. Thanks Targus and Think Outside!

Awesome! Setup is quick. Works great with my ipaq 1910 !!!