Bluetooth Keyboards for PDAs and Phones

There are three as far as I've heard--the "Think Outside-Stowaway" model
(the one that seems to have the most publicity,), the one by HP, and one
that seems to go under different names, such as "Freedom" (sold on Proporta
web site), Javoedge, etc. (Interestingly, I have never seen one of any of
these in a store, even a store that carries a lot of PDA peripherals,
including other folding keyboards, both connected and infrared, but no
Bluetooth. I've only seen them online. Anyone know why no stores (Staples,
Fry's, etc.) seem to carry the BT PDA kbds?)

Has anyone tried all three, and could compare their advantages and
disadvantages, to those thinking of buying one? (If there are others besides
these three, please let us know about them as well.)

The most well-known one, Think Outside, has the disadvantage of no number
row, having to use function key combinations to type a number. Many have
complained about that. Are the designers of this listening, will they come
out with a model with a number row? (Both of the other models have number
rows.)

I've read good things about the HP, except some negative comments about its
battery life. Also, I'm not sure if it only works on HP devices, or whether
it will work on any BT phone or PDA. It's currently the most expensive model
too. (TO's was the most expensive one, but after a recent price drop,
discounting, etc., it's actually the cheapest.)

I've seen mixed reviews of the "Freedom" kbd, some very good, others not as
good. I believe it had more compatibility than the others before, but now TO
has added more devices that theirs work with, so I don't know if they are
equal in that department now. It was the cheapest before, but now TOs price,
at least at some places like Amazon, has gone below it, or at least equals
it. (BTW though, the price on the TO kbd at Amazon has just gone up a few
bucks. It was $86 something there for a few weeks, but now has gone up to
$90 something. Not a big change, but a little surprising, as prices on
electronic goods usually go down, not up.)

I haven't tried any of these. Thinking of purchasing one, undecided about
which might be better to buy. Any comments from anyone who has used one or
more of these would be helpful.

I have the Stowaway keyboard and the Motorola MPx220. The keyboard
requires you to install a driver on the phone to make up for the lack of
the BT HID service. (I believe the omission is in the operating system.)

I downloaded the driver from the vendor's web site and had the keyboard
working within a couple minutes. It's a pleasure to work with. Yes, I
would like having dedicated numeric keys rather than pressing an
augmented key. But it's a small compromise.

I love the way the whole thing folds and think the case that holds the
whole thing is brilliant.

I can't compare this product to its competitors but I can say that I am
happy with its construction and functionality.

How about:
Virtual keyboard: http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/Products.asp
Fabric keyboard: http://www.eleksen.com

"MS" <ms@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:1115093285.830228@news-1.nethere.net...
> There are three as far as I've heard--the "Think Outside-Stowaway" model
> (the one that seems to have the most publicity,), the one by HP, and one
> that seems to go under different names, such as "Freedom" (sold on
Proporta
> web site), Javoedge, etc. (Interestingly, I have never seen one of any of
> these in a store, even a store that carries a lot of PDA peripherals,
> including other folding keyboards, both connected and infrared, but no
> Bluetooth. I've only seen them online. Anyone know why no stores (Staples,
> Fry's, etc.) seem to carry the BT PDA kbds?)
>
> Has anyone tried all three, and could compare their advantages and
> disadvantages, to those thinking of buying one? (If there are others
besides
> these three, please let us know about them as well.)
>
> The most well-known one, Think Outside, has the disadvantage of no number
> row, having to use function key combinations to type a number. Many have
> complained about that. Are the designers of this listening, will they come
> out with a model with a number row? (Both of the other models have number
> rows.)
>
> I've read good things about the HP, except some negative comments about
its
> battery life. Also, I'm not sure if it only works on HP devices, or
whether
> it will work on any BT phone or PDA. It's currently the most expensive
model
> too. (TO's was the most expensive one, but after a recent price drop,
> discounting, etc., it's actually the cheapest.)
>
> I've seen mixed reviews of the "Freedom" kbd, some very good, others not
as
> good. I believe it had more compatibility than the others before, but now
TO
> has added more devices that theirs work with, so I don't know if they are
> equal in that department now. It was the cheapest before, but now TOs
price,
> at least at some places like Amazon, has gone below it, or at least equals
> it. (BTW though, the price on the TO kbd at Amazon has just gone up a few
> bucks. It was $86 something there for a few weeks, but now has gone up to
> $90 something. Not a big change, but a little surprising, as prices on
> electronic goods usually go down, not up.)
>
> I haven't tried any of these. Thinking of purchasing one, undecided about
> which might be better to buy. Any comments from anyone who has used one or
> more of these would be helpful.
>
>