Computing Center

Mobile Computing: PDA Keyboards

A keyboard and PDA can sometimes be as good as a notebook PC.

James A. Martin

Feature: PDA Keyboards

Last week I extolled the virtues of leaving your laptop at home and traveling instead with a notebook alternative. One suggestion I offered is to use a Pocket PC or Palm OS PDA equipped with wireless or land-line Internet access, e-mail capabilities, and a full-size keyboard.

For this week's newsletter I've put together a guide to some of the coolest and most useful full-size PDA keyboards. When used with a Pocket PC or Palm OS handheld, these keyboards enable you to type nearly as comfortably as you could at your desk. Most fold up for easy portability, and nearly all are priced at $80 or less, so they're reasonably affordable.

Belkin Wireless PDA Keyboard

This slim, fold-out keyboard connects to a PDA via a wireless infrared connection. You can use it with most Pocket PCs and Palm OS PDAs, which is an advantage if you have more than one device or plan to switch to another later. In my informal tests, Belkin's keyboard worked easily and consistently with my Pocket PC and Palm devices, though it wasn't quite as comfortable to use as my favorite PDA keyboard, the Targus Stowaway.

It's worth mentioning that other vendors such as Pocketop and Targus offer wireless IR keyboards at slightly higher prices. Also, I've heard that BenQ will be coming out with a wireless keyboard that connects with PDAs via Bluetooth later this year, though I was unable to find mention of it at the company's Web site.

Vital Stats: Belkin Wireless PDA Keyboard

Compatible with: Many Pocket PCs and Palm OS handhelds
Buying info: Belkin
List price: $60
Latest prices: $42-$50

Targus Stowaway

The Targus Stowaway is the most comfortable and well-designed PDA keyboard I've used so far. When folded up, the keyboard is just a bit thicker and larger than a standard PDA. Unfolded, its keys--which are nearly as large as those on a desktop keyboard--make touch typing easy. Dedicated keys let you quickly launch PDA applications, and function keys help you scroll through a document.

Targus currently sells its keyboard online, and Palm.com sells the same device for $79 as the Palm Portable Keyboard, for use with select Palm models.

Vital Stats: Targus Stowaway

Compatible with: Hewlett-Packard IPaq and Jornada, Sony Clie
Buying info: Palm Store, Targus
List price: $70
Latest prices: $53-$100, depending on model

Logitech KeyCase

Though it's been out for more than a year, I still think Logitech's KeyCase is one of the coolest PDA keyboards available. Made of lightweight spill-resistant material, the KeyCase wraps around a Palm device to protect it during travel, and unfolds for typing. It takes a while to get used to typing on what is, in essence, a piece of fabric. And I've never been able to type as fast on the KeyCase as I can on the Targus Stowaway. But input on the KeyCase is a big improvement over Palm's Graffiti and on-screen keyboard, and its dual purpose as a PDA case makes this keyboard both cool and practical.

Vital Stats: Logitech KeyCase

Compatible with: Palm m125, m130, m500, m505, m515, i705
Buying info: Logitech
List price: $80
Latest prices: $59-$77

NOTEBOOKS & ACCESSORIES

Follow-Up: Reliable Wireless Access on the Road

A few months ago I reviewed Sprint's PCS Vision and found the 3G wireless Internet access service to be dependable and reasonably fast--a tad speedier than a 56-kilobits-per-second dial-up connection. But my tests were conducted entirely in San Francisco, and I was curious about how the nationwide service worked elsewhere.

So I recently tried Sprint PCS Vision on a trip to Atlanta; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia. I'm happy to report that the service worked without a hitch in all three locations. In hotel rooms, airport lounges, and the homes of friends and family, I checked e-mail and surfed the Web without the hassle of setting up dial-up connections. Each connection I attempted was made easily, and only once was a connection dropped.

If you travel with a notebook and need to check e-mail frequently from a variety of locations, Sprint's PCS Vision may be worth the considerable expense (monthly service begins at $40). While Wi-Fi Internet access from hot spot providers such as T-Mobile is significantly faster, PCS Vision is far more ubiquitous.

News: Fujitsu Tablet PC Goes Outdoors

Most notebooks today offer transmissive screens that produce crisp, bright images indoors but lose contrast outside. Fujitsu's new Stylistic ST Series Tablet PC can be configured with a 10.4-inch reflective front-light display that offers "extraordinarily clear" text and graphics in a variety of lighting conditions, the company says. I haven't evaluated the Fujitsu Tablet PC myself, but I'm told that the display becomes brighter under direct sunlight, while in low light you can adjust the screen's front light for a better view. The Fujitsu Tablet PC weighs 3.2 pounds and is less than an inch thick. Pricing begins at $1999; indoor/outdoor display models start at $2199.

Fujitsu's new Tablet PC isn't the first portable with a reflective screen for use outdoors, however. NEC's Versa E120 DayLite notebook, for instance, features an illuminated reflective screen designed to be at its most legible in bright sunlight--but in my tests, I found its display difficult to read indoors.

News: A Powerful Briefcase

APC's new TravelPower Case is a notebook bag with an integrated powering system. Like any carrying case, the TravelPower Case allows you to tote your notebook, cell phone, and PDA. But APC's version features a power supply that sits in its own compartment. Just connect your devices to the power supply to charge them right in the case, without having to deal with a bunch of cords and AC adapters. The TravelPower Case is available in synthetic leather ($99) and ballistic nylon ($129) from APC.

HANDHELDS

News: Global Handset From NEC

NEC Solutions' 515 HDM handset will mark the company's reentry to the U.S. market when it becomes available by midyear. This high-end phone supports the Global System for Mobile Communications digital cellular network--meaning you can use the phone in the U.S. and abroad, where GSM is more common. The handset also features a color screen, support for Java downloads, and wireless e-mail capabilities. NEC wouldn't say which wireless service provider will sell the 515 first, but indicated that AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, and T-Mobile USA will all eventually offer the device.

News: 3D Music on an MP3

E.Digital's Odyssey 1000, an MP3 player with digital voice recording capabilities and a built-in FM radio tuner, is designed to give Apple's IPod some stiff competition. The 20GB hard drive-based device connects to a PC via USB 1.1 or 2.0. It is one of the first MP3 players to offer SRS Labs' WOW audio enhancement technology, which E.Digital says gives tunes played on the Odyssey a rich, 3D-like sound. The Odyssey lists for $349, compared to $399 for Apple's 15GB IPod.

News: Bluetooth GPS for Wireless Navigation

DeLorme's new Earthmate ($130) is a compact, low-power Global Positioning System receiver for use with notebooks and Pocket PC and Palm OS-based PDAs. An optional, rechargeable docking station (about $200) connects wirelessly via Bluetooth. The idea is that passengers with a Bluetooth-enabled notebook or PDA sitting anywhere in a car can wirelessly connect to the GPS receiver on the dashboard. The Bluetooth docking station and the Earthmate sell together for about $300.

WIRELESS

News: Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing!

Jetsons fans, take note. David Hanna, son of Jetsons cocreator William Hanna (of Hanna-Barbera), is the CEO of Tropos Networks, a company that is helping to transform the town of Half Moon Bay, California, into one big wireless networking hot spot. The Wi-Fi service, dubbed CoastWave Wireless, is being offered by Coastside Net for an introductory price of $5 an hour.

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.