Truly portable and actually useful keyboard
Written: Nov 21 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: size, sturdy construction, price
Cons: uppercase and numeric shift
The Bottom Line: The Targus Thumbpad is an inexpensive solution for reliable data entry into your Palm while you're on the run.
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| tolivercrash's Full Review: Targus ThumbPad Keyboard for Palm V 9808227 |
I've been a Palm Pilot user for several years and feel I'm pretty fluent using Palm's Graffiti text entry. Still there are times when its just not working for me; V goes in as V. 'R` goes in as 'A'. I'm sure you've been there, too. So I started looking at different keyboards available for the Palm and found that they were either too big, too expensive or both. Then I found the Targus Thumbpad.
The Thumbpad is compact and connects to the bottom of the Palm. The unit is of solid construction. When connected to the Palm, the two mesh together and feel like one solid unit. Even the color of the keyboard matches the Palm V case. The keys are laid out in a curve-shaped QWERTY configuration. All letter keys are present plus directional arrows, spacebar, function, new-line and backspace keys. They keys are solid and give are easily used; you don’t have to ‘punch’ them to enter text.
In order to keep the keyboard as compact as can be while still being useful, its been set up to use shift functions to get uppercase, numeric, and extended characters. Getting the keyboard back and forth between its uppercase or numeric shift and lowercase is a bit awkward. The keyboard stays in whatever shift mode (uppercase or numeric) you choose until you manually take it out of that shift mode. Also there is no 'temporary shift' that will capitalize the first letter of a word and then automatically go back to lowercase like you have when using Graffiti.
There are extended functions like line select and word select using a combination of keys. The Graffiti area and all hardware buttons on the Palm are still accessible while the keyboard is attached.
There is a driver that needs to be installed into the Palm's memory to get the two working together. This is easily done via a HotSync session. The driver comes on a CD-ROM included with the keyboard. An instruction manual is also included.
I've been pleased with the ease of use and compact design of the Thumbpad. If you’re experienced in using Graffiti, using the keyboard is about as fast entering text but with fewer mistakes. If you’re new to Graffiti or find it too frustrating to use, this keyboard will make your Palm use much more enjoyable. If you have a lot of text to enter the keyboard makes data entry smoother.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 39.99
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Epinions.com ID:
tolivercrash
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Location: Peoria, IL
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
If it has to do with gadgets or the internet, I'm all over it.
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