In the recent years, the Bluetooth standard has really taken off and we are seeing more mobile devices and accessories which are equipped with Bluetooth. Lament the lack of a physical keyboard on your Windows Mobile device? Simply pair it up with a Bluetooth keyboard and you can start typing long documents comfortably.

Bluetooth keyboards come in three fashions: hard keyboards, fabric keyboards and virtual keyboards. PPCSG takes a look at what the interesting fabric keyboard from Just Mobile, the same company which brought us the SDIO 802.11b and 802.11g Wireless LAN cards, has to offer.

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Design

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The keyboard comes with a simple pouch that fits the keyboard and the universal device stand nicely. This certainly makes it very convenient and easy to carry around. After unfolding the keyboard, you get a 63-key QWERTY keyboard in just the right size.

The keyboard weighs 68 g and measures 124 x 48 x 32 mm in the folded form while measuring 306 x 124 mm when opened.

As this is a fabric keyboard, you definitely do not have to worry about dust and dirt being trapped in between the keys like in hard keyboards. Such a keyboard design certainly allows it to be maintained rather easily. Being lightweight and water-repellent are also its other advantages.

However, one disadvantage of using such a keyboard is that you have to find a flat surface for laying the keyboard and type comfortably.

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The main mechanism of the keyboard lies on the left side. By sliding out the cover, you can access the battery compartment. The keyboard uses 2 AAA batteries, which is certainly preferred over proprietary batteries.

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The keyboard also comes with a universal device stand that can fit just about any kind of mobile device. The design is simple yet intelligent, although there were worries if the material is fragile and will snap due to prolonged usage. Apparently, the material is more sturdy than I expected.

Features

The keyboard supports a variety of mobile devices which run on Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry or Symbian OS. All you have to do to get started is to install the right drivers on your mobile device, power on the keyboard and start pairing up the 2 devices using the passcode “0000”. Once you are done, simply launch the application for Fabric Keyboard from your device and start connecting to the keyboard. If it's your first time connecting to the keyboard, you will be prompted to calibrate the keyboard.

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Under Options, there are various configuration settings for you to customize the keyboard. You can enable “Keyclicks” if you like the sound of tapping on the keys. The keyboard can also be customized to auto-disconnect if it was left idling for some time.

After you are done with the connection and configuration, you are ready to do some serious typing using the fabric keyboard. My first impression of typing using the keyboard is that it is rather responsive and sensitive. However, there will still be instances where some characters are missed due to the lack of a tactile feel of the keyboard.

On a normal keyboard, you can press a combination of keys to get certain characters or functions. On this fabric keyboard, you do so in a slightly different way. For example, you need to press the “Shift” button followed by the “S” button in order to get a capital “S” instead of pressing the 2 keys at the same time.

The fabric keyboard offers a number of handy shortcuts to access some commonly used functions. For example, you can press “alt” followed by “esc” to access the “Hot Tips” menu or press “alt” followed by the UP arrow to launch the Start Menu. You can have a look at the other shortcuts offered on Windows Mobile devices in the table below.

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At first glance, it may seem that the 63 keys are insufficient. Fortunately, the keyboard offers quick access to many special characters, including accented characters, by using the “altgr” or altgr” and “shift” buttons. However, I was quite surprised not being able to find the apostrophe sign anywhere. This seems like an oversight as it is one of the commonly typed symbols.

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Just Mobile’s fabric keyboard is designed as a portable and lightweight supplement to mobile devices which lack QWERTY keyboards. If you have the need for typing long documents on your mobile device, such a portable keyboard should be able to fit your needs well.

The main disadvantages of using such a keyboard are the need to find a flat surface to lay the keyboard and the lack of the apostrophe sign. If these do not bother you, it is certainly a very handy accessory to own for enhancing your mobile experience.

How much does this cost?

Excellent question. I'm wondering also.

In CNET, they mentioned that this KB is retailing at USD124.99..

I found somewhere that a Mini USB flex KB is retailing less than SGD20..

In CNET, they mentioned this KB is a wireless bluetooth keyboard.
the mini USB flex KB can be bought at $15-20.

I think it's pretty unfair to compair it with a USB keyboard. After all, MOST Pocket PCs can't use a USB keyboard because there is no USB host support. Besides, it is reasonable to find USB keyboards much cheaper than wireless ones.

I am guessing it would be easy to accidentally press two buttons or more at once.

Of course a wireless version is gonna cost more.. alot more in fact..

We cannot compare this way and we are not doing that either.. it's just naming other alternatives available..

YES, most PPC or PPCPhone don't have generic USB support, but lately quite a number of models start appearing with mini-USB support.. I think there might be a trend here and USB-based flexi keyboard could provide a more affordable alternatives..

Many thanks for your review on the wireless version..

There are PDA models with mini USB connector support, but most if not all of these models are configured to be USB devices, and not USB hosts. So if there is no USB host support on the PDA, how would a USB keyboard be used with the PDA?

Actually, not really. That's because the keyboard does not accept simultaneous keypresses. The keypresses must be sequential, e.g. "ctrl+c" will not work and "ctrl" followed by "c" should be presses instead to achieve the same function.


Yup, this was the point I was trying to bring across. Most Pocket PCs do not have USB host support. And no Pocket PC Phones have USB host support at the moment. The only recent Pocket PCs that have USB host support are Acer n310 and n311. So, USB keyboard is definitely not an alternative for almost all Windows Mobile devices. The only options left are IR and BT keyboards, but we also need to take note which one has support for Windows Mobile device (i.e. drivers must be available).

any sold usb ones sold in SL or funan that i can use?

Firstly, what device do u intend to use with? USB Keyboards do not work with MOST Pocket PCs. The only recent Pocket PC models that support USB keyboard are Acer n310 and n311.

hi
i am also interested in getting a Bluetooth Keyboard for my O2 II mini. I have seen STOWAWAY brand which looks sturdy bt this costs close to SGD200. Eleksen fabric wireless BT KB looks good, but as we all know, this is also expensive.

The cheapest i have seen is a made-in-china model (approx SGD100) which is a one-Dimension foldable plastic piece. However, i think it doesnt look so sturdy, so i passed on it.

I dont mind if the solution isnt wireless, but USB devices are no use for the current PPC phones. (plus in future, the wired device specific to the old phone will be outdated if you upgrade to a new phone)

Anyone can recommend a good and cost-effective keyboard to use with O2 mini?

Thanks

Just in case anybody is interested in the fabric keyboard, it is now available at EastGear at $159.

Link: http://www.eastgear.com/shop/product_info....products_id=944

that's the main idea of this fabric keyboard

Product not found.

Eastgear is selling another bluetooth keyboard for $99.

http://www.eastgear.com/shop/product_info....products_id=651

I used before a flexible keyboard with my comp. It needs getting used to as you do not have the hardness and the "tacking" sound of a traditional keyboard. Personally, I hated it cos it rather difficult to type and also not very sensitive, but of course mine is $25 ...

Great review!

The keyboard was saw during the last computer fair at Suntec, selling at S$140.

However, the response seem quite under expectation, personally I think the price is on the high side, and the feel is not really that good when I tried it.

On the bright side, it is better than the laser keyboard as it is more 'physical' and less damaging to eye with the long contact with laser image.

A friend in TW told me that many BT keyboard designed for PDA are appearing and generally cost around S$40~80, foldable and portable, but slightly big. Maybe good to wait for a while till next computer fair in December?

Back to square one, do you really want to type your love letter on PDA with such a keyboard? after all a PDA with thumb type keyboard maybe the better option? in my opinion, leaving the long love letter to notebook or desktop, even a UMPC (on the move) if bucks are available.

ppcsg is great. i believe at certain point of time, such a KB is gd. earlier i sms my sales person a list of items so that he can prepare a quotation later tonight. i guess i took almost few mins to type which i can do tt in 1 or 2 with a proper keyboard.... if it's ard 20~30. well i may consider gt 1 to keep as emergency.

just got an HTC 4 in 1 cable from Expansys HK. can connect my normal physical keyboard to my U1000 and that it works!