Pocket Top Computer Corporation Wireless Keyboard
Pocket Top Computer Corporation
(http://www.pocketop.net)
for AXIMUSERS.COM
February 10, 2003
By Computer Ninja
As it stands, the Dell Axim X5 is a fantastic Pocket PC. It offers input methods from the simple block recognizer, which is like the "Graffiti" system the Palm OS uses, to a letter recognizer, a "soft" keyboard, which many of us have gotten pretty good at using, and possibly the most amazing of them all, the transcriber, which "recognizes" your handwriting, whether it be printed, or written in cursive.
As our Pocket PCs are becoming more of our daily routine, and we are away from our "home base" for longer periods of time, we are often required to take information with our Pocket PCs that we'd normally type into our computers. Block recognition, transcription, and the soft keyboard just don't cut it when we really need to get our data entered quickly, and accurately.
What we really want to use for entering data on our Axims is a keyboard. And we don't want to use a big, bulky keyboard that is much larger than our Axim when it's all folded up, either! Introduce Pocketop's Infrared, Wireless keyboard. It's small, folds in half instead of in thirds (like some PDA keyboards) and is thinner than our Axim when placed next to it. One of the most important features this keyboard has to offer Axim users, and other PDA users, for that matter, is that it's UNIVERSAL! Yes, UNIVERSAL! This keyboard works on Palm devices, Handspring devices, Sony Clies, Compaq iPaqs, HP Jornadas, Toshiba Pocket PCs, and IBM Palm devices! For a complete list, go here:
http://pocketop.net/comp_list.shtml. Another thing to take note here is that this keyboard can grow with you. When you decide it's time to move up from your Palm IIIc to a Dell Axim X5, or when it's time to get the new Dell Axim X7 (when it comes out, who knows?) and you want to give your little sister then Axim X5, you'll be able to do this. Pocketop will continue to write drivers for the keyboard on future devices.
How does Pocketop get away with having such a small keyboard, yet, allows for it to be fully functional? They do some clever key rearranging, and key removal, to give the keboard its small footprint.
Starting with the top row, they have the typical ESC key in the top left, and then all the way across the top, they have the single AAA battery and a depression for it when it folds (see image of keyboard), and 4 multifunction application keys. They launch standard programs on our Axim for: Date, Address, To Do (Task), Memo (Notes), Apps, Menu, Calc, and Find. Following this row we have our typical QWERTY row, then the ASDF row with a narrow Caps Lock on the left and a small 1-key wide Enter key on the right. Further down, we have our ZXCVB row, and the absence of the /? key that many of us typing purists are used to. Instead of this key, they have the up arrow, with the < down and > arrows below it, as well as a Function/0 key on the left of the arros and a Del key on the right of the arrows. On the far left of the bottom row, we have a Ctrl key (for modified keystrokes), Punct key (for compensating for the lack of a good amount of punctuation in the missing keys), a Cmd key (for modified keystrokes), a Numlock/Num key (for entering numbers, since they don't have their own keys), and an Alt key (for modified keystrokes).
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<font size=-2>A beautiful combination: The Pocketop Keyboard and the Axim standing vertically</font></td><td valign=top>As a person who has been typing, properly, since the 8th grade, I was very happy to get my hands on a keyboard for my Axim. The only comparison I can make is to my Stowaway keyboard I had for my Handspring Visor Deluxe. It was more of a full-sized keyboard, but it was definitely thick, and not very "pocket" friendly. It fit nicely in a workbag, though.
The Pocketop keyboard is gorgeous. Its small size, and keen key layout make it very interesting and very curious. I was a bit taken back by it at first, and it took me a little getting used to it. I am definitely not typing over 100wpm on it as I'd like to be, but I am definitely more productive than I am with the stylus, that's for sure.</td><tr>
<tr><td colspan=2>I sometimes find myself having a hard time using the left shift key, as it is small, the size of a regular key, and I'm used to a larger shift key. They space bar takes a little getting used to, as it is split in half, and more often than not, my thumb is pressing in the MIDDLE of the space bar (which doesn't exist) to press space.
The wireless aspect of the keyboard is brilliant! You don't have to be tethered to your Axim to use this keyboard. You can set your Axim a little bit in front of you if you like, or you can lay your Axim on its back, and turn the Axim upside down. What? Yes, Pocketop provides users with a screen rotation tool that works wonderfully! You can rotate the screen 180 degrees, as described above, if you want your Axim's IR port pointing at the Pocketop's, and you don't want to bother with the stand, or, you can rotate the screen 90 degrees either clockwise or counter clockwise, depending on what you're used to. </td></tr></table>
Pocketop provides you with a stand for your PDA, and provides various adapters for the different PDAs that are out there. There wasn't a specific stand/mounting arrangement for the Dell Axim, but turning the Axim on its side and laying it on the stand worked nicely (see images), as well as leaving the Axim in a vertical orientation. The stand comes with a fold out mirror for reflecting the infrared ray from the keyboard to the PDA. It takes a little fidgetting around to get a good connection between the keyboard and the PDA, but you get it to work. This was a little bit frustrating, but, as I told my wife, "What do you expect? It's wireless!"
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<font size=-2>The pocketop keyboard with the Axim standing horizontally</font></td><td valign=top>
Conclusion:
Although the keyboard is a bit small (one of the main features), it is very functional! With a little bit of practice, you can be on your way to typing all the data you need into your Dell Axim, or any other PDA out there for that matter. You quickly get used to the rearranged keys, missing number row, and other small nuances. You definitely learn to like the wireless ability at your fingertips. And you DEFINITELY get used to and appreciate the very small size of the Pocketop wireless keyboard.
If the device was full size (had a number row), and had the keys in the proper place, this keyboard would get a 4.5/5 rating. Maybe Pocketop is working on other models of their wireless keyboards for the future.</td></tr></table>
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