PalmOne Portable Keyboard for Palm III and VII

I waited over four months to get this hot, back-ordered item, excited about the reviews it received and looking forward to taking notes on my Palm III. During the wait, my boss let me borrow his LandWare GoType keyboard, and I began to get used to its small size and usefulness.Finally, my Palm Portable Keyboard arrived in the mail and I opened it, marvelling at its sleek design and extreme portability. I installed the driver, unfolded the keyboard and started typing.The first thing I immediately noticed was that, once unfolded, you can't put this keyboard on your lap; it's just not rigid enough. A bit of an inconvenience (the GoType is sturdy enough to do this), but I figured I'd just use a hard surface when I need to type.The next thing I noticed was that after installing the keyboard driver, suddenly my entire Palm OS had slowed down to a crawl. I visited Palm's website and sure enough, they said this was a problem with the driver. They had a beta driver that I installed to fix the problem.But then the biggest problem was obvious: The Palm Portable Keyboard can't catch up with your typing. I type pretty fast (40-60 WPM) and it was painful to watch the Palm lagging a few seconds behind me after I finished a line of text. In comparison, the LandWare GoType enters text instantaneously. As a technical writer, I can't afford to have people slow down during meetings while my keyboard catches up.I called Palm support on this and they said they were aware of the problem, and would likely release a driver to fix the slowdowns eventually. I've waited long enough, Palm Inc. I'm going out and buying a GoType instead.To Sum up: If you like nifty technology, need extreme portability, and don't type very fast, the Palm Portable Keyboard is worth getting. If you need a reliable product that is sturdy and useful, get the LandWare GoType instead.

Though I have the Go Type! keyboard already and think it's great, I decided to get this when I walked into a coffee shop and wanted to pull out my Palm to do some creative writing, only to face the problem of no easy way to input. (I have the Go Type! board and like it, but one usually wouldn't carry the Go Type board around, even though it is small -- it ain't really for pockets!) This is THE solution to that kind of writer's or user's needs! I agree with and would merely second most of the comments of the other reviewers, with manye one or two additions. This keyboard is slick, and well worth the not too expensive outlay of cash. I'd disagree with one writer, though, in this point: the folded up keyboard IS bigger than the Palm itself; it will NOT fit in most shirt pockets, for instance (unless you have big cargo pockets). And it is again worth highlighting that you DO definitely need a solid surface for this, which for certain folks (e.g. "field workers" like a friend of mine, who is helping outfit a bunch of social workers with Palm stuff for home visits to clients) might make it less useful than the Go Type! keyboard if the only solid surface you'll have to work on is your lap (often the case in a car, for instance. A not-TOO soft briefcase will work fine, though.) One slick feature missing on Go Type! (( think) is that this turns on your Palm by touching any key, much like waking up my Mac Powerbook from its "sleep" mode (this also has the same black keys, which is cool... actually the keys of this are BIGGER than my Powerbook's, creating the unusual adjustment problem of having a portable keyboard that is for once bigger than my computer's!) You don't have the problem that Go Type! has, of the right shift key being easily missed in favor of the "up" arrow, and the layout and function keys are great. Basically this keyboard and any Palm make a system that far exceeds my first, old Apple IIc computer in memory, practicality, and overall coolness (not to mention the really old days when we had to walk barefoot in the snowdrifts with our stacks of punch cards to the computer labs!) We've come a long way!

After having my Palm Portable Keyboard for one day, I am already a loyal fan. This thing is highly impressive. I own a Palm IIIx, and as of yet, I would have to really stretch to think of anything negative about this product. The design itself is ingenious... it folds up just like the pictures demonstrate. I have to say that before it came I was worried about it being a little flimsy; afterall, how sturdy can a foldable keyboard be? Forget it though- folded or unfolded, this is a rugged little product, and a marvel to the eyes. The keys have a nice, bouncy feel, just like a normal keyboard (another thing I was worried about, but no problems there), and there is no noticeable key delay for my typing speed, around 45 wpm. Having programmable keys is great- you can easily switch from applicaiton to application, and with a little bit of practice, it is easy enough to scroll and switch between applications without having to mess with the stylus. As I am a college student, I expect this to almost completely replace my use of a laptop, whether for notes in class, or typing a paper in the student lounge. It is extraordinarily easy to transfer text to a Word Document after performing a Hotsync, and I can set this up in 15 seconds, without having the bother of carrying around a heavy and sizeable laptop as well as books. Really am amazed with this product, and after quite a bit of research, Amazon currently offers the best price on this item, even after postage, whether online or in stores. In my opinion, this keyboard more than doubles the functionality of my Palm IIIx; it's the best buy I've made in a long time.

This keyboard looks awesome on the Amazon site. Wait until you see it in person, you will be impressed twice as much. It folds open, then the outer sections of the keys slide together to make a full sized keyboard. Very compact, very unique. This definately gets the job done and is much better than the LandWare GoType keyboard which I own as well. The Palm Portable is definatly worth spending the extra money on. Get this keyboard. You will love it!