PalmOne Portable Keyboard for Palm V Series Handhelds

I've had my keyboard for about four months. At first, it was a pleasure to use and I had no complaints. But it soon developed a problem. The "a", "q" and "2" keys started working intermittently. They soon stopped working at all, and now the problem is spreading to the surrounding keys. I've called Palm support a couple of times trying to get it fixed, and the responses ranged from, you need to update the driver, to the keyboard is dirty to, yeah, other people have had problems with it, too. I asked if I could send it in for repair, and they said, sure, IF I sent it in the ORIGINAL PACKAGING with the ORIGINAL RECEIPT. The reciept I have; the original packaging I don't. Sorry, they said, then we can't fix it for you.

Keyboard was "neat" but I could not get it to operate with the Palm pilot which should have been returned.

Typing with the PPK is FAR faster and more accurate than Graffiti. This opens up a lot of possibilities for using your Palm. For example, I had great difficulty in the past using my Palm for meeting notes, because it was difficult to scribble in Graffiti and keep up.This keyboard is very portable. It folds up to a thick palm-sized unit and comes with a nice little case to put it in.PROS: The keyboard feels very nice. The keys are somewhat flat (like a typical laptop keyboard) but pretty well-spaced and you have a nice selection of extra buttons like arrow keys, application buttons for each of the 4 standard Palm Apps and the silkscree buttons, and Fn, Alt, and Cmd keys. Using the Fn, Alt, and Cmd keys with other keys, you can do some interesting things like triggering certain standard buttons like "New", "Delete", "Details", "OK", etc... There's one that toggles the backlight and another one that inserts the Palm shortcut symbol (the PPK combined with a nice set of shortcuts for commonly used words and phrases could probably lead to even higher efficiency on the Palm than on your desktop?!?! You could even try using something like WordComplete, TextPlus, or LookDA to do word completion although this might be too intrusive). For greater keyboard efficiency, I'd recommend getting Paul Nevai's LaptopHack - well worth the $15 or so for registering this shareware. It allows you to do a whole bunch of things on the keyboard that you couldn't normally do.CONS: It must rest on a hard surface (difficult to support it steadily on your lap) or carry around unfolded. I wish it had an extra port so that you could plug it into your computer and still do a Hotsync while using the keyboard.All in all, a nice addition.

I use this keyboard for times when I have a lot of text entry to do. When graffiti is too slow, the keyboard meets all of my needs for school and writing. The keyboard housing is metal and is very sturdy when folded up and snapped shut. When open, though, you have to be a bit more careful because the keys are plastic. I have had the unit for about a half a year and it still works great, even though it has been floating around in my backpack. IF YOU ORDER ONE, BE SURE TO UPGRADE THE KEYBOARD DRIVER, WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THE PALM SITE.I wish the neoprene case had room for the keyboard AND the Palm. I also wish that the short cut commands were printed in the manual instead of in the help file on the Palm. With more Palm software programs supporting keyboard commands, you can leave the laptop at home.

I've tried other Palm V keyboards with little success. In my experience, the main problem with the other keyboards relates to HackMaster hacks. With all of my hacks in place -- Graspeedy, Menuhack, Contrast Button Hack and PopUp Note -- and with a ton of software on my Palm Vx, including the beta version of the Omnisky/Minstrel wireless software, all functions perfectly. I've tried the keyboard with SmartDoc, QuickSheet, MultiMail, PocketQuicken, HanDBase and all the built-in apps. It works fine with all these apps. The shortcut keys for opening apps and doing specific functions in an app, also work just fine. The folding keyboard is an engineering marvel and, in spite of what others may say, you can use it on your lap. Even the case is well thought out. This is a real winner!

First of all, let me say that I love my Palm Vx and when I got this keyboard as a gift I was thrilled. It is certainly cool looking and an attention getter. It's simple to unfold and typing on it feels very good, just like a normal keyboard. In fact, I would have given this 5 stars and rave reviews if it weren't for the problems I've had with it since a few weeks after I received it. Several of the keys don't work, or require me to push them several times before I can get them to work. The delete key doesn't work at all (this makes it hard to type!). Now, I understand that manufacturing problems happen and would have been happy to have it fixed/replaced under the warranty, but here is the problem. Palm Customer Support is non-existent. I have written them several emails, none of which have been responded to. I then sent them a letter, which has also gone unanswered. I would call them, but Palm has no toll-free customer support number! So you wait on hold on your own dime. If I don't get a response soon (it has been 2 months of writing), I will call them and demand a replacement, but it shouldn't have to be this way. So all I can say is -- great product, but just hope it doesn't break or you are SOL!