Everything about this keyboard is
WHAT’S
HOT
hot. It’s small, light, works well (better after a bug fix?), and is
beautiful. This thing is so hot, it’s SMOKING!
Setup is as it should be. Because
SETUP
of the "hot-dock" feature on the keyboard’s drivers, you’ll
be up and running in no time with the XT. The software drivers provided
by Think Outside are now up to version 1.7, which sets up quite easily
on your Pocket PC. I’ll be discussing later what I think are some of
the difficulties in the driver, though. Check out the sets of photos
below – the first set shows comparisons of the old Stowaway to the new,
and the second set gives you a good idea of what it is like to unfold
this beauty and start your work!
(click
on each photo to see its larger version)
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
One
PRODUCT
FEATURES
of the key things for me in this keyboard is that there’s actually not
much to review! What I mean by that, is, while I’m typing, I feel very
much like I am typing on a laptop keyboard. Now, of course, laptops
do not have the best keyboards in the world, but a vast group of people
get their work done on laptop keyboards every day. The Stowaway XT simply
feels like an excellent laptop keyboard. When you try to look under
the hood at the key mechanism, you can see a good support system (looks
like scaffolding!). The rest of the construction seems to be just as
solid as the keys. The unit folds up nice and compactly, and truly seems
to be a pocketable device (unlike my still-weighty and quite large iPaq!).
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
One of the main problems I’ve been dealing with is the use of the function
keys. There are 2 function keys on the device that are absolutely essential
for proper keyboard operation. Those of you familiar with the original
Stowaway may remember that the function key gave you access to only
a few things, such as launching programs, using a keypad (instead of
the linear keypad at the top of the keyboard), and a couple of other
random things that most folks could have probably lived without. Not
the case anymore. The new layout of the keyboard absolutely requires
that you frequently utilize the 2 different function keys, unless you
want to have a very silly-looking document. The first function key,
a blue one on the left side of the keyboard, operates a whole bunch
of things, such as numbers, launching any programs, numlock, escape,
and several others. The second function key, on the right side of the
space bar, which is colored a kind of turquoise-green, is responsible
for all of the symbols that are on top of your traditional keyboard’s
numbers, (such as the @ sign). This is probably what you’ll use it for
most, unless you’re a big fan of page up/page down.
One
of the things I’m starting to notice about the keyboard is that it’s
very sensitive, in two ways. First, sometimes when I type letters that
seem to be near the edge of the keyboard, I’m getting them twice. For
example, every time I try to do the X for XT, I’m getting it twice.
TThat one right there was not on purpose. It may have to do with my
sloppy typing, but I’m actually pretty good. In fact, every time I hit
a function key or a shift key, the FFirst time I hit it, I get a double
character. After that, I get a single character. FFor example, if I
hit FN 11, I get a double one like you see there in "for."
I tested this with both function keys (the blue and the green) and it
happens pretty consistently. It also happens intermittently with the
SShift key. It’s almost as if the keys are set to recognize my keystrokes
so quickly, they pick ‘em out before I even can take my finger off the
key. I tried to change this by altering the delay in the preferences
section, but it still occurred. Clearly this is a problem for the Stowaway
XT. Messing around a bit with the settings of the key repeat rate and
the delay seems to allay the problem somewhat, but I am not satisfied
with this. I like to keep all of my repeats at the minimums, so I type
everything faster with no lag time – I don’t want to have to be hamstrung
by a software glitch (if that’s what it is).
UPDATE
(July 19, 2003):
After
working with version 1.7.5 of the software sent to me by Think Outside,
I have determined that if I set the Key Repeat Rate to 90 milliseconds
or higher, I generally do not get the key repeat problem. This is not
satisfactory to me yet – either it works at perfectly at all settings,
or change the settings. I’ll keep you updated on any new drivers they
send me."
The
second thing I’m noticing is that because of the size of the keyboard,
I often hit the wrong key, for example, I keep slamming TAB and DELETE,
which makes for a pretty interesting grammatical style! However, I’m
still writing this article on the keyboard, and because the size of
the keys are pretty much full-sized (as far as I can tell), it’s been
a very comfortable ride. The feel of the keyboard is very solid. I tend
to type very hard (I’m kind of ham-handed), and it is handling me quite
well. I can easily see banging away at this thing for hours, especially
if I were stuck on a plane or just wanted to take a stroll and do my
work outside! The stability of the unit is excellent; not only does
the entire keyboard rest on rubber feet and a piece of the hinge that
faces down to provide a flat surface, the most important part, your
Pocket PC, rests very comfortably on a wide metal and plastic hinge
that actually allows you several degrees’ worth of angles in setting
up the view on your unit. A little stress-test of mine was to lift the
entire unit by the keyboard to see if it would hold the Pocket PC, and
it absolutely did. I wouldn’t want to carry it around regularly like
that (it seems to stress the unit quite a bit), but you can do it in
a pinch if you need to.
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
Let’s take a look at the software that’s included with the Stowaway
XT. Think Outside has moved to version 1.7 of their software driver,
which is for both models of Stowaway. There are only a few configuration
screens, but this is likely all you’ll need for your keyboard (see screenshots
above). The first configuration screen is for, well, Configuration!
Here is where you can set up all your basic user preferences, including
enabling the keyboard, hot-dock (which I love, and believe is absolutely
necessary), and key repeat rate/delay. There is also a text box for
you to test your settings. The next screen is for you to configure your
hot keys for program launches. There are nine slots available for use
– this is not something I find particularly useful, but I know there
are those of you out there who couldn’t live without it. For me, I’ll
just settle for the defaults included with the keyboard. Everything
seems to work just fine when launching from the keyboard (though Excel
locked up on me, big surprise). The layout screen allows you to choose
from several different language layouts, so you’re not just limited
to English. Finally, there is an information screen. The software I
have, which I downloaded from the website, says it is version RC3, so
maybe some of the glitches I am discovering here are a result of the
software not being completely worked through (I hope). Additionally,
the hot dock feature appears to still work as advertised, though initially
on my screen it seemed to pop up and area of gray space that went away
after a period of time. One final note, I noticed that sometimes when
I was hooked up to the XT, the green reminder light on my PPC would
start flashing, even though I had absolutely no reminders going off
at the time. This has to be some kind of weird artifact of the keyboard’s
serial interface (or else I’m missing an important appointment!). Finally,
those who crave long work times typing with their Pocket PC and the
XT can insert a power adaptor into the built in power port pass-thru
next to the serial connector. Just plug it in and go, without all the
muss and fuss of HP’s silly serial adaptor!
Help for the XT seems limited to the
HELP
SUPPORT
"support@thinkoutside.com".
There is a user guide available online and with the CD as a pdf file,
but it seems like they haven’t updated to the XT pictures yet.
SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS
According to the Think Outside website,
the Stowaway series of keyboards is available for nearly all major handhelds.
However, I believe the XT is only currently available for Palm users
of certain models, and iPaqs. Because HP has seen fit to keep the connector
on their new mid and high-end devices the same as the old, the XT will
work fine with the 22xx and 55xx iPaqs!
Really, my only bug is with the "double
BUGS
AND WISHES
typing" phenomenon. I don’t know quite what causes this, but there
ought to be a way to fix this without forcing the user to avoid using
preferences they prefer. Think Outside really ought to take a look at
this and see what they can do to fix it. Otherwise, I think this is
a beautifully designed piece of hardware and well worth your hard-earned
cash, especially if you’re used lugging around your old Stowaway with
its floppy middle!
According to the Think Outside website,
PURCHASING
the XT can be purchased from their
partners/distributors, from major retail outlets including CompUSA,
Best Buy, Frys,
Office Depot, Office
Max, Staples and wherever
PDAs are sold, and from various online sellers including
Amazon.com,
Buy.com, Fellowes, CNet’s
Shopper.com,
Palm.com, and many others. The XT should sell for about $99.00 wherever
you get it; the original Stowaway should now go for between $69.00 and
$89.00.
PROS
Beautiful
design
Extremely
compact
Solid
construction
CONS
Buggy
software (key repeats on Shift and Function)
If you haven’t figured it out yet,
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
I love the new Stowaway XT. I think it is an incredible product and
a vast improvement over the original. Laptop typing anywhere, anytime
is now eminently possible, and the design and construction of the XT
is top notch. Fix the one flaw that I’ve found, and I think we’ve got
a new PDA keyboard champion in our midst!
No related post found.
