Today I finally received the Thinkoutside Stowaway Universal Bluetooth keyboard. I am entering this post using the keyboard, which so far is working very well.
The connection between the keyboard and my Pocket PC is made using Bluetooth wireless technology. So far I have not found any delays in how characters appear as I type and there have not been any pauses to wait for the cursor to catch up to my typing.
The keyboard has four rows, with the first three providng the standard QWERTY layout. There is no number row, so entering numbers requires a function key combination. While the keys on the first three rows are pretty close to full size, the last row's keys are smaller. The space bar is split into two smaller keys, which I find to be the least functional aspect of this keyboard.
Set up between the keyboard and my IPAQ H6315 was pretty straightforward, however I am surprised to see that the keyboard does not appear anywhere in the IPAQ's Bluetooth Manager. It appears that Thinkoutside is bundling their own Bluetooth software with the keyboard.
I have some gripes with the packaging of the keyboard. First it comes in form-fitting plastic casing that is very hard to open. Second, the keyboard was laden with stickers. One on the back prevented me from opening the keyboard until it was removed. Another sticker was placed right over a number of keys so when I removed it one of the keys actually came off the keyboard. I didn't panic, sure I was able to push the key back on to the keyboard, but someone else may have a moment of panic thinking they just broke their brand new keyboard.
The quick start guide has a serious omission. Nowhere does it tell you that you have to install batteries. Two Energizer batteries are included with the keyboard, but a less experienced person would not know what to do with them and where they should be installed. The batteries are needed to power the Bluetooth radio, so one can not make a connection with a Pocket PC.
Finally, the setup program for the Pocket PC software displayed a couple of errors during installation. First I got a message that said "An error occurred while setting the application language dll registry entry on the device. Installation will abort." I clicked OK, restarted setup, and got past that message to see the standard Pocket PC application installation wizard execute. At the end of the installation a dialog appeared on the Pocket PC saying that it was installing the Bluetooth Keyboard Driver, but no progress was displaying. On my desktop PC I got another error message: "Cannot copy the destination file. Make sure the disk on the mobile device is not full or write protected, and that all setup programs on the device are completed." Again I clicked OK and setup stopped, then I tapped Cancel on the Pocket PC dialog and all of a sudden the installation on the Pocket PC executed, completed and forced a soft reset. From there I was able to configure the keyboard as instructed by the directions. These problems occurred while installaing the software on a IPAQ H6315, which is not on the "supported" list that comes with the keyboard. However, this Pocket PC is running Windows Mobile 2003 rather than the newer Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, so I don't know why I encountered these errors. Clearly the installation was successful, so if you encounter them just be persistent and evetually you will get the software installed.
I've written this entire review using the keyboard, and I have been able to touch type at reasonable speed, but my fingers are starting to cramp a little bit. Clearly, while this keyboard works, one will not want to use it to write the next great American novel. None-the-less, I think I am going to be happy with the keyboard. So long as my future Pocket PCs have a Bluetooth radio, I will be able to use this keyboard and no longer have to buy keyboards specific to each brand of Pocket PC.