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Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 4528
Location: Los Angeles
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 Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:00 pm Post subject: Bluetooth Mini Keyboard Review |
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http://msmobiles.com/news.php/4989.html
"Many people don't care whether mobile phone has QWERTY keyboard or not, but for many other people this is a deciding factor in buying decisions. Examples of Palm Treo phones (that are the best selling smartphones in USA) and BlackBerry phones (that are extremely popular all over the world) show that having good QWERTY keyboard is of utmost importance. Soon new Pocket PC phones with built-in QWERTY keyboards will be coming to market: HP hw6900 series, Fujitsu-Siemens Loox T800 series and new Treos from Palm (this time also for GSM/UMTS), so it may be worth to think about these topics already now - so that you could take the most informed decision!"
If you want a device with a QWERTY keyboard, get one. Why drag around an extra piece of gear? I say simplify! I have of course excluded myself from this rule.  Seriously, most of you may have already seen this particular thumb board already. Here is a closer look at it. Probably the most appealing thing about it is that it doesn't need separate drivers.
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nedge2k
Smartphone Pupil
Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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it does require sep drivers on the magician
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nedege2k: MoDaCo News & Reviews Editor, SPV-Developers Admin, PocketPC Mag Forum Moderator / Awards Judge.
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Mike Temporale
Managing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 8577
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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| nedge2k wrote: |
| it does require sep drivers on the magician |
Magician? Bah, that's one of them Pocket PC thing-a-majigs right? 
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"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein
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sven
Smartphone Sage
Joined: 22 Jun 2004
Posts: 669
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Mike Temporale wrote: |
| nedge2k wrote: |
| it does require sep drivers on the magician |
Magician? Bah, that's one of them Pocket PC thing-a-majigs right?
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Smartphone? That's a PPC Phone Edition they forgot to put the touch screen on, right?
Really I don't think it is a matter of the keyboard not requiring 'drivers', which isn't even the right term, but that it conforms to the standard HID profile. If the target device does too, then it should work.
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Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 4528
Location: Los Angeles
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| sven wrote: |
| Really I don't think it is a matter of the keyboard not requiring 'drivers', which isn't even the right term, but that it conforms to the standard HID profile. |
Picky Picky! 
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sven
Smartphone Sage
Joined: 22 Jun 2004
Posts: 669
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:01 am Post subject: |
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Wasn't trying to be picky, just indicating that the target device needs to have the HID profile for it to work without requiring 'drivers'. Not like there is something special about the keyboard that lets it work with anything, regardless. If you have the MS BT stack, there isn't even a good way to find out what profiles the OEM included until you pair something and find out what you need isn''t there.
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Mike Temporale
Managing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 8577
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| sven wrote: |
| there isn't even a good way to find out what profiles the OEM included until you pair something and find out what you need isn''t there. |
This is more of a Bluetooth spec issue, right? It's not like this is just a problem on WinMo devices. Bluetooth can sure be nice, but it's also a huge pain sometimes. 
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shindullin
Smartphone Pupil
Joined: 14 Jul 2003
Posts: 30
Location: San Jose CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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If you really need intensive data entry. The thumb board is no good. You need something like the stowaway. If it's just something short, the thumboard is good but so is the actual numeric keypad. Seems like a silly extra device to carry around that doesn't fit many niche's very well. I like the 2125 with the stowaway when I'm out of the office on work related business a lot better.
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sven
Smartphone Sage
Joined: 22 Jun 2004
Posts: 669
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Mike Temporale wrote: |
| sven wrote: |
| there isn't even a good way to find out what profiles the OEM included until you pair something and find out what you need isn''t there. |
This is more of a Bluetooth spec issue, right?
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I wouldn't say it is a spec issue...or a WinMo issue specifically. It's an implementation issue. My Dell X50v, older HPs and my PC (BlueTake USB dongle) both have a manager that lists all the BT profiles that are available. The Dell has a nice manager that gives a load of options, 'Sync', 'connect via a phone', connect to a network', etc. when you go to pair a new device. When I added the software that came with my HP BT headphones, two new icons showed up, High Quality Audio and HID. Essentially it tells you what it is capable of. My PC (BlueTake) has something similar. The manager comes up with all the supported profiles listed.
My K-Jam, JasJar, PC with MS BT dongle, all just offer the opportunity to discover other devices. Once discoverd, you get a menu of compatible profiles to pick from. You don't know there isn't an HID profile until you pair with a keyboard and there are no profiles to select from. If you pair with something like the Motorola stereo headphones, you only get to select handsfree. You don't know A2DP isn't there until you have paired. Yes you can pair two devices and not have any compatible profiles to choose from. Equally annoying is there is nothing on the box, in the manual or on the sites that lists, 'here are the supported profiles'. It's like buying a car and the specs say "audio system" but nothing says if it's Stereo, Mono, Am or FM, cassette, CD, or one or multiple speakers.
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