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JAVOedge Bluetooth Keyboard
by Randy Jones (NPUG #25)
Wireless keyboards using infrared have been out for some time, but recently there have been a few new offerings for Bluetooth keyboards using, obviously, built in Bluetooth on your Palm device. The differences between the two types of keyboards are the use of infrared versus Bluetooth. The infrared keyboard uses a swing arm that is “aimed” at the infrared port. For Palm devices that are placed in the keyboard stand in portrait mode, this works well. For devices that were landscape it was a little more difficult to “aim” the arm and get a consistent connection (I’m speaking specifically about the Zodiac, the device I’ve tested the JAVOedge Bluetooth keyboard on.). With the Bluetooth keyboard though you don’t have to “aim” anything, you just use Bluetooth instead.
Design
Let me begin with a brief description of the keyboard. It has an outer case of brushed silver aluminum with black rubberized accents around three quarters of the edge when folded. The rubberized edges are where keyboard’s base will grip whatever surface it is laid on. It is compact when folded with measurements of 5.58” (L) x 3.75” (W) x 0.79” (H). It is comparable in size to most portable keyboards, just slightly larger than needed to be able to carry in your pocket. The real treat comes when you open this keyboard, it measures 11.98 (L) x 3.75 (W) x 0.36 (H).
Once you open the keyboard it has a center slide used to lock the keyboard in the open position. While this will hold it open for you, it isn’t comfortable to type with in your lap since the hinged middle section still is able to bend slightly. I guess in a pinch you could put the keyboard in your lap to type a quick memo, but I wouldn’t recommend it. After locking the keyboard you can then slide the keys together creating a full keyboard.
The keyboard is a full QWERTY keyboard and is comfortable to type on; the keys are large enough that you can touch type with it. I have fairly large hands and still felt comfortable typing on it. The one thing that stands out about this keyboard is that it has a dedicated number row. For those of you that this is an important feature, you’ll appreciate having the numeric row of keys. Some of the other keyboards being offered compromise the use of the numeric row of keys by having you use a function key in order to type numbers. While this may not be a big problem, it can be annoying if you are working on a spreadsheet where you have to enter a lot of numbers.
Finally, the keyboard comes with a stand for your PDA. It slides out from the right side of the keyboard and swings around to lock into another slot. You can use this stand lock if you wish or you can completely remove the stand and place it where you want. A PDA can sit nicely in the stand in either the portrait or landscape mode, although the device tended to lean just slightly while in landscape mode. If you choose to use the stand in the portrait mode you could place your device on the rubberized area of the stand to insure its safety while in the stand.
Ease Of Use
I have tried many different keyboards while owning many different PDA devices. I have used keyboards that had the device plug directly into the keyboard, I have used wireless keyboards with the infrared arm, and now I am happy to say I have used the Bluetooth keyboard.
Obviously using a keyboard that has to have the device plugged directly into it limits the number of devices that can connect since there are several different types of connectors. Infrared was supposed to fix that since any device that had infrared could potentially connect to the keyboard, but then you had to contend with the infrared swing arm and “aiming” it at the infrared port. While most people have said they didn’t have any issues with it I can say that it was difficult to use with a Zodiac device in landscape mode. If you were to stand the device up in portrait mode you could get a connection. Using the Bluetooth keyboard was very easy. After installing the driver that came with the keyboard I paired the keyboard and my Zodiac via Bluetooth and began typing away. There is no real lag between the keyboard and the Zodiac.
The driver that came with the keyboard is very user friendly and customizable. It allows for the user to adjust the repeat rate or the repeat delay to suit your needs. It also allows for the assignment of up to 10 function keys to use to launch different programs. Finally, you have checkboxes to activate the keyboard and to also automatically reconnect the keyboard to the device when the keyboard is turned on.
Finally, since the keyboard is using Bluetooth, if you are surfing the net with WiFi you can use the keyboard at the same time. This just adds another dimension to the uses of your PDA device by adding a portable keyboard to use while on the internet.
Power
The keyboard is powered by two AAA batteries and is advertised to have 90 hours of operation time and 168 hours of standby time. While I can’t confirm this yet (I’m still using it but not for that long yet!), it appears that you’ll have no problems with batteries quickly draining.
Conclusion
The JAVOedge Bluetooth keyboard is a top of the line keyboard, it is a quality product. It is solidly built and the manufacturer has thought of everything.
- The keyboard is a full QWERTY keyboard and is large enough to use comfortably, but small enough to be portable.
- The keyboard driver was very simple to set up and once I had paired the keyboard and Zodiac together I was immediately typing information into the Zodiac.
- The device stand can be attached to the keyboard or separated, whichever makes you comfortable.
- While using the keyboard not once did I experience any connection problems using Bluetooth, not something I can say about using the infrared devices.
While the cost of a Bluetooth keyboard is more than an infrared, it’s worth it not to put up with the hassles of using an infrared keyboard. No more aiming the infrared swing arm, no more lost connection and no more drivers that just never seem to work no matter what you do. The JAVOedge Bluetooth keyboard retails for $125.50.
Design: 
4 out of 5
Ease Of Use: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
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