One of the hardest tasks to complete on the Pocket PC is data entry…of any kind.  I have a powerful PIM Manager (Agenda Fusion) and a powerful Word Processor (SoftMaker Office 2006), but when it comes to actually putting information or data into the Pocket PC, it is either play "stylus-hunt-and-peck" or wait until I can add it to my desktop and sync it into the Pocket PC. 

Neither method is ideal or even terribly convenient.  Surely, I thought, there must be a better way.  Then, along came Proporta with the Think Outside Stowaway Keyboard.

What’s In The Box: The package contains everything you need to get hooked up and typing in a matter of seconds:

• a keyboard (snowmen not included)
• a built-in, detachable PDA stand
• a CD-ROM with drivers for most major mobile devices (Pocket PC, Palm, Symbian and more)
• an installation and instruction manual
• 2-AAA batteries to power the keyboard
• a case.

Installation:  There are several steps which must be followed before this keyboard can be used with your portable device.  First, you must load the drivers onto your device.  With your Pocket PC connected to your computer, load the CD-ROM and install the drivers (according to the manual, main memory is preferable) via ActiveSync.  Once installation is complete, you must reset your device.

Once you have installed the drivers, pair the keyboard to your device to establish a Bluetooth connection to take place.  To put the keyboard in pairing mode, hold the [CTRL], blue [FN] on the left, and green [FN] on the right keys at the same time.  Hold all three keys until the green light above the "T" key starts to blink.  The device will then ask you for a passcode.  This is a four digit code which you create.  Enter the passcode on your device and on the keyboard and pairing should begin. 

Pairing:  I found pairing this device to my Pocket PC was a little tricky.  Unlike most Bluetooth devices, Windows Mobile would not recognize this keyboard through the included Bluetooth Manager.  As such, the only way to make a connection was through the included Stowaway software.  Although not difficult to use, the Stowaway software was considerably less convenient than the Bluetooth Manager.  Additionally, the Stowaway software will not automatically create a secure connection like Bluetooth Manager does.  As such, you must enter your passcode on the screen and keyboard separately in order to create a secure pairing. 

The Keyboard: This is the first Bluetooth keyboard I have used, so I was not really sure what to expect.  What I found was a device which was portable, convenient, and easy to use. 

The keyboard itself is hinged in the middle, which allows it to fold in half horizontally.  The attached PDA stand then snaps shut, holding everything together within a hard shell.  To open the keyboard, just pull out the PDA stand and press the latch button on the side of the keyboard and it will slide open.

The PDA holds my device at an angle which is convenient for typing and viewing the screen at the same time.  Additionally, since it is detachable, you can move your PDA around your desk to a spot that is most convenient for you.  This ensures that the main objective of your PDA — mobility is always available.

Typing: Anyone who is genuinely interested in a keyboard is probably going to skip ahead and read this section first.  What you really want to know is how well does this keyboard work.   

So, let me get right to answering your question and tell you that it works phenomenally well.  I was able to enter data into my PIM, edit documents in SmartMaker Office, even draft emails at almost the same rate of speed as I can on my laptop. 

One thing I really appreciated were the full sized keys.  As I mentioned, the Stowaway keyboard folds in half, which means it can afford to have larger keys than other portable keyboards, without sacrificing its size. 

The keyboard itself is arranged in a standard QWERTY keyboard arrangement with four rows of keys.  The top three rows contain the standard alphabetic keyboard.  The bottom row consists mainly of command and function keys.  Numbers and most special characters are accessed by holding a combination of command and function keys with one of the letter keys (for example, to type the number one, you would press the blue [FN] key and the letter "Q".)  I found this to be a bit disconcerting,and it served to illustrate that although the keys are full sized, this is definitely not a full-sized keyboard.  It would have been nice to add a fifth row of keys like a standard keyboard, in order to ensure that all of the character keys are located exactly where the user would expect to find them. 

Finally, I found that this keyboard was slightly unstable when typing.  There is an outer shell into which it folds when not in use.  When it is opened for typing, however, this shell — which becomes the base of the keyboard — is about half the size of the keyboard.  Thus, three keys on either side overhang the base.  While this may seem insignificant at first blush, I noticed while typing that this created a teeter-totter effect, so that when I pushed a key on one side, the other side of the keyboard would wobble and rise into the air. 

Hot Keys: There are two types of hot keys on the Stowaway Keyboard: hard wired hot keys and programmable hot keys.  The hard wired hot keys are pre-programmed into many of the keys on the keyboard, and cannot be changed.  These perform a variety of functions such as opening mail, opening MS Word, opening various components of MS Outlook, and many more.  While these are extremely convenient if you use only the software which is included in Windows Mobile; their lack of programmability renders them virtually useless once third-party software is installed.   

Fortunately, the Stowaway keyboard also allows the user to create up to 10 user-defined hot keys.  By using the Hot Key Menu, you can program the top row of keys to  open any program installed on your device, or to take a variety of other actions.  While I appreciated the ability to program some of these features into the keyboard, it would have significantly increased the functionality of this keyboard if I could have reprogrammed the hard wired hot keys as well, in order to allow them to control the third-party software I have added onto my device to replace MS Outlook, Word and Excel. 

Conclusion: This is the ideal keyboard for anyone who has been desperately seeking an easy, convenient, and portable means of entering data into a mobile device. 

I loved the fact that it folds in half to ensure portability while also maintaining standard sized keys.   I also appreciated the detachable PDA stand.  While I usually left it attached to the top of the keyboard, it was nice to know that it could be mobile at any time.  Mobility within mobility.  Nice! 

I did, however, have some trouble pairing this keyboard with my Axim.  At times, it would drop the connection and have difficulty reestablishing it.  I think this could have been fixed if it would have paired through the normal Bluetooth Manager in Windows Mobile instead of within the Stowaway software.  I also found that the keyboard tended to wobble and move due to the keys which overhung the base.  This quickly became an annoyance, but did not significantly interfere with my work.

Overall, I found this keyboard to be comfortable and easy to use.  It allows me to enter my PIM data and edit documents without tethering to a desktop computer.  Remaining mobile while using my mobile device…Problem Solved!

Vital Statistics:

Name: Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard

Platform: WM 2003 SE

Also Available: WM5, Palm,Symbian 

Weight:  160 grams (about 5.6 ounces)

Developer: Think Outside

Available From:  Proporta                 

Price: $155.95  

Technorati Tags: Stowaway – Bluetooth – keyboard – Proporta

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