Seiko Thumboard Keyboard for Palm m500

This is perfect for people on the go.

I tried the Palm Portable Keyboard (The folding one), but it requires a hard flat surface, something hard to find on a crowded WMATA Bus or subway car. The Thumboard is not as fast as the Palm Portable Keyboard at a desk, but the Keyboard cannot be used in a car, bus, or subway without carrying a lap desk with you. Even at a desk, since my Palm V is not a laptop computer, I had a hard time reading the small display when using the Palm Portable Keyboard. Since the Thumboard does not require a hard surface, I can hold my PDA close to better read what I am typing.

My Graffiti writing is currently faster than the Thumboard, but I have trouble with Graffiti recognizing my handwriting on a bouncy bus or the stuttering stops of a subway car. I can enter data much faster on a bus or subway just because of the reduction of errors.

The Thumboard is better than the built-in screen keyboard since it includes very useful characters such as the shortcut character (a cursive lower case L). Since it clicks to the bottom of your PDA, you can also use two thumbs to type.

I have friends who claim to have worn out their PDA's Graffiti writing area, but I have never had a problem. For the inexpensive price of this Thumboard, you don't have to worry about wearing out the writing area on your expensive PDA.

The reason I gave this product a 4 instead of a 5 is the Palm OS. Currently Palm OS does not support external keyboards, so this great product requires a Hack (change to the Palm OS itself), there are several shareware programs on my Palm m500 that I cannot live without (DateBk4-an improved calendar, PocketQuickena finance program, HanDbasea database, and TakeNote!a text/word processor). At least one of these programs conflicts with the Thumboard Hack. If Palm includes keyboard expansion in future versions of its OS, I will be very happy. Currently I have ordered a Thumboard for my back up PDAa Palm Vthat I use for grocery shopping.

A last note, both of my PDAs have molded hard cases. I have to remove them to use the Thumboard (but I had to remove them to use the Palm Portable Keyboard). When I purchased the Thumboard Seiko offered a free carrying case that held the PDA with the Thumboard still attached. If this is an issue for you, check that the Thumboard can click onto your PDA while still in its carrying case and/or the PDA with the Thumboard attached still fits inside your carrying case.

-Bj

CJ's Husband

Alright, I have to admit that straight out of the box I thought I was never going to be able to use this thing! The keys seemed terribly small and my fingers aren't the most delicate things on this planet.

After a couple of days, I'm falling in love. This keyboard has a lot of advantages over other 'portable' keyboards.

Size: Truly portable. Comparing it my friend's Stowaway, this thing just takes the cake.

Location: If you don't know yet, you slip this over the bottom of your handheld (in my case Visor). It stays in place remarkably well. It's rounded sides and larger profile, makes typing easy because the handheld is easier to hold.

Construction: Yes, it's plastic, but it's well made plastic. Everything has clean finished edges. I flexed my in my hand and it creaked a little bit, but not like it was going to fall apart suddenly.

In conclusion, I give this tiny but powerful keyboard four stars. It would have earned the coveted five star rating if it's keys were just a smudge bigger, or spaced out a bit more. If you have small fingers and great fine motor skills, you'll be typing out page-long emails in no time.

Buy Seiko Thumboard Keyboard for Palm m500 Now

I was a also a bit dubious about the usability of this product. And living in the UK it meant I had to post it to my mate Rick in Philly, and he posted it on to me! Anyway, when it arrived I was pleased in all respects. The size is good, the built quality seems fine, the keys response was good (not too spongy if that's a word), and the main thing the response time is immediate. I was worried that you would need to s-l-o-w down the typing speed in order to allow the software to keep up, but last night I was merrily typing in telephone numbers and never found I was going to fast. While its a bit of a clunky unit to use ALL the time, its fine to keep in your bag, and when the thought of typing a long e-mail using Graphiti (how DO you spell it?) seems a bit daunting, just plug this in, and away you go. The keys are a BIT small, but then we'd all moan it was too big if they made them bigger! Highly recommended.

Read Best Reviews of Seiko Thumboard Keyboard for Palm m500 Here

My advice is to NOT buy this keyboard, even for $10.

You must install the drivers for the keyboard onto your PDA; the only problem with doing this is that the drivers to be loaded come ON A FLOPPY DISC!!!

How many customers still have a computer that still accepts floppies? I sure don't, so now I have a $10 mini boat anchor or coaster.

Want Seiko Thumboard Keyboard for Palm m500 Discount?

Very pleased with this product! So much easier to make updates on the go, compared to using the stylus and screen keyboard. Head up, the software for this product is on a 3.5 floppy diskette. If your computer is fairly new and you do not have a floppy drive on your PC, you will need to copy the diskette to a CD.

Save 77% Off