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Pocketop Keyboard
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By Jørgen Sundgot, Tuesday 5 November 2002  
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Portable keyboards are commonplace nowadays, but adding wireless to the equation is a new twist. Jørgen Sundgot reviews the Pocketop Keyboard, and sees no need for a touch-up.
Whilst portable keyboards in just about all sizes and shapes have become commonplace today - and are quite necessary, if you'd like to input large amounts of text into a handheld - there is still room for a bit of innovation. In the case of the Pocketop keyboard from Canada-based Pocketop, the twist is wireless - as in infrared wireless.
Hinges and more hinges
As you might already have noticed the Pocketop is a single-fold, portable keyboard that utilizes the infrared port to transmit signals to the handheld of your choice. That's right, it's compatible with a number of handhelds including all Palm OS handhelds, as well as all Compaq iPAQ, HP Jornada and Toshiba Pocket PCs. The Palm OS driver is universal, and offers screen rotation that works with all models except for Sony's NR70 and NX70 series, while the Pocket PC drivers differ from device to device but also offer screen rotation except for in the case of the Toshiba Pocket PC e570. Why this is important, you'll find out soon.
 | | Ill: Pocketop |
Hardware-wise, the Pocketop is a very light keyboard weighing in at a mere 120 g with the single AAA battery that's required to power it in place, while it's also very thin both when open and closed (1.43 cm). Due to necessities of space, the Pocketop doesn't have the same width top to bottom as a normal one, and this difficulty has been worked around by providing its keys with a sort of camber, angling them up in a wedge shape to meet you. The overall effect is quite positive, as is the appealing design and the little detail of anti-slide rubber knobs placed in the four corners of the keyboard.
The Pocketop is also accompanied by a stand that uses an aluminum mirror to reflect infrared signals so that they can be perceived by the infrared port of a device. Complete with a support leg that allows a handheld to be placed upright and at a comfortable angle, there's also a support wire to keep it from sliding down on the table - not necessarily the sturdiest of solutions, but it works very well. The stand offers more benefits, though, as it also uses a system of hinges (several different ones are included in the package) to attach either the stand to the Pocketop keyboard itself, or some Palm models to the keyboard directly. In combination with a device such as a Palm m515 that would attach directly to the keyboard, it offers the most compact full-keyboard writing solution I've seen, and believe me, I seriously lusted for that setup whilst reviewing the Pocketop with a Toshiba e740. Not that it's a bad choice; but as is well known there's a wee size difference between the two.
Since infrared ports are located at different places on different devices, the screen rotation software comes in very handy - and also helps a user to make a choice based on preference. Regardless of where the IR port is placed, screen rotation software allows a user to rotate the screen so that it's possible to work with text not only when the device is placed in a stand, but also when lying flat on a surface - whichever suits the user best.
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