Hi all:
I saw the message about the portable USB keyboard and thought
this would be perfect.
Have a great day,
Alex
---- Original Message ------
From: Pam Quinn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Braillenote] (fwd) [bct] Great keyboard for Braillenote
Date sent: Thu, 18 May 2006 18:42:21 -0500
On Thu, 18 May 2006 19:12:57 -0400, "Angie Matney"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
I am not currently subscribed to the BrailleNote list, so if
anyone
wants to forward this to that list, feel free to do so. (In
fact, you can pass it on to anyone who might find it useful.)
I've been trying to find a good external keyboard for my
BrailleNote
mPower for some time. I don't like the BN's loud,
clanky keys. I'm glad to have them for situations where I need
braille
entry, but I wanted something else for taking notes.
I initially tried a roll-up rubbery kind of USB keyboard that I
got
for $20 at CompUSA. I had the larger model that I used
with a laptop until it died a few months later. I was hesitant to
buy
the smaller one for the BN, but I really wanted a
different keyboard. Sadly, my keyboard's space bar died after
about a
month of loyal service.
I then bit the bullet and bought the Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
from
ThinkOutside (I hear Del's PDA keyboard is a re-
branded version of this one; I don't know if that's true or not).
Anyway, This keyboard is excellent. I didn't think I would
like it, since you have to press a key in conjunction with the
keys on
the "qwerty" row to type numbers. But this is easily
done. Also, the Question mark is typed by pressing shift +
right-arrow. This is good, because the right arrow is where the
slash is on a normal keyboard. In summary, this is an excellent
keyboard. But it can be kind of expensive, and I have
found that my BN's connection with it is sometimes finnicky.
I just received a Targus folding USB keyboard that I ordered from
www.toshibadirect.com. The keyboard was $34.99
plus shipping and tax. I think it was around $45. I think it
could be
just the think I'm looking for. It's about the size of the
ThinkOutside keyboard--just a tiny bit larger. It has a
retractable
USB cable, which is not at all what I was expecting. The
cable is wrapped around a reel in such a way that as you pull it
out,
it extends at both ends and locks into place. When
you finish with it, you just pull a little on the end connected
to the
BN, and it retracts automatically. This is hard to explain,
but it's a really neat design and lets you lengthen the cord
enough to
get it out of your way. Also, this cable detaches
from the keyboard, so it should be easy to replace if that is
necessary.
The keys are a nice size--full PC size. The keyboard doesn't have
the
standard arrow keys. It has something like a
PDA's navigation key in the bottom right corner that acts like
the
arrow keys. This means that the slash, etc., is where it
"should" be. The only thing I don't like about this keyboard is
that
for some reason, the top row is moved farther to the
right than it should be. The top row consists of escape, the
number
keys, and a few other things. The number row will
take a bit of getting used to. But some might prefer this to the
Stowaway's method of doubling up the numbers with the
"qwerty" row. The Targus also has page up and page down keys on
the
right side. These keys are smaller than normal
keys, but they are very easy to find.
Here are the pros for the Targus keyboard:
* much cheaper than a bluetooth keyboard;
* Doesn't require batteries or drain your BN's battery as much as
bluetooth does;
* Has arrows and page up/down keys that are immediately tactilly
distinguishable;
* has detachable retractable cable that will be very easy to
transport;
* most keys are where they should be;
* should work right away with the BN.
I do still like the Stowaway keyboard, and I'll probably still
use it
on occasion. I might start using it more with my PC,
though, since I can use this new one with the BN. I'm really
impressed
with this new Targus keyboard.
Here is the link to the keyboard:
http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/adet.to?seg=HHO&poid=311408
Angie
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