Roll-Up, or Folding Keyboards... It's been a few years, since I owned one. So please take the following for whatever it is worth. Also, be notified, that the opinions presented here, are mine and might not be fully representative for everyone. Still, I will spend a few of your minutes, walking you through a few considerations in the matter of this kind of keyboards.
Design: and Construction First of all, let's get it all straight: The keyboard is made up of silicone, a versatile and flexible material. The construction is completely sealed, meaning that the keyboards are dust and spil proof. Should it ever get dirty, you literally can wash the whole thing under the faucet in your kitchen. Upon wash, simply hang it over a rod or something similar, and let it dry for a short while. It even is claimed to be alcohol proof, though I have not tested that feature. Have you ever seen the baking mats in silicone? Ever touched one of the thicker ones? These keyboards are based on a mat - not that much thicker than a silicone baking mat. let's estimate the thickness of the base of the keyboard, something like 1 1/2 bank card. Now imagine, that you place some keys on top of this silicone base, and you are pretty close to the final outlook of the product. each key, would be approximately the size of a four-knobbed lego brick; both in square, and in hight. And, take the knobs off the lego brick, you will get just about the shape of each key as well. They are straight cut square. Place these keys on your silicone mat, spaced about tenth of an inch apart. Remember, all the bricks are cast in silicone. Inside each (brick) key, is a tiny mechanical switch. To the touch, the whole keyboard unit, is a bit sticky; like all silicone products. Your fingers sure won't slip, as you type. Some might find the whole texture a bit uncomfortable, and it sure does take a little to get used to. In one end, you will find the unit has what appears like a rectangular box - something like 1.5 or 2 inches in width , running down the whole side of the keyboard. Inside this "box", is where all the electronics of the unit is located. In the rear end of the "box", you will find the USB cable, which is used for connecting to the computer. It is a fixed cable, and once broken, the whole unit is merely for the trash bin. Reason why they are called Roll-Up, or Folding keyboards, is because you litterally can roll them up, starting from one end. All rolled, the keyboard would be the size of two pocketbooks, stacked on top of each other. Being manufactured from cast silicone, the unit does not weigh much more than a modern cellphone. All-in-all a quite portable version of a keyboard. For your records, the keyboards comes in several sizes and versions. You would find units holding like 85-keys, comparing to the one you typically would see on your laptop. And you will find units, holding 102, or 105 keys, comparing to the standard keyboard you are familiar with on a desktop computer. Well, and then you can get separate numeric keypads, also in this roll-up flavor. Size is not much different from what you are used to, except from the extra space needed for the electronics "box" mentioned earlier. Typing Comfort The whole keyboard is a bit flimpsy. Being manufactured for roll-up, there is no built-in stiffening support in the unit. Putting it on your lap, attempting to type something, simply will not work. Pressing a key, the unit just will bend. This all mean, that you want to have a firm surface - like a desk - for placing your keyboard onto, whenever you want to operate your computer. If you planned for using the roll-up keyboard on the bus, train or airplane, you at least will need to have some kind of table of a certain firmness, for your operation. The keypressing, is rather firm. It really takes some effort to perform. Not too much to be wondered, when you give it a bit of a thought. Look at your standard keyboard. Each key is a separate unit, travelling freely up and down; totally independently from the others. On the roll-up models, each silicone key (brick), is molded as part of the whole unit. The keys do not travel. You press on the key, almost like you would press the bubbles on bubble plastics, that you know from shipping materials. Pressing on the key, you therefore will have to force the silicone of the brick to bend, enough to activate the tiny switch inside. Typing for prolonged time on this kind of units, might be a challenge. If you are used to old manual typewriters, you will remember how hard you had to knock the keys. Have you never used anything but modern soft-operated keyboards, you will likely find the roll-up models rather heavily worked. I doubt anyone could keep up their typing speed, on the roll-ups. The switch is situated in the center of each key. Still, it is possible for you to hit the side of the key. Doing so, though, will not activate the switch, meaning that you will find that the whole thing is a bit sensitive to correct positioning of your fingers, right on topp of the keys. Personally, I found the typing experience a bit wobblish, again taking quite some time to get used to. Since one of you mentioned having had a stroke, I would presume that you might want something that is stabil, reliable and steady in operation. Of course, if you find that a standard keyboard is too easily keypressed, the roll-up models might be something to be considered. And even if all the keys are evenly levelld, they are quite distinct spaced from each other - something that occationally will be a challenge with laptop keyboards, where the keys are such close to each other, that it is quite a job to distinguish one from the other. Still, due to the firmness - and somehow wobbling feeling of the roll-ups, I am not sure if that is what you might all be looking for. And since you will be in need of a firm underlaying surface for your typing job, you will be somehow limited in where and when you can get your computer work done. Prices used to be quite affordable. EBay, Amazon or the like, might be good places to start out. If you want to give it a roll, it should not break your account to do so. the fact that the keyboard will be rolled up, and unrolled numerous times, definitely will cause some strain to the construction. The unit I did own, did not last all that long. Yet, that could be due to my personal usage, or it might have been a hidden weakness in that particular unit. Base on the limited experience I have, I would not be able to tell the longitivity of the roll-ups in comparison to the standard keyboard. And it might certainly depend on how many rollings you do, what treatment you give the thing through travelling, and so forth. What i would suggest for you, is to look around for a standard keyboard, made in plastics or even in metal. See if you can get a somehow compressed one. There are models on the market, with just a tiny bit smaller keys, meaning that the over-all size of the unit will shrink. Depending on how big your laptop is, you might be able to find a keyboard of standard manufacturing, that would fit inside your laptop bag. I hope my above explanation was somehow understandable, and helpful. To me, the roll-up keyboard was a funny and interesting experience. Whether I will go for another one of them, I really cannot tell. It at least will never again be my main keyboard. Mainly due to the slow-down in typing rate. Also, I way too often find myself doing my typing right on my lap, and for such, I need a keyboard that can be operated without any further underlaying support. For those of you who like to play music on your own, let me just tell you that even electronic pianos, and music keyboards, are available as roll-up models. They too have the issue of needing a firm surface to be operated on. But due to their keys being much bigger, and the fact that they are constructed to be touch sensitive, they are far more easily operated. This just for your curiosity. _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/archive%40mail-archive.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com
