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Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse |
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Usage, Conclusions
Connecting the mouse to the PDA is much simpler: a recessed button underneath the mouse is pressed using a paper clip or PDA stylus, turning on discovery mode and lighting up a bright green LED. The connection wizard is then able to detect the mouse and a mouse pointer appears on the PDA screen. Connection on subsequent sessions can be initiated by enabling discovery and clicking one of the mouse buttons.
Fig 5: Enabling the mouse
Fig 6: Connecting to the mouse via Bluetooth
Fig 7: Awaiting connection
Fig 8: Connection established
It's also possible to connect to a PC using a Bluetooth Dongle / Adapter configured with the Human Interface Device (HID) Protocol, used for both mice and keyboards. Most, if not all, Bluetooth adapters support basic mouse and keyboard functionality. Once each device is set into discovery mode, the Bluetooth Configuration wizard helps you to add to the list of supported devices.
Once added, the devices are in the state of being paired, but not connected. Connecting to devices is a simple as enabling discovery, searching for devices in range and then selecting whichever is required.
Interestingly, this results in the simultaneous input of two mice - the desktop RF mouse and the portable Bluetooth mouse - controlling a single mouse pointer. Similarly, two or more keyboards will allow multiple input, though only one cursor is evident.
Range and Longevity
Connection distance is variable for each device. The mouse tends to start skipping at any distance over three metres, but that shouldn't be of particular importance unless the host PC is located some distance from the screen. The keyboard worked at seven metres in open space, which was the best open-space separation that I could set up indoors. Walls tend to play havoc with the Bluetooth connection, but this is not surprising and is a natural occurrence with most wireless communication. Given that a Class 1 Bluetooth adapter should give up to 100m range, it's obvious that the range limitations are entirely due to the mouse and keyboard on board Bluetooth chipsets. Range is often a trade-off between broadcasting strength and reasonable battery-life for portable devices.
Each device has the capability of shutting itself off to prevent excessive battery use while idle. Short of depleting the batteries by continually typing and moving the mouse until the batteries run down, it's impracticable to accurately measure battery life. Judging from current usage patterns, the mouse should be good for several weeks when used for a couple of hours per day, and the keyboard could well last for months under the same conditions.
Practical Uses
Now, the question is: what are they good for? If portability is your thing, chances are you may want to actually use the Think Outside Stowaway keyboard & portable mouse for something approaching usefulness; say, gaming.
Quake 3 Arena can actually be played on a PDA running Windows Mobile 2003 or better, provided you have at least 130MB storage and 40MB RAM free. Using the default Quake3 control keys, the keyboard worked flawlessly and I was unable to discern significant differences in feel between the Stowaway and a standard keyboard. As one would expect, mouse support is limited in WM2003SE and, unfortunately, I could find no way to use mouse movement in-game. In the end, I was only able to use the two main mouse buttons to fire and to switch weapons; the scroll wheel is non-functional and middle-click moves focus from the game to the Today screen, needing a soft-reset to regain control of the PDA.
Gaming on the PC gave a similar story: the keyboard again worked flawlessly but, while mouse movement was functional, the resolution of the optical system proved so low that the player is left unable to effectively target the opponent. Latency was a big issue on the PC; there was noticeable lag between moving the mouse and the corresponding action being performed in-game. The amount of latency was also variable, leaving little chance of the player being able to adapt to the delay. There was no noticeable frame rate drop on either the PC or the PDA, the PDA maintaining between 9 and 18 fps regardless of whether the mouse or keyboard was connected or even both simultaneously.
As with previous applications, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and Pocket IE all accept input from the mouse and keyboard without issue. Touch typists will have little difficulty in adjusting to the Think Outside Keyboard because of its normal-sized keys and reasonable tactile feedback
Conclusions
As a stand-alone keyboard and mouse, they fail completely, if only due to the inherent limitations of Bluetooth: no BIOS support, no on-chip motherboard solutions and the ever-present trade off of range for battery-life. However, for those who use a PDA or similar pocket device seriously, the Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard are a must. The mouse is especially useful when browsing websites, while the keyboard makes note-taking a breeze. For their intended purpose as a portable or space-saving keyboard and mouse, they perform these tasks admirably.
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