I've been a die-hard Palm user for about 2 years now. I bought my PalmIII in Singapore, during a 6-month period where I was travelling around asia on behalf of my employer, doing Netware to Windows NT conversions for our many branches. A good friend of mine had a PalmProfessional and, without actually having used it much, I considered it something of a gimmick. However, I was aware of my own chronic inability to organise my life so when the opportiunity arose to get one fairly cheaply I did. Since then, I have been a true convert, a Palm evangelist. In fact, my boss at one point gave me a Casio E-100, a full-colour Windows CE device capable of playing MP3's and even videos. I soon found that, despite the bells, whistles and flashing lights, the CE device paled in terms of sheer usability before the clean, simple interface of the Palm.

So what, I hear you ask, does this have to do with a hardware review website? Well, I must confess that there ARE some niggling, annoying issues with the Palm. The single biggest problem I have with the Palm is entering data. Sure, the graffiti language is fine or you can tap away at the on-screen keyboard for small amounts of text but, realistically, the frustration factor is pretty high once you try to write anything more than a short email or a paragraph or so. The PalmIII accompanies me everywhere and I access my email via a mobile phone with an infra-red port. The technology all works fine but as recipients will tell you my emails from the palm tend to be even more terse and abrupt than normal.

Enter the Palm Portable Keyboard. This is made by ThinkOutside, inc, the kind people who sent one to me for review - but I notice that Palm themselves are offering the product on their website. This alone should be enough of an indication of the quality of the product. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, the product took home the Design Innovations Award, the Workstyle Award and even won Best of Show. It's available for the PalmIII, V and VII, the HandSpring Visor and there's a unit for Palm-sized WindowsCE devices on the way. Let's look at it in detail.

When closed, the unit is not much larger than the palm itself. The outer shell is black-adonized aluminium, pretty tough stuff. It comes in a zip-up, padded case which should protect it from most accidental knocks. I would have preferred if the keyboard's case contained another pocket, for the Palm itself. This would mean I only have to carry one object instead of now two. Perhaps some of the third-party case manufacturers will adapt their products to contain both. The unit also comes with a small booklet manual. This is excellently written and very clear.

The concertina-style design of the unit is very impressive to see in action. I brought it to work and completely dazzled the techy guys on my team. At home, my girlfriend said it was like something out of the Matrix. It's definitely a show-stopper at conferences or on planes. In fact, it makes you feel a little self-conscious because people tend to gape at it once you've expanded it.

The mechanism is fairly simple. Thumb the clasp on the side and the unit springs open like a small book. Separate the two "covers" of the book and it unfolds the central part of the keyboard. Lay it flat and use the thumb-grips to slide the edge peices into place. There you have it, a full-size keyboard. The setup is completed by sliding out a little stand and folding it into place. This is where the Palm rests while you use the keyboard. The whole process, from popping the catch to sitting the palmpilot on top, can be done in less than 5 seconds once you've done it a few times.

Thumb the clasp.	Pull it open.

Fully opened.

Slide the edges of the keyboard together.

Finally, pop the little stand out. This supports the Palm while you type.

I instinctively felt that the unit would be flimsy and fragile. Flipping it open the first few times I was careful not to twist it and made sure everything was lined up nicely as I shut it. Now I've had it a few weeks I'm much more cavalier about it and it is holding up with no complaints. It's flexible but this doesn't mean it's weak - you get the feeling that, much like the Palm, it's designed to handle regular real-world use and abuse. The signal paths between the 4 sections of keyboard are flexible ribbons, protected by what appear to be equally flexible sheets of thin metal or plastic. The keys can handle a decent pounding and the plug for the Palm connection has not complained at my occasional stupid attempt to bend it the wrong way. All up I think you'd have to be pretty ham-fisted to physically damage the unit.

The software is simple to load, as is all Palm software. It's included on a floppy disk. Just load the .prc file from the Palm desktop as you would any other Palm program, perform a HotSync and from then on when you plug the Palm into the plug on the keyboard the software will silently load in the background. The software is actually pretty neat, you can assign any program to a function key and there are loads of shortcut key combinations explained in the excellent manual. You can even set the key repeat delay and repeat rate. The unit is powered by the Palm's main batteries but I haven't noticed any decrease in the length of time a set of batteries lasts for.

I find that I still use the stylus for a lot of work, jotting down phone numbers and checking appointments etc, but as soon as I have to write anything longer than a short postal address, out comes the keyboard. In fact, I wrote a large chunk of this article on the unit while away from my PC, at my parents place on the south coast of NSW. I imagine ThinkOutside intended this product for use on a desktop or perhaps the tray tables on aircraft. I did type a few emails with the unit on my lap in a car (as a passenger!) but it's a little awkward. The central hinge does not lock open so the unit can fold downwards around this. Usually the weight of your fingers (and of the Palm) keeps it open, but unless it's supported properly the board tends to bow a little which leads to typos and is probably not good for it. Probably best to stick to a flat surface - I found the map book I keep in the car to be ideal. The keyboard includes two small holes (one on the right, one on the left) for resting the stylus in as there are some (not many) things you can't do on the keyboard due to limitations of the Palm OS, so having the stylus handy is nice.

I tend to make transposition errors on this keyboard, letters being reversed - typing "noto" instead of "onto" and that kind of thing. This, I suspect, is due to the the way the keyboard lies flat on the table (as opposed to slanting forward like a normal keyboard) and is something that should go away as I become more used to the unit in time. I'm a very fast typist - I tend to fire away at the keyboard so when things change, my accuracy goes out the window. It would have been nice if the unit was adjustable forwards, but I can still maintain a decent speed on it so this is only a minor complaint. The keys themselves feel surprisingly solid - much the same as a proper keyboard, but with less travel. If you've ever typed on a laptop keyboard the feeling is very similar (except this is full-size!).

Almost the same size as my PC keyboard without the numeric keypad.

Conclusion
This is one of the coolest toys I've had a chance to play with in a long time. It approaches the geek nirvana of being technically interesting with plenty of peer-envy potential while performing a genuinely useful function. It removes my major irritation about being a Palm addict and it's reasonably priced. What more could you ask for? Highly recommended.