Hi.
I wish to either add a gadget to my existing handset or replace the handset with a new one in order to have a hardware keyboard.
I'm a writer and I used to do 90% of my writing on my phone, or at least I did until I changed to handsets with touvhscreen keyboards (Sony ericsson Xperia Arc and previously the HD2); now my writing frequency has dropped considerably.
I want to remain with Android (I'd prefer a handset that is actually designed for Android) and I'd prefer to keep the high specs of the Arc but I really want a hardware keyboard. I've looked at wifi keyboards but they seem a bit bulky (like carrying another phone!)
Ideally an Arc with a keyboard would solve my problems but failing that any other handset you can think of which has a large screen, a good processor, good RAM and either tons of internal memory or micro SD slot AND a hardware keyboard would be great.
Option 2 would be to find a very slim wifi keyboard about the same size as the Arc that I could carry around.
Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
Cheers
thintin said:
Hi.
I wish to either add a gadget to my existing handset or replace the handset with a new one in order to have a hardware keyboard.
I'm a writer and I used to do 90% of my writing on my phone, or at least I did until I changed to handsets with touvhscreen keyboards (Sony ericsson Xperia Arc and previously the HD2); now my writing frequency has dropped considerably.
I want to remain with Android (I'd prefer a handset that is actually designed for Android) and I'd prefer to keep the high specs of the Arc but I really want a hardware keyboard. I've looked at wifi keyboards but they seem a bit bulky (like carrying another phone!)
Ideally an Arc with a keyboard would solve my problems but failing that any other handset you can think of which has a large screen, a good processor, good RAM and either tons of internal memory or micro SD slot AND a hardware keyboard would be great.
Option 2 would be to find a very slim wifi keyboard about the same size as the Arc that I could carry around.
Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
bòn.bon said:
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What for???
Related
There has been a lot of interest in a proper, external, keyboard for the XDA.
After reading a lot of reviews and testing what I could get my hands on, I have concluded that the ThinkOutside Stowaway Wireless Keyboard is probably the best around.
This keyboard is mainly sold in the USA, but an alternative exists; the Palm Wireless Keyboard.
I have created a small review including large pictures on my website:
http://www.mahal.dk/keyboard
Regards
Michael
Nice review, Michael!
Wouter
Thanks.
Several of my work mates have tried the keyboard and appear very impressed by the quality - and the power of the XDA II + Keyboard.
Regards
Michael
nice review, you seem to be really happy with that keyboard,
But..., have you tried the official XDA II keyboard?, it locks in the open position so can be used on your lap, and doesnt need any batteries to use it,
I am going to order hte official keyboard i think and see how i go with it
I believe I have. I used to own an Ipaq 5450 with the HP Foldable keyboard. From what I can see at the pictures I found, it might very well be the same keyboard.
The HP is sort of pulled apart then pushed together again to assemble and lock it.
If this is the same keyboard, I was not happy and found I did not use it. The main reason was that they keys was not quite large enough and had the right feed-back for touch typing. Also, very annoyingly, the space bar needed a very hard push in the right hand side. This often caused me to miss a space.
Finally, there was no mapping to those extra 3 letters we have, meaning I had to get the stylus out each time I had to use one of those letters.
On the plus side, I could charge my Ipaq when using it, but only after having the bottom connector replaced.
The price was also much higher, almost 100 GBP, the Palm Wireless Keyboard that I find better is only around 35 GBP.
Battery drain is minimal btw.
Regards
Michael
Do One need SD or CF Bluetooth card ?
Do I need to buy an SD or CF Bluetooth card to use my QTEK 20202 with the Stowaway Bluetooth Portable Keyboard, anyone know?
Regards, Johnny
Saw this a few days ago, and it got me salivating, although I can't really justify getting one; I don't spend that much time typing on my Imate.
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=110909
It projects (yes projects) a keyboard onto a flat surface in front of it, then detects which key you press on the projection by means of a second ir beam. And it's about the size of a cigarette lighter.
Feedback on the site says it works with the XDA II.
I'm sure I read about this idea years ago in a sci-fi novel. It's nice to see things like that come true. Maybe I will get one. Hmmmmm......
bodstrup said:
The price was also much higher, almost 100 GBP, the Palm Wireless Keyboard that I find better is only around 35 GBP.
Michael
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the palm keyboard work with XDA2?
That or similar laser projected keyboard was on Gadgets Gadgets Gadgets on TV the other night and they demonstrated it using an XDAII.
It looked like it worked very well But you have to have a flat surface. Also typing on a flat surface would feal strange to me i think.
Hi,
a few months ago I got an ipaq hw6955
it was ok but I thought the screen was way too small for a pda, and miniSD cards aren't very big and then it broke after a month and I got a refund
now I'm looking for another phone but this time I want to shop around more !
I did a bunch of reading and searching on ebay and I'm not really sure what phone to get
I made a list of what features I cared about and which ones I don't
I absolutely want
WM6 , HSDPA (wifi but every phone have that now)
I would really prefer to have integrated gps (don't care much to carry a separate bluetooth gps receiver that's as big as the phone !)
a screen around 3 inches (the ipaq was just a tad too small to confortable use and the 240x240 was useless for movies :\)
I'd really prefer a VGA screen unless it means the phone gets very slow and makes the battery not last (like I heard about the E-TEN glofiish X500+)
I think the toshiba portege g900 would have been perfect but they messed up by using a transmissive screen, I'd prefer a transflective screen , but I think every recent phone has that now anyways.. well except the g900 !
the HTC advantage X7500 might have been good but it's really not pocket sized and WM5 kills it
I don't want a qwerty keyboard that takes away screen estate but a flip would be nice, but not necessary (a separate mini BT keyboard would do)
I heard that the G900 can use usb mass storage devices with it's usb host, that's a feature I really really want , do all phones do this now or is that one the only one ? (I know you need a separate power source but watching movies from a WD Passport 160gb hdd would be great even if it need to carry around an extra 5V battery pack)
a Full SD slot would be great but it seems they are getting rare, the fujitsu loox t830 has one, (I was going to get a t830 but then I saw the E-TEN G700 and changed my mind about front keyboards), micro SD apparently suck, so at least I'd want miniSD with SDHC support ( it'd be great to use those 16gb SD cards as opposed to the 4gb miniSD)
I was wondering maybe I should use a non-phone pda instead ? and just get a phone that has bluetooth and hsdpa support, would it be possible to use a bluetooth capable pda and use it as a headset and do all the dialing and answering with it AND use hsdpa over bluetooth ? , I wouldn't mind carrying both a tiny phone and a pda around
sorry if this post is long but there are so many phones out there , it's getting hard to choose !!
I was thinking the E-TEN Glofiish X800 would be perfect, it seems to have everything (except maybe mass storage device support on it's usb host port) but then I heard HTC phones get a lot more community support than E-TEN phones (custom firmwares in particular !!, maybe linux support ohhh)
thanks for any insight you could give me !!
-shodan
Hey, listen!
Sadly, my old Xperia X1 is nearing the end of it's journey. Most of the physical keys are nearly broken (I got to push them extra hard for them to work), the case is cracked in several places, there are deep scratches and what appears to be super glue on the screen, the power/data I/O hole as well as the headphone hole have gone loose, it's got a nasty case of the SODs and the battery is almost dead (8 hours max on minimal use). It seems it's time to get a new phone. Oh, the excitement!
The thing is, I've seriously fallen behind on the smartphone news and have next to no idea about the new phones in the market. And there are lots and lots of them...
So, how about I give you a list of what I use the phone for, what I'm used to, what I prefer and what I need and you kind gentlemen help this poor sod get himself a new phone!
What I use the phone for, in descending importance (the app I've been using so far in brackets):
Calling/texting
Alarm clock (G-Alarm)
Internet browsing (Opera Mobile)
GPS (Google Maps)
Facebook
MP3 player (Nitrogen)
Taking notes (OneNote Mobile)
YouTube
Remote desktop (RealVNC)
Watching movies and playing games on trips
What I'm used to (that is, not mandatory):
Windows Mobile
HTC Sense
What I prefer or would want (that is, a huge bonus if the feature is, well, featured):
Resistive over capacitive touchscreen
Hardware media keys (or hardware keys programmable to media keys)
Facebook integration (downloading profile pictures for contacts pictures etc.)
What I need:
Faster than Xperia X1
Better battery life than Xperia X1 (not difficult...)
Slider QWERTY-keyboard
3,5mm headphone jack
Inbuilt GPS
Any and all help is highly appreciated!
Reserved for phones I'm considering etc.
(Currently HTC Desire Z is the only one I've been looking at, but it seems it has problems of its own.)
Xperia x10/arc/neo/ray these are awesome i like the most ray because its reallly good looking !
Sent from my X10i using XDA Premium App
My list of demands for a phone is close to what yours is
Currently I have an xperia x10 mini pro, which excels at almost all of those things.. but battery life has a bit to be desired. The one i have is the older model, the new one just came out (they dropped the x10, so it's the xperia mini pro).
I've also been eying the "xperia pro" which is not even out yet... but i think i may have found my next phone
Galaxy S is good choice
Thanks for your replies, guys, but sadly none of your suggestions has a physical keyboard. Apart from the X10 Mini Pro, but it doesn't really feel like a significant upgrade compared to the X1.
Can anyone with a HTC Desire Z tell me about it's drawbacks?
Can anyone recommend a bluetooth keyboard that we can use with the Sensation? I am looking for something small and compact, and something that I can possibly take with me in my pocket or something portable.
I like to take quick notes but I am obviously faster on a physical keyboard, and would like to jot down notes, while my phone is on my laptop and I am writing with my keyboard discreetly.
I found this, and it says its compatible with the Sensation, but since its main purpose is for the iPad which is a huge device compared to the Sensation, this might be too big for me to take with me around.
http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggkeys-solo-ipad-keyboard.php
Hgaara said:
Can anyone recommend a bluetooth keyboard that we can use with the Sensation? I am looking for something small and compact, and something that I can possibly take with me in my pocket or something portable.
I like to take quick notes but I am obviously faster on a physical keyboard, and would like to jot down notes, while my phone is on my laptop and I am writing with my keyboard discreetly.
I found this, and it says its compatible with the Sensation, but since its main purpose is for the iPad which is a huge device compared to the Sensation, this might be too big for me to take with me around.
http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggkeys-solo-ipad-keyboard.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well how small (or big) of a keyboard are you looking for?
A quick google search took me to amazon where I found this:
http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Wir...Smartphone/dp/B0043862N4/ref=pd_sim_dbs_hg_13
It says its compatible with iOS and Android devices.
Here's another model. Kind of expensive but it's larger. May be a bit dated also as I noticed it didn't mention iOS or Android platforms.
http://www.amazon.com/Stowaway-Ultra-Slim-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Handhelds/dp/B0002OKCXE
.... and one more at HTC Depot
http://www.htcdepot.com/freedom-pro-bluetooth-keyboard/A14A6380.htm
I am going to try the i-Tech virtual keyboard with the drivers/app from mymobilegear.com.
I had this keyboard back when I had a Symbian OS phone and I am going to see how well this works here with the Sensation.
Hello there!
Now I know this has been discussed before but I will probably be buying this phone next week, and my main concern is the touch sensitivity issue.
How is it with the latest firmware? I thought it was no big deal but after seeing this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3mPDZfoW8o
I became quite concerned. Is this a common behavior for XL?
If so do any of the custom kernels (or Roms maybe) address this issue?
If someone could test their screen with a multitouch visualizer/tester app and post their opinion I would be grateful..
Touch sensitivity has improved a lot in 15.3.A.0.26 update.. You can go ahead and buy Xperia L..
Thanks for the reply!
See the thing is that I have also convinced my friend to buy the Xperia L and I don't want to have the responsibility for him as well if it turns out to have problems.
Is there anything else potentially serious I should know?
I read that the memory filling bug is fixed so I can't think of anything else..
I've noticed that the opinions about the touchscreen are a little different along people. It's true that the touchscreen was improved in the update, but i (this is my opinion) am not satisfied. I can't type or unlock my phone properly when i lay it down on the table(not holding in my hands). I have a screenguard, but had these problems too without it. But for the rest it's an awesome phone. If you're worried about the touchscreen, ask the seller(in the store) wether you can turn it on. I don't think it'll be much of a problem.
Hmm I see... I hope I can arrange for them to replace it and perhaps switch to another model..
What troubles me is that while I am a fan of sony in general (I like their design and the performance of their budget models) it seems that the latest line of phones all have problems with the touch screen, so even if I am tempted to spend some more and get an SP it would be a deal breaker.
I would even go for an Xperia M but the limited internal storage is bugging me (+ no apps to SD unless you swap internal and external)..
Maybe I will go for the Galaxy Ace 3 LTE which I can find for about 30 Euros more and has a little better specs (except for the camera) even if I am not a fan of the Samsung aesthetics..
maybe this link helps you
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2543980
don't buy and wait for new update.(maybe fix by new update)