As we’ve previously discussed here at Computer Takeaway, the real drawback of PDAs and cell phones when it comes to a true mobile computing experience is the size, and therefore accessibility of the built-in keyboards. In general, mobile phone keyboards aren’t very good for writing emails, and even the best PDA keyboards have limited range.
We’ve finally had the chance to test a fabric keyboard with a truly innovative design. The choice of fabric as the base for the keyboard allows for much greater portability compared to other bluetooth keyboards on the market and means that the overall size of the bluetooth keyboard for transport is only the size of a mobile phone. It is easily small enough to fit in a pocket. The fabric used is also water repellent and stain resistant.
The Just Mobile RoKy² Bluetooth Keyboard comes with the fabric keyboard, 2 AAA batteries (apparently enough to power the keyboard for ~10 hours of continuous use), a nylon pouch, and a simple but effective clip-on mount for a mobile phone or PDA .
Having experienced the complicated installation required by the Ubiquio Skype Bluetooth Keyboard, we were a bit apprehensive about this. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the Just Mobile website has an easy to navigate support area, providing quick start manuals and drivers for most operating systems (Palm, Symbian S60, Symbian UIO, Windows Mobile, BlackBerries, Windows XP).
Total setup time to get the keyboard up and running on our N95 (8GB) was about ten minutes, and thereafter it only took a few seconds to connect every time we wanted to type.
The feel of the keyboard is obviously completely different to standard keyboards, but it’s not hard to get used to, although the only slight downside we found with the keyboard was that it tended to slide on smooth surfaces if you typed too hard.
The keyboard offers the same features as a laptop keyboard for use with a mobile phone or PDA and does it really well.