Help: Logitech keyboard, Tungsten T3

[tamaranth]

The two won't work together. Every time I plug the T3 into the keyboard and hit a key, it thinks I'm trying to Hotsync.

Yes, I have installed all the software as per instructions. And it is definitely there on the T3.

Can anyone advise? I badly need to get this working and have only this evening in which to do so.

ETA: FIXED! (After downloading a patch cunningly hidden in very small print on a page that wasn't the support page for that product).

Next question: WHY do they send it out with software that doesn't work? (And require a 4MB download of software that does?)

Comments

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

Probably a stupid response but there's not anything you're meant to do to activate the software other than install it, is there? Have you tried a soft reset on the off chance, as well?

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Ooh yes. several soft resets. (Am on the verge of doing the hard reset and comprehensively stuffing my data)

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

Do you have a "medium" reset as well? My Clie did but I don't think my Treo does. It was hold some button whilst pushing the reset with a pokey thing - a different button to the hard reset one.

I'm not sure it's going to help though. It might be an incompatible bit of software, but it does sound more like incompatible (or broken?) hardware.

All of which is probably stuff you knew. Sorry.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

it responded very well to a combination of vicious swearing and downloading a new driver, cunningly hidden somewhere other than the main support page ...

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

I suspect it was the vicious swearing that did it. Did you try it after you'd completed the 4MB download but before you'd actually installed it? They like doing that for maximum annoyance.

Palm Keyboards ...

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Glad you got it working. Thinking further ahead, if you want to use a keyboard with your palm ... I've used a shitload of Palm keyboards, and here's my take on the ones that I've tried that are compatible with the TT3.

Logitech: I think it's pants, from a design point of view. The hotsync problem you mentioned used to be common with old Palms (OS 3.5 and earlier) and the first keyboards, but I haven't seen it lately -- I suspect their driver it a bit of a dog.

Palm Portable Keyboard (PPK): black W-shaped folding thing: it's the nearest thing to a laptop keyboard you'll find for a palm. Cons: it really requires at least a laptop-sized flat table to use, and they're hard to find in the UK these days (and cost GBP 100 when you can get one -- try eBay if you want cheaper).

Belkin G700: new, interesting design (IBM Butterfly design rides again!), stiffener built into the middle, satisfyingly solid feel. However, the keys are about 80% of full size making it hard to adapt to, the key feel is a bit rubbery, the arrow keys are abominably positioned, and the driver is a pile of festering goat-droppings.

Palm Wireless Keyboard: this is a plasticky derivative of the Think Outside XP keyboard (below). Pros: the case is very much less vulnerable to damage, the driver is rock-solid, it's infrared based and works with non-palm machines, and you can use the TT3 in landscape as well as portrait. Cons: it folds in the middle (so you can't put it on your lap), and it feels cheap and plasticky.

Think Outside keyboard XP (Palm Ultra-portable keyboard): it's the daddy! I'm on my second. This is the slim aluminium-cased silvery thing. On the cons side, they relegated the number keys to two additional shift states on the upper alphabetical row, to save a row of keys. On the pros side, it has the best feel of any non-desktop keyboard I've ever tried. After learning the shift states, it is the business -- fast, solid, efficient, and looks really, really cool. Another con: in the UK it retails for GBP 99, but in the USA it costs $99. Seriously, have a friend bring one over for you -- you won't regret it.

I haven't tried any thumboards or whacky roll-up fabric keyboards. I do want to put in a plug for Fitaly Virtual (http://fitaly.com/) as a replacement for Graffiti, though -- it's a pen-based text entry widget that is way easier to get proficient at than Graffiti or Graffiti 2, and that's potentially faster. (I find I make about 99% fewer mistakes when entering text with a pen and FV over Graffiti.)

Re: Palm Keyboards ...

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

many thanks for the detailed summary! I like my old Visor keyboard (the Targus Stowaway) so very much that for now I may well stick with the Visor and the old keyboard for serious writing. I'm used to carrying an A4 folder to provide flat surface, so not too bothered by folding-in-half ... and my typing is much faster than my handwriting, let alone my Graffiti, so though I may give Fitaly Virtual a try I doubt I'll give up the search for the perfect portable keyboard.

Thank you again -- very useful guidance!

Keyboards ...

[autopope.livejournal.com]

The Targus Stowaway (big black thing) is a rebadged version of the original Think Outside keyboard, aka the Palm Portable Keyboard. A version compatible with the TT3 is currently on fire-store sale at Expansys (http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=P10802U) for thirty quid inc. VAT, as opposed to the 99 that John Lewis want or the 79 that PalmOne are demanding.

Note: on the Expansys web page, it says it's for an M500. The M500 was the first Universal Connector palm -- I haven't actually tried this keyboard with my TT3, my own being out on loan to a friend who has a TC, but it works fine with the Tungsten C (which is another current generation Palm with a UC interface and PalmOS 5.2) and it's supported by the current generation of the Palm keyboard driver.

Another side-note is that someone on eBay is selling off the Belkin G700 for Palm m5x5 (i.e. same connector) really cheap in the US -- you could probably get one for 15 quid, inc. shipping, if you wanted one.