Hands0n
3rd November 2007, 10:59 AM
This came up in discussion in another thread recently and sent me down memory lane to around the year 2000 when I was using a tiny fold-up keyboard with a Palm Tungsten. It was a neat little device, but was unfortunately tied to the Palm through the foot connector. So when I decommissioned the Palm the little keyboard ended up in the bit box along with my other obsoleted stuff.
Fast forward to this week, and the discussion about Bluetooth keyboards resurfaced. That set me on the quest to see if I could find anything suitable for the Nokia N95.
There is a specific Nokia keyboard, but I rather fancied seeing if there was an updated version of the keyboard I used to get on so well with. And it was with a tinge of excitement that I found the iGo Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for Smartphones (http://www.expansys.com/zoompic.aspx?type=item&i=113674). I found it in Expansys (http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=113674) of all places, and the cheapest price in the UK! That has to be a first :) I never use Expansys, they're eyewateringly expensive!!
Let me be absolutely clear at this point - iGo is not specifically made compatible for the N95. According to their website the drivers are not available. But the truth is that they are - you need to use the N73 drivers (http://www.thinkoutside.com/support/download.asp?did=258&pid=9&link=/support/Download%20Support/Symbian%20series60%20OS9/En/dr/Think%20Outside%20Series60%20OS9%20En.zip) which work absolutely fine. I had to do a bit of digging around in Allaboutsymbian (http://allaboutsymbian.com/archive/t-59047.html) to find that out.
So for £39.99 I have a very functional Universal bluetooth keyboard which will work with squillions of other products too.
Setting up is simply a matter of dropping the .SIS file onto the handset and running it. A new Appliction will appear in Apps folder which you run to activate the keyboard. The intial set-up is a bit of a chore, not difficult, but obscured by a poorly written manual. But it is relatively easy, just take time to read the manual, it is all there somewhere.
In use the keys haved treble functions controlled by a blue and a green function key. This can be a bit fiddly, but is infinitely better than tap-typing on the handset's own keypad. It does take a few minutes to get used to shifting with blue and green, but it is fairly straightforward and much as I recall it on the Palm Tungsten.
You can find the device at www.thinkouside.com and on Expansys (http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=113674)' website. Despite anything either says, I can confirm that this keyboard does indeed work fine with the Nokia N95. Even the correct Apps load in response to the function keys set up for them. Now that is what I call tight integration.
Well done iGo, but shame that you didn't have the confidence to say that this handset works with one of the latest and most popular Nokia handsets in 2007.
This post has been made using a Nokia N95 and the iGo Stowawayt Ultra-Slkim Bluetooth Keyboard for Smartphones, to give it its full title :)
Fast forward to this week, and the discussion about Bluetooth keyboards resurfaced. That set me on the quest to see if I could find anything suitable for the Nokia N95.
There is a specific Nokia keyboard, but I rather fancied seeing if there was an updated version of the keyboard I used to get on so well with. And it was with a tinge of excitement that I found the iGo Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for Smartphones (http://www.expansys.com/zoompic.aspx?type=item&i=113674). I found it in Expansys (http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=113674) of all places, and the cheapest price in the UK! That has to be a first :) I never use Expansys, they're eyewateringly expensive!!
Let me be absolutely clear at this point - iGo is not specifically made compatible for the N95. According to their website the drivers are not available. But the truth is that they are - you need to use the N73 drivers (http://www.thinkoutside.com/support/download.asp?did=258&pid=9&link=/support/Download%20Support/Symbian%20series60%20OS9/En/dr/Think%20Outside%20Series60%20OS9%20En.zip) which work absolutely fine. I had to do a bit of digging around in Allaboutsymbian (http://allaboutsymbian.com/archive/t-59047.html) to find that out.
So for £39.99 I have a very functional Universal bluetooth keyboard which will work with squillions of other products too.
Setting up is simply a matter of dropping the .SIS file onto the handset and running it. A new Appliction will appear in Apps folder which you run to activate the keyboard. The intial set-up is a bit of a chore, not difficult, but obscured by a poorly written manual. But it is relatively easy, just take time to read the manual, it is all there somewhere.
In use the keys haved treble functions controlled by a blue and a green function key. This can be a bit fiddly, but is infinitely better than tap-typing on the handset's own keypad. It does take a few minutes to get used to shifting with blue and green, but it is fairly straightforward and much as I recall it on the Palm Tungsten.
You can find the device at www.thinkouside.com and on Expansys (http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=113674)' website. Despite anything either says, I can confirm that this keyboard does indeed work fine with the Nokia N95. Even the correct Apps load in response to the function keys set up for them. Now that is what I call tight integration.
Well done iGo, but shame that you didn't have the confidence to say that this handset works with one of the latest and most popular Nokia handsets in 2007.
This post has been made using a Nokia N95 and the iGo Stowawayt Ultra-Slkim Bluetooth Keyboard for Smartphones, to give it its full title :)