• $40

• Very portable
• Faster than Graffiti
• Driver works well

• Prolonged use gets tiring
• Punctuation more difficult than necessary

Design:
Cost/Benefit:
Coolness:
Overall:

Installation
Connecting the SnapNType is fairly straightforward. It has a hinge in the middle, and pushing a button on each side opens it from a C shape to an L shape. You then connect your m500 or m505 to the Universal Connector on one side, then snap it closed again, which brings the keyboard down over the front of the handheld with the SnapNType wrapped around the bottom.

This means the hardware buttons and the Graffiti area are covered by the keyboard. The SnapNType has buttons to replace all these functions but if you really want to get at them again temporarily, you can push the side buttons again and the keyboard will flip up. The buttons and everything are still useable, even without disabling the driver.

Driver
Speaking of the driver, it's pretty good, though not perfect. It's smart enough to be able to turn itself on and off when the keyboard is connected or disconnected. For the most part, you won't need to worry about it. It doesn't cause conflicts with most other peripherals that use the HotSync port, like the Think Outside Stowaway keyboard, and it certainly hasn't given me any problems HotSyncing.

It doesn't like my Kodak PalmPix camera, or vice versa. I have to go into the SnapNType driver and manually disable it in order to take a picture. Still, this is the only problem I've had.

Typing
The buttons are a bit close together, leading me to occasionally push two buttons at the same time. But that doesn't happen too often. It helps that you have to push down firmly on a button to get it to register; just touching it lightly isn't enough.

On the other hand, people appear to have complained to TT Tech that the keys were too hard and I got an email last week from their company representative that they are going to make the keys a bit easier to push.

I'm not overly fond of the way the SnapNType handles punctuation. All non-letters are entered by pushing an orange key then one of the letter keys. That's all punctuation, including the period. This gets to be a hassle after a while, especially as which letters punctuation is assigned to is a bit arbitrary.

I'm not complaining too hard. I understand that cramming a keyboard into a space the size of the SnapNType wasn't easy. Still, it's taking me a while to get used to having the backspace key below the keyboard. I keep hitting the P key instead.

The SnapNType tries to emulate Graffiti as much as possible. You don't hit a button marked "Backspace", you hit one marked with the Graffiti symbol for backspace: a horizonal line to the left. Likewise, you don't hit a Return key; you hit one marked with a line downward to the left. Frankly, I find this a bit odd because it requires users to know the system it is replacing. Still, there's a pretty good chance you know Graffiti already so this won't be a big deal.

It has a Command key so you can perform any of the Command functions that have a key equivalent, like Copy or Paste. In WordSmith, I can use this to make words bold or italics. As near as I can tell, pushing this key is the exact equivalent of drawing the Command stroke with Graffiti.

Usability
I had intended to write this entire review with the SnapNType but that didn't happen. After prolonged use, I began to understand why people asked TT Tech to make the buttons easier to push. My fingers started to get really tired. About half way into it I gave it up and finished this review off on my computer. Still, I got through about 500 words before I got too tired.

I compared the SnapNType to the two other major ways people enter text directly into their handhelds: Graffiti and the Stowaway keyboard. The SnapNType is faster than Graffiti and I made fewer mistakes. But a Stowaway keyboard is faster than either.

There's one area where the SnapNType is much faster than the Stowaway: getting set up. If you just want to type a couple of sentences, getting out the Stowaway and setting it up is more hassle than its worth. Clipping on the SnapNType is much easier. But to be honest, if you just want to type a few words, Graffiti is fastest because there's no hardware to set up at all.

Portability
I'm not forgetting the SnapNType's main advantage over the Stowaway: portability. It's about half the size and less than half of the weight. And forget needing a flat surface to type on; you don't need any kind of surface at all. I've used it lying in bed, riding in the car, sitting on my back deck, and lots of other places too.

It does add a bit of bulk to the Palm. The SnapNType makes the handheld more than an inch longer and about a half inch thicker. I don't usually carry the two connected together. Each goes in a different pocket.

It doesn't work at all with the leather flip-cover that comes with the m500 or m505. TT Tech should consider offering a replacement flip-cover that only covers the part of the screen that shows above the keyboard.

Online
I have a Psion Travel Modem that connects to the handheld with infrared. I tested this keyboard while online and it worked great. I got on AOL Instant Messenger and chatted with a couple of friends. The SnapNType made this much easier than doing the same thing with Graffiti.

TT Tech clearly had this sort of thing in mind because it has a pop-up screen with 20 different emoticons on it that you can put in with just a push of a button. Once the i705 comes out, you should be able to use this keyboard with it in the same way. I say "should" because while the i705 uses the Universal Connector, I don't know exactly how thick it is. If it's too thick, the SnapNType won't fit around it.

Conclusion
I got my first Palm because I like portability. A computer is no good if it isn't with me. The SnapNType makes me more portable and more productive and its tough to argue with that.