palmOne Releases Universal Keyboard and New Accessories

Posted By: Ryan Monday, September 20, 2004 9:16:36 AM

palmOne today introduced three new accessories for fall. Included are palmOne's first cross- platform-compatible Universal Wireless Keyboard; a leather Treo 600 smartphone side-loading case; and a Bluetooth GPS bundle, complete with a Zire 72 handheld from palmOne.

palmOne Universal Keyboard Universal Wireless Keyboard
Building on the design success of the original Wireless Keyboard, palmOne designed its new keyboard to work with handhelds and smartphones from palmOne, Dell and HP. It is designed for students and business professionals who are heavy email users and who need to compose lengthy wireless emails, notes, reports and compositions away from the desktop or laptop.

Smaller than a standard paperback book, the keyboard tucks neatly into the side pocket of a backpack or briefcase, making it easy to do as much work on a handheld or smartphone as on a laptop. It's the first wireless keyboard from palmOne with cross-platform compatibility, available for $69.99

Treo 600 Smartphone Leather Side Case
palmOne's stylish black leather case with white stitching for the Treo 600 smartphone allows users to travel in style. The unique side-loading case also has a removable belt clip and a snap-closure to keep the Treo 600 secure. The product is available for $29.99.

For those who want a bit more color or personalization, palmOne has a line of colorful, high-quality, fashionable cases, styli and other carryalls called the palmOne persona line, designed by Vaja exclusively for palmOne. Customers can even personalize their unique case with their name, which can be embossed on the back cover or on the inside lid.

Bluetooth GPS Navigator Bundle
Complete with a Zire 72 handheld from palmOne, the GPS bundle includes Navigator software from TomTom with real-time 3-D and 2-D navigation display. People on the go can access maps for the entire United States and Canada -- more than 4.5 million points of interest. The bundle sells for $449; $399 after a limited $50 rebate available from palmOne. GPS Navigator from palmOne provides users with reliable and easy-to-follow maps and directions based on the latest global satellite technology. The GPS Navigator connects wirelessly to the palmOne handheld via Bluetooth technology and provides voice-guided turn-by-turn instructions.

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Maps Updated?

kflowe @ 9/20/2004 12:59:20 PM #

Any word if they've updated their maps? I'd get it if I could get new maps, too. Mine are from about a year ago, and they're showing their age.
Ken

Atari Portfolio > HP100lx > HP200lx > Palm IIIc > Palm 515 > Palm T|T3 > back to something that works like it should

GPS Navigator

bestoverall @ 9/20/2004 1:31:28 PM #

I just bought one over the weekend directly from Palmone for $299. What's with the new pricing? Is there anything new?

RE: GPS Navigator

Admin @ 9/20/2004 1:53:42 PM #

the new item is a GPS Bundle, which includes the bluetooth GPS receiver and a Zire 72 handheld

-Ryan
webmaster@palminfocenter.com

RE: GPS Navigator

bestoverall @ 9/20/2004 8:22:47 PM #

Ryan,
Where do you see the bundled package???

$399 sounds like a good deal if it includes Zire 72. But I don't see one on P1's website.

wrong keyboard in picture

JonathanChoo @ 9/20/2004 2:22:51 PM #

The new keyboard has a 5 row design with a dedicated number row. It even has a windows key.

Generic PDA > 5mx > Vx > m505 > N770C > T625C > NR70V > e310 > m550 > h2210 > T/T3 & h4150
StarTac > T28m > T39m > T68m > T610 > T630 > K700i

Is there a picture of the new one?

Marshall Flinkman @ 9/20/2004 3:01:13 PM #

I followed the link, and all I saw was the same old 4-row one...

RE: wrong keyboard in picture

Admin @ 9/20/2004 3:41:21 PM #

I've been trying to get a updated pic from palmOne, with no luck. They all must be busy preparing for the earnings call...

New photo at infosync.com

madmaxmedia @ 9/20/2004 4:42:06 PM #

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5331.html

The photo here shows the extra numeric row. Very nice!

RE: wrong keyboard in picture

hkklife @ 9/20/2004 5:44:41 PM #

Nice keyboard! Considering I detest anything that uses battery power where it's not necessary, it's a pretty smooth-looking device. I'd like to see a shootout between this one and the original P1 IR keyboard utilizing a variety of Palm models, past and present. I am still hanging on to my original PPK due to the dedicated numeric key row so if I ever upgrade, this'll be the one to get!

So already today we have a flurry of new accessory and software releases. Just as I predicted, the floodgates are going to open a few days before the inevitable announcement from P1. I predict no handheld news until the first week of October at the earliest.

Conspiracy Theory

4s @ 9/20/2004 11:13:01 PM #

If one had enough imagination, one could wonder if PalmOne is making peripherials which are compatible with the PocketPC because they are preparing to release devices that use that OS rather than PalmOS.

The hardware and OS folks are separate companies after all. ;P

<><

RE: Conspiracy Theory

asiayeah @ 9/21/2004 2:31:13 AM #

PalmOne never denies that it may release a Pocket PC PDA in future.

It would be even better if they could release a PDA that could dual-boot into either Palm OS or Pocket PC. That would be extremely useful for development uses. ;-)

--
With great power comes great responsiblity.

RE: Conspiracy Theory

JonathanChoo @ 9/21/2004 4:39:03 AM #

PalmSource would not allow them. If they do license PocketPC they would have to drop 'palm' as their name.

Generic PDA > 5mx > Vx > m505 > N770C > T625C > NR70V > e310 > m550 > h2210 > T/T3 & h4150
StarTac > T28m > T39m > T68m > T610 > T630 > K700i

RE: Conspiracy Theory

mikecane @ 9/21/2004 9:08:38 AM #

>>>PalmSource would not allow them. If they do license PocketPC they would have to drop 'palm' as their name.

Eh? Where do you get this from? "palm" is a trademark jointly owned by both companies.

RE: Conspiracy Theory

hkklife @ 9/21/2004 9:38:20 AM #

That would be the most foolish move ever (POS & PPC lines of handhelds). They'd end up as being another me-too in the PPC/Win CE world just like Audiovox, Casio, Everex, etc. In fact, it'd be right up there with Commodore's attempts to push upmarket PC-clones in the 80s and the feeble attempts of companies like Umax to make both Mac & PC desktop lines and somehow cross-market them independently of each other.

No, P1 needs dig their heels in and concentrate on what they know best. All of these strange new announcements lately do appear to be signs of the ship going in circles while taking on water with no one at the helm.

I personally feel far too much $ is being spent on rehashing the same old (ie silly) accessories these days instead of funding new product development. Still, that is a pretty sharp-looking keyboard!

Stowaway Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard

cyberdude @ 9/21/2004 1:40:15 AM #

When will Palm release a driver for this BT keyboard? It's been out long enough. Is there too little interest?

RE: Stowaway Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard

IanJD @ 9/21/2004 5:48:42 PM #

Think Outside released the keyboard; it's their responsibility to release a PalmOS driver, not PalmOne's.

RE: Stowaway Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard

krmdb @ 9/21/2004 9:07:26 PM #

It's my first time to post here. Hello to everyone.

What I heard is that ThinkOutside is still working out the Palm Bluetooth device as the bluetooth used by PalmOne may not share the same standard as that for Symbian OS phones and Pocket PC. Hopefully from their webstie they said it would be available later.

GPS Navigator Bundle with Zire 72

bestoverall @ 9/21/2004 12:54:19 PM #

The article regarding GPS bundle seemed to be made in error. Nowhere in P1 site was I able to find this deal. The best you can find is $299 for the standard GPS Navigator package which has been around for a few months now.

Can someone confirm if the GPS bundle package was ever available?

current keyboard also universal

cyruski @ 9/22/2004 2:53:35 AM #

i use the current stowaway IR keyboard with a series 60 phone. there are also PPC and UIQ drivers for the old keyboard.

this is just cheap marketing imho, the dedicated number row is nice but i'd never voluntarily get a windows key on my palm keyboard. who the heck ever uses it anyway, even on a pc?

also, i think the "open" end in the new design is not so nice for using with smartphones.

the keyboard also misses some nice details the old one had, like the rubber areas which would prevent the device from sliding off.

RE: current keyboard also universal

Pepper @ 9/22/2004 7:38:15 AM #

Actually, I find the windows key to be incredibly useful when using a PC, and can't stand a PC without one. windows key + m is just the most efficient way ever devised to get to the desktop! But perhaps thats just me? Then again, I'd never use a mac without an apple key, either...

Although, the windows key on a PDA keyboard? Uhhh, sorry, no. That is just a bit strange. But hey, I'm sure there are people out there who'd find it incredibly useful... I've just never met them

-Miche

I love my Palm . . . do you?

My T3 got frozen with the keyboard driver!

asiayeah @ 12/11/2004 10:32:12 PM #

If you use a T3, I would recommend not to buy this product.

Launching they keyboard driver on a T3 will make the unit frozen. One cannot perform a hard-reset until the battery drains, which at least take a day!

palmOne has not yet publicly acknowledged this problem, but if you go to the palmOne forums, you could see lots of users complaining about this problem.

--
With great power comes great responsiblity.