Ramblings: SPB Full Screen Keyboard for PPC

[Bob Russell]

As any PDA or smart phone user is aware, these devices are wonderful for access to all kinds of content wherever you may happen to want it. Multimedia, eBooks, PIM information, MS Office documents, .pdf documents, etc. Whatever you consider important, you can have with you.

As these devices are growing in capability, they are rivaling laptops in some ways. (Larry Becker's book Lose The Laptop does a fine job of describing how in some cases you can convert over to a PDA and not needlessly carry around that big ole computer any more.) But you do have a smaller screen. And there's the biggest gotcha of all... no full-sized keyboard.

I haven't really seen many people zero in on the keyboard as the limiting factor on a PDA, so right here and now, consider it done at MobileRead.com. Screens are getting pretty impressive, with VGA and even fairly generous sizes. It wasn't long ago that VGA was a standard maximum resolution on a desktop computer screen. Sure it's small, but in my mind it's acceptable for most everything you need to do on the road once software support for VGA increases. (Granted, us older folk might have to strain our eyes a bit!)

But the keyboard is always going to be somewhat of a limiting factor. You hear stories about all kinds of alternative input gadgets. Like a one-handed FrogPad keyboard, or on-screen keyboard replacements like Fitaly.

My Toshiba e405 even has a built-in voice command system, which gives functionality rumored to even be coming with the next versions of Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS (Voice Control Still Coming).

Lasers are even producing keyboards projected on desktops, so you can lay down your PDA on a surface, and it reads your keystrokes magically by sensing finger motion. Very futuristic and exciting, but not quite like my desktop keyboard at home.

If you're working on a document, or trying to enter text, there's nothing as comfortable as a standard, good-ole two-handed QUERTY keyboard. Sure, there are even alternative layouts like a DVORAK, but who wants to learn how to type on keyboards that no one else uses? It was hard enough for me to learn to type with a standard keyboard! Besides, one of the great things about typing is that I can think the words and they just sort of unconsciously appear on the keyboard and screen. Once I have to think about what I'm doing, I can't really concentrate on what I'm actually trying to say.

Some great keyboards are available for those who are lucky enough to have a place to carry along not just a PDA or smart phone in their pocket, but a folding keyboard as well in a backpack or purse or pocket. Some keyboards use a physical connector, but more popular these days are the infrared or bluetooth connections. I've had a folding keyboard with just about all my PalmOS devices, and they're actually very nice. In fact, much nicer than you would expect. Every time I take a trip, or go somewhere knowing I'll want to do some typing, I make sure to carry along a folding keyboard plus a power cord for my pda. Instant mini office! (If you're really into a portable office, be sure to check out this nice article.)

Unfortunately, I don't always know ahead of time when I'm going to want to use my folding keyboard, and I look bad enough with one bulky PDA in my pants pocket. I'd really look foolish with a bulge in each front pocket in addition to keys and miscellaneous other items. Besides, I'm not expecting to keep my Toshiba PPC very long anyway, so I'm not going to spend the bucks on another folding keyboard just yet. (It's a temporary replacement for my old Clie SJ33 until I find another superstar PDA to move to in the near future.)

So, when I saw the SPB Full Screen Keyboard, my heart lept just a little bit, and I had visions of never needing to carry a folding PDA keyboard again. Real typing right on the screen, and all you have to give up is a few bucks and a lot of screen space while you type. I've used the software a little bit now, and I've got some good news, bad news, and a tip.

The good news is that SPB Full Screen Keyboard is a slick program. It does what it portrays, in that you get a full screen usable keyboard. Kind of like Fitaly, but it uses the whole screen in landscape format to show you a keyboard and a one line display so you can see what you're typing. It's probably not what you want to use if you are entering just a word at a time, but it is an interesting alternative if you are entering larger amounts of text.

After trying to type with two hands (but only two fingers), I got some perspective on how much you can expect to get out of it. Two fingered typing is actually not so bad. Even on the screen. Of course, I have fairly small hands and fingers, so that helps a lot. Most PDAs now probably also have a slightly larger screen than my tiny 3.5" Toshiba does. But I do still have to really concentrate on what I'm doing, so it's not really natural. You don't have that sense of whether or not you hit the right key like you do on a read keyboard, and you do have to focus to make sure you're not missing too many keys.

The bad news, unfortunately, is multiplied. First of all , there is absolutely, positively no way that the full screen keyboard will be a substitute for general touch typing. If you are writing a novel, you are not going to be happy on this thing at all.

Secondly, it's going to be a matter of preference whether you enjoy using this keyboard for "typical" PDA input. I can see where it could be something that some people really enjoy using. But for others, like me, Fitaly seems to be a better option. Only problem with Fitaly for me is that I have to look at the mini keyboard when I type so it doesn't let me watch what I'm typing while I type it. All my attention is on the input method, and it's hard to keep focused on what I'm really trying to think about. But all in all, I like Fitaly best of all the options I've tried so far, including the built-in MS PPC input options.

And, finally, the biggest gotcha is also a tip.
[shadow=#006699]Try out the software before you buy!!!!!![/shadow]
But you have to know what to look for.

When I tried out the demo, it looked to me like it was worth a place on my PPC as an alternate input method. I still would like to do that. Unfortunately, it's not an option right now for me.

Here's what happened. I installed the demo, and got a standalone program on my PPC. That's what I did my experimentation with. It didn't install on my input method dropdown list (where things like Fitaly show up). I had some fun and decided to order it, figuring it would show up on the dropdown list after I registered it. Bad assumption!

It did NOT show up on the input list after registration. So be sure you check the demo on your PDA to make sure it works as advertised before you buy. There is a workaround if you have problems, but you love the program so much that you want it anyway.... you can assign it to a hardware button, which invokes the program whenever you want to enter text with it. You can continue to use other input methods as usual until you decide to push the button for SPC Keyboard to pop up. The text you type comes up on the display of the keyboard screen, and somehow manages to transfer the text to the application when you switch back to it. (Hopefully you also have a switcher utility because there's nothing I've found on the keyboard screen that lets you jump back to the program. I'm not saying you can't do that, I'm just saying I haven't found a way.)

The customer service rep was polite, patient and made a reasonable effort to make it work for me, even bearing with me as I questioned her about registry entries and the like. In fact, she provided a reference to a memory bug whitepaper tied to problems loading DDLs, but I'm not convinced it applies because it seems to only apply to PPC 2002. In the end, we both basically just gave up. She referred me to Handango (my original purchase location) for a refund. It looks like I may never get one, but I'm working on it.

[TadW]

"Keyboard as the limiting factor on a PDA" - you are so right! Thank you for this great essay, Bob, you are speaking out of my heart.

One of the phenomena of today is that we try to minimize everything. The smaller the phone, the better; the smaller a powerful computer (i.e. PDA), the better. Everything should become more powerful, and yet smaller.

The problem is that my fingers would not get any smaller over time. If you happen to have my clumsy fingers you know what I am talking about. Today's gadgets are made for small kids who can write SMS messages on their cell faster that I can type letters on my PC.

SPB Full Screen Keyboard sounds interesting, but I am not sure if this would really enhance the speed of my typing. Another software for PPC I've heard of that should increase your input speed is CalliGrapher.



I haven't had a change to play with yet, but perhaps you should give a try.

[divajess]

I absolutely LOVE Calligrapher. It is so customizable, and even though I've been using it for over a year now I still haven't even scratched the surface of all that you can do with it. If you're looking for great data input I would definitely give Calligrapher a whirl.