.KEYWORD gotype
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE What do you know, it’s the GoType! Pro!
.OTHER
.SUMMARY The GoType! Pro keyboard is here, causing Palm V owners everywhere to salivate. In this detailed review, contributing editor, Jeff Carlson, takes the GoType! Pro keyboard out for a spin. Should you rush out to buy your very own GoType Pro? Read Jeff’s review and find out.
.AUTHOR Jeff Carlson
I enjoy discovering secrets about the Palm platform, but I also have a secret of my own: I don’t write Graffiti very fast. Although Palm’s pen-based method of entering text is quick to learn and easy to use, I’ve never been able to use it for taking long notes or even writing more than short snippets. My hands just can’t keep up with my head when I’m writing, so my Graffiti starts to look like the early handwriting recognition of Apple’s first Newton devices: "The quack bruin fax junked over the hazy fog."
That’s why I was particularly happy when Landware came out with their GoType! keyboard, a compact device requiring no batteries, which works with a PalmPilot or Palm III-compatible organizer. For more information, see Fredlet’s review of the GoType! keyboard in the December 1998 issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199812/gotype001.html. I was able to carry and use my Palm device, but when I needed to input a lot of text I could quickly attach it to the GoType! Keyboard and type away.
Unfortunately, I gave in to the temptation to buy a Palm V, which caused me to have to shelve my trusty GoType! Keyboard for a while. I love my Palm V, but the different pinout configuration of the serial port meant that I couldn’t attach any existing Palm-compatible peripherals. And because Palm Computing apparently didn’t communicate the change to developers well enough in advance, I found myself relegated back to Graffiti-only input until the GoType! Pro appeared.
A quick aside: I actually did find a great interim solution in The Bridge, a $14.95 adapter that lets you use a Palm V with older Palm peripherals. For more information about The Bridge, see Claire Pieterek’s article in the September 1999 issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199909/bridge001.html. Now my original GoType! keyboard is in the hands of my father and I’m using Landware’s new GoType! Pro with my Palm V.
.H1 Going pro
Overall, the GoType! Pro is pretty much the same as its older brother. It features 62 keys arranged in QWERTY formation (the software also supports the DVORAK key layout), with six green function keys that launch the Palm device’s built-in applications by default. A slide-out stabilizer offers more support to prevent the unit from tipping backwards. It’s easier to pull out and retract this stabilizer than the one on my original GoType! keyboard, but that could be attributed to minor manufacturing differences between individual units. The hinged lid is a nice, translucent, purple color but it has the same shape and dimensions as the other GoType! keyboard’s opaque gray lid. The Palm V or IBM WorkPad 3c slides into a curved slot that rotates out as you lift the lid, and fits snugly.
.H1 The keys, they are a changin’
The GoType! Pro is designed slightly differently than the older GoType! keyboard. Here’s a list of the changes.
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The useful Done key is now the F1 key instead of the upper-left corner key, which now creates a tilde (~).
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The Caps Lock and Tab keys are now in their positions on a standard keyboard, above the left-hand Shift key.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The brackets ([ ]) now appear above the Enter key.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Because the Done key occupies a function key, there is no longer a Mail key (though the function keys can be programmed to activate whatever you like).
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Landware has also added a NumLock key, which turns the right half of the keyboard into a numeric keypad.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Unfortunately, the arrow keys are no longer in an inverted-T configuration, but lined up along the bottom-right row.
.END_LIST
.H1 Value added
If the GoType! Pro were just a clone of the original with a new port, there wouldn’t be much more to say. However, a host of other features distinguish the Pro as a pro. Here’s a list of those features.
*A socket on the right edge of the device lets you plug in the Palm V’s power adapter to charge the handheld while it’s in the keyboard cradle.
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET On the left edge is another socket where you can insert an included HotSync cable for performing HotSync operations from the keyboard.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET A slider switch appears below the cradle to specify HotSync and typing modes, which also helpfully lights up to indicate when the Palm device is charging.
.END_LIST
As a result of these additions, the GoType! Pro feels a bit heavier than the original GoType! keyboard, but it’s still light and compact.
.H1 Professional performance
As for how it works, the GoType! Pro seems slightly better than the original in a few ways. The key action feels better than on my first GoType! keyboard, as if the keys are set slightly higher up (since my dad now owns my old GoType! keyboard, I wasn’t able to compare the two side-by-side). Best of all, the Pro doesn’t suffer from the driver problem that afflicted the original keyboards, where you’d have to sometimes turn your Palm device off then on again for the device to be recognized. This is due to Landware’s version 1.5 driver, shown in Figure A. It now exists only as an application, not a HackMaster hack. The driver can also be used for all GoType! keyboards, so the problem may be fixed throughout the product line.
.FIG A Landware’s version 1.5 driver now exists only as an application.
At the same time, though, the documentation is specific about instructing that you turn off the power to your Palm device before placing it in the cradle, then activating the driver. On a few occasions, I wasn’t able to get my Palm organizer to recognize the keyboard but, overall, the driver has been reliable.
As mentioned, you can configure the function keys to launch applications or perform actions (such as activate a Cancel button without having to use the stylus). Figure B shows how I configured the function keys.
.FIG B You can configure the function keys to launch applications or perform actions.
The best new feature is the ability to press Command+Alt plus the first letter of any button on the screen. This is great for applications like the Memo Pad. The Memo Pad requires that you tap the New button to create a new record. Now, pressing Command+Alt+N opens a blank memo. Of course, the keyboard also takes advantage of some of Palm’s built-in shortcuts as well. For example, you can also create new records in the Memo Pad by just beginning to type, as you would if you were writing Graffiti.
Performing a HotSync from the GoType! Pro is simple, though it requires a few extra steps. With your Palm unit in its cradle and the HotSync cable attached to your computer, press Shift+F3 to initiate a HotSync action. A screen appears, instructing you to move the slider switch below the cradle to HotSync mode within five seconds. Then a regular serial HotSync operation commences.
.H1 My wish list
As nifty and useful as the GoType! Pro is, I have only one general complaint that will affect some users, and a few things that I’d wish for in an ideal GoType! keyboard.
.H2 Size matters
The complaint is a simple one: keyboard size. The keyboard is smaller than a full-size standard keyboard, which can be difficult for people like me with larger fingers. It’s not an impossible limitation. I’ve found, after using GoType! Keyboards for awhile now, that my hands have adapted. However, I know that this can be an important factor for people who may have to do more typing than I generally do. If you think you may be uncomfortable with a smaller-sized keyboard, go to a computer store and spend time trying it out.
As for my wish list, I realize that some things may be out of the scope of the device. That’s why I want to make it clear that these are things I would like to see in an ideal keyboard, and they’re not necessarily any drawbacks on the part of the GoType! developers.
.H2 The old switcheroo
It would be nice to have a better method for switching between typing and performing a HotSync. I’d love to be able to just hit a HotSync shortcut and have it work without having to manually throw a switch.
.H2 Serial would be killer
Since the first model, I’ve wanted a Palm-style serial port that would allow me to plug in a modem (or other devices if need be), and use it and the keyboard simultaneously.
.H2 An arrow would hit the mark
I wish I could use the arrow keys to switch between items in a list. Perhaps this is a more realistic goal. The point of having a keyboard is that I don’t want to have to use my stylus. With a regular computer, it’s not much of a hassle to move one hand away from the keyboard to use the mouse. However, with my Palm unit, I have to pick up my stylus and tap at an awkward angle if I have to do things onscreen that the keyboard won’t do.
.H2 Menu mania
I also want a Menu key that would bring up the onscreen menu. Then I’d like to move among its items using the arrow keys. Sure, I can access menu commands if shortcuts are assigned to them, but who has all the shortcuts memorized or even set up? One of the nice things about Microsoft Windows is that you can do nearly everything from the keyboard. It would be great to have that functionality on the Palm device.
.H1 Conclusion
Like I said, those are my wishes. Perhaps Landware or other developers will work some (or all) of them into future products or future revisions of the GoType! driver.
In the meantime, the GoType! Pro has become a permanent addition to the office-in-a-bag that I carry with me every day. Priced at $89.95, it’s great for typing on airplanes when space is too cramped for a laptop, or even just writing out a long email message or brainstorming an idea. The GoType! Pro is perhaps the next most logical accessory to my Palm V after the stylus.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Fredlet’s review of the GoType! can be found at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199812/gotype001.html.
For Claire Pieterek’s article about The Bridge, see the September 1999 issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199909/bridge001.html.
The Bridge can be found at
http://www.midwestpcbdesigns.com/Bridge.htm.
GoType! Pro can be found at
http://www.landware.com/products/gotype/gotypePROvps.html.
For Landware’s other products, see
http://www.landware.com/.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Jeff Carlson is the author of Palm III & PalmPilot Visual QuickStart Guide.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?13@@.ee6d98f
