VIRTUAL KEYBOARD REVIEW

      The virtual keyboard is a concept that we first had a glimpse of a couple of years back. The promise of a keyboard that could be projected onto any flat surface and serve as the input device for your PDA seemed too good to be true. Then, after constant delays and several missed availability dates, it looked like it actually was too good to be true. Well the time has come where the virtual keyboard is a reality, and we jumped at the opportunity to test out this brand new technology when we were offered the chance. We have also included a quick flash movie (10.1mb) so that you can see the keyboard in action.

       Opening the box you see the virtual keyboard, a carrying case, a CD with the necessary drivers, as well as a charging adapter. This was where I hit the first issue. The plug for the charging adaptor was not a North American plug. I am not sure why this was, but luckily I did have a North American adaptor handy so I was able to get it charging right away. The unit itself is quite small, measuring 90mm(L) x 34mm(W) x 24mm(D), so it is quite portable.

     I had a look at the instructions for getting started, and followed the procedures that were outlined in the manual in order to connect the virtual keyboard to my Ipaq 4700. I turned the keyboard on, and was immediately amazed how clear the visual of the keyboard actually was. While this does obviously vary dependant upon the light in the room you are using it with, it is more than adequate for use in most situations. I also found that if it was not quite visible on the surface you were projecting to, slipping a white sheet of paper under the projection really helps in viewing the keyboard. As for the connection to my device, unfortunately it was not going as had been outlined in the manual. I then decided to try to connect by exploring available Bluetooth services, a serial port connection came up, and voila, it was connected. This was a much simpler method than mentioned in the manual (not to mention that this way actually allowed me to establish the connection.)

     Now I have to admit that I was very sceptical on what the performance of the keyboard was going to be like. When I first heard about this device, it struck me as one of those technologies like speech recognition for your computer. The similarity being it’s really cool to show to your friends, but not quite ready for primetime in terms of everyday use. WOW, was I surprised. I started clicking letters one at a time, and they were appearing on the PDA flawlessly. I then sped up my typing and it seemed to be handling it well, with only the odd error. (And some of that may also be attributable to my less than desirable typing skills.) I was very impressed, and although it was not perfect, it was amazingly accurate given the fact that I was sitting there typing away on the wood of my desk. I would consider myself a well above average transcriber for input on a pocket pc, and using this keyboard was definitely much faster than I can transcribe, even given the time to go back and fix any of the minor mistakes.

     I know from the prior reading up that I had done on the virtual keyboard, it is difficult to understand how well it works from reading someone else’s explanation. I was so impressed with how it worked I figured I had to show everyone else. To accomplish this I have created a Flash movie that demonstrates both my typing on the keyboard, as well as the synchronized on screen results on the Pocket PC. Now keep in mind my aforementioned typing skills, but I tried to ensure I was going at a reasonable and steady pace.

     Outside of the performance of the actual keyboard, there were some other minor annoyances. Every once in a while the accuracy seemed to slip a little, but a soft reset would fix this. As for the soft reset, I can’t believe I am about to go on a rant about soft reset functionality, but I am. The hole to insert something to perform the soft reset is the smallest I have ever seen. Call me crazy but my Ipaq can be reset using the tip of the stylus, and I can honestly say that has never created a situation where I have kept accidentally soft resetting the device because the hole is too big. I just don’t see a reason for why the reset hole has to be so small. After a hard target search through my house to find something that would fit, I ended up peeling the paper off a garbage tie and using the thin wire inside it to reset the keyboard. I have since also learned that a toothpick will work fine, and I am not proud to say that the toothpick has become one of the essentials I will carry around when needing to use my PDA and the virtual keyboard. Keep in mind these are very minor issues, but they do serve to provide some unnecessary irritation.

     The bottom line is that this is not only one of the coolest pieces of technology you have ever seen; it is also an extremely functional option if you are looking for an input device for your PDA. All of the issues encountered had to do with less than perfect instructions, and minor hardware annoyances. If it was not for those issues, it may have received a perfect score, but as is it will have to settle for near perfect.

Virtual Keyboard - Overall Rating-  (4.5) out of 5

For more information on the Virtual Keyboard please visit
www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com.