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I was very pleased with the contruction and the size but less so with the decreased functionality. I am sure that Sony will eventually offer an updated driver that will permit combination keys to activate these commends but in the meantime I am forced to keep a stylus in hand.The other negative factor is the location of the shift key but we humans will adapt to that. As a user of the KB-11 keyboard I looked forward to using the KB-100. Where I could use keyboard commands almost exclusively on the KB-11 I now have to use the stylus for "OK", "Done", "Cancel", and almost every other command.
If, however, you mainly plan to work on shorter documents, the Sony should get the nod. My recommendation is that if you have big hands and plan to write the great American novel on your PDA, you'll likely be happier with a Palm PDA/keyboard setup. I suspect for most folks that wouldn't be a major concern, but I have large hands, and I've found that my typing speed has slowed somewhat as compared to the Palm unit. I really liked the feel of those keyboards, but I moved on when I outgrew my older PDA. The Palm's size is equivalent to a laptop keyboard, while the Sony's, in spite of being advertised as "full size," is in fact a bit smaller. One more minus: the shift key on the right side of the Sony is quite small, and slowed down my typing speed until I grew used to it.
To sum up, the Sony is a well-designed portable keyboard that makes some compromises in keyboard layout, but is nonetheless quite a useful product. I travel a lot, and I avoid carrying a laptop whenever possible; so, a portable PDA keyboard is essential for my journeys. Well, I have to give the nod to the Palm keyboard for keyboard size. In terms of deploying the keyboard, the Sony wins hands down--it's simpler and faster, with fewer moving parts. After upgrading to a Sony Clie TG-50 handheld, I bought the KB-100 keyboard to compliment it. Previously, I used the Palm portable keyboard for the Palm III and V handhelds.
So, you ask, how did the two keyboards stack up. Another plus is that the Sony keyboard will also charge your handheld while docked.
The keyboard is of excellent quality and feel. Clies are great but such accessories put them over the top. The clie keyboard with my nx60 (or my nx70 and my sj22) really rounds out the product. With the keyboard I truly have a top notch laptop replacement.
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