Targus PA820U Stowaway Portable Keyboard for HP Jornada

This happened a long time ago, but I was very pleased cause I bought very cheap as used. It came like new and was long way helpful with my current handheld. I became fond of TARGUS: they do things right!

I bought both the Targus Stowaway and the HP Pocket Keyboard for the HP Jornada 568. What did I end up using ALL the time? The Pocket Keyboard. Targus had a great idea when they first came out with this keyboard, but the latest crop of pocket keyboards makes the Stowaway look like a technological dinosaur. If you MUST have a full-size keyboard, buy the Stowaway, but realize that you're not going to be able to use it in many conditions (i.e., on a bus or train with no flat, hard surface to put the keyboard on). You CAN use the Pocket Keyboard virtually anywhere, and it is about half the price. Of course, you'll be typing with your thumbs instead of the rest of your digits, but I found that the Pocket Keyboard was much more useful.

I owned my Jornada 548 for about a month before I broke down and bought a keyboard. After laying out about $500 for the Jornada, another $100 for a peripheral seemed pretty steep ... until I started trying to use the handwriting tools (not bad if you have consistent handwriting habits) and the on-screen keyboard. Neither seemed to work really well for me, so I broke down and bought a Targus keyboard. It really has worked well for me, but it's not as good as it could be.The concept is great - the keyboard folds up to the size of the 548 when it's not in use, but unfolds to the size of a laptop keyboard when you're ready to use it. The keyboard has a connector that sits at about a 45-degree angle and plugs into the Jornada, plus a little metal bar and plastic piece that supports the Jornada when it's plugged in. There is also a place to plug in a power supply so that you can keep your Jornada plugged in, and two small wells in the corners of the keyboard to hold a stylus.The keyboard itself works well, with function keys for some common commands across applications (OK, Esc, power off) and other keys that can be programmed to start up specific applications. In addition, certain characters like the forward and backward slashes (/ and \) cannot be written in the single-character recognizer because the stylus strokes are used for other purposes, so the keyboard helps take care of that. Because the keyboard is laid out like a laptop keyboard, you don't need to relearn most of your typing, as long as you remember that you can't use function keys like you do on your laptop.One thing it won't do, however, is select menu items with shortcuts, as you can do in Windows proper, but this is a Windows CE issue, not a keyboard issue. Another slight drawback is that the Jornada interprets your use of the keyboard as using the on-screen keyboard, so it displays the on-screen keyboard for you, which then takes up the lower third of your screen.I've also had a couple of issues with the keyboard - one is that the support for the Jornada is not great, so you have to use two hands to turn it on with the power button, and the other is that the keyboard occasionally freezes up. I've been able to correct it either by activating the special keyboard application, disabling the keyboard, and re-enabling it, or by using the on-screen keyboard to type a letter. Neither is a real show-stopper, but they certainly are annoyances.Overall, the keyboard is a great time-saver, and it will certainly draw attention, especially when you fold it up and store it. The size of the keyboard and PC combined may be a drawback for some, and the way in which it works could be a little better. I'd still recommend it if you intend to do a lot of typing on your Jornada.

great keyboard for my hp. love the design. compact.

I imagine this would work very well, only I found a better way to make notes for stories, so it's sitting in a drawer like the Palm.

Old School technology but still usable.

I have purchased my Targus Stowaway keyboard a couple of days ago off eBay, ...I have been using it for about three days to chat, type in notes, and respond to e-mails. It has definitely turned my PDA into a notebook. You would be able to perform anything with your PDA and a keyboard, as your productivity will certainly increase. You will normally be able to input 10 to 20 words per minute using the built in character recognizer, however you might now be able to type in at least three to four times faster than that!!!The keyboard when unfolded, resembles an IBM Thinkpad notebook keyboard: black keys with white characters. The cursor keys are located at the right side, and their layout is the same as that on regular keyboards. In order to Page Up, Down, Home and End, you must press the blue 'Fn' key located to the left of the spacebar.Folding and unfolding the keyboard is just wonderful. Measuring 13.8" WIDE when fully deployed, it just folds back to a mere 6". Neatly packed, it would be roughly the same size as your PDA, but a little thicker.The keyboard folds in a shape that resembles the letter "W". You pull away the two black and red handles to the edges of the keyboard's case, tuck in the middle so as to have it raised. Crunch the end locks and there you go. Your keyboard is now neatly packed.In order to connect your PDA to it, the keyboard has got a built in docking port that tilts forwards and backwards, so that you can adjust it to have a nice viewing angle for you PDA while typing. Slide a metal and plastic retractable foot, as to have the back of your PDA rest there in a slanted position. This pedestal is made of metal, and it looks quite solid, with the exception of the plastic pedestal.You also get four dedicated application access keys, from which you can launch Inbox, Contacts, Calendar and Tasks. Press 'Fn' plus these keys, and you will be able to access Notes, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, and Microsoft Money. The functionality for these keys is hardcoded into the software driver, so you will not be able to change what applications they launch.The keyboard keys are normal size, and the feel is a little mushy, characteristic of a laptop keyboard. Key travel is identical to that of a laptop keyboard. Touch typists (like me) would sometimes need to punch in the keys a little harder, I think it is just a matter of time.The right side of the keyboard is somewhat cramped, it is easy at first to confuse the right shift for the right cursor keys, which lie next to each other.Keyboard driver is very easy to use, and allows you to 'Hot Dock' and play with the keyboard as to just start typing. No need to turn off/turn on your unit to have the keyboard recognized.The software driver also allows you to configure up to 10 different application/document launch shortcuts, by pressing the 'Fn' and a number (from 1 through 0).Overall, I am very satisfied with how this keyboard has improved productivity for me, and I think this is still the best engineered PDA keyboard on the market, no wonder why they have won several design awards.

If you have the Jornada, you have to get it. It is loads better than toting your laptop around. I keep both in my jacket pocket and haul em out whenever I feel the urge to be productive or write in my journal...which I then sync with my desktop. Sweet.