From...

November 3, 1999
Web posted at: 10:09 a.m. EST (1509 GMT)

by Cameron Crouch

(IDG) -- While Palm organizers have shrunk the communications device to the size of your hand, typing into them is difficult.

PFU America has announced the Happy Hacking Cradle, which lets you type into your Palm III or Palm VII device through a standard PS/2 PC 101/104 full-size keyboard. Available in November for $49, the cradle collapses to a portable size that's slightly larger than a deck of cards.

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Connecting a keyboard to your Palm is not a new idea. Landware offers the GoType compact keyboard with a reduced number of keys. Think Outside has announced its Stowaway keyboard for Palms and Handspring Visors; a full-size keyboard, the Stowaway folds up into the size of a Palm organizer.

Why get another keyboard?

"The biggest difference between us and the other Palm keyboard makers is that we don't supply a keyboard," says Ted Abe, director of business development at PFU America. "People already have keyboards for their PC that they are used to. We didn't want to supply new keyboards dedicated to the Palm," he says.

At $49, the cradle is financially a better solution than the keyboard products, Abe says. The GoType is $79.95, and the Stowaway keyboard is expected to run about $99.95.

To set up the cradle, first download the driver software from PKU America. Then slide your Palm III or VII device into the Happy Hacking Cradle, which connects to your keyboard via a standard PS interface.

Powered by two AA batteries, the cradle powers the keyboard so it won't drain the Palm's batteries. You can type into your Palm for 60 to 90 hours on the keyboard battery, according to PFU America.

The cradle has both a serial interface that connects to Palm III or Palm VII organizers and one that connects to the PalmModem so you can type e-mail and send it at the same time.

A UNIX keyboard alternative

Although the cradle is designed to work with standard PC keyboards, PFU also offers a compact PC keyboard, the $69 Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite.

Designed for UNIX users, the compact keyboard eliminates the caps lock -- UNIX commands are case sensitive -- and puts the much-used control key between tab and shift for better accessibility. At 11.6-by-4.3-by-1.2 inches, the keyboard is about half the size of a sheet of letter-size paper.

For users of dual-boot operating systems, the keyboard can be set up for the UNIX or Windows environment, Abe says. Using the Dual In-line Package switch, you can tailor the key behavior to activate the caps lock and Windows keys.

While the Happy Hacking Cradle works with Palm III and Palm VII devices, the Palm V has a different type of connector, Abe says. A Palm V version is in development, and the company is also looking at Handspring's Visors, he says.