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treocentral.com >> Stories >> Guides
Solutions for Inputting Text on a Treo 700W


Wed Jul 26, 2006 - 1:11 PM EDT - By Tim Hillebrand

When you have a table

Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard, [ThinkOutside|Buy, $129.95. ]

During the next two days of the conference, participants sat at tables that would support a keyboard. Out came the clunky laptops and people competing for limited electrical outlets. I felt sorry for them.

Equipped with a spare extended life battery and a Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard, I could take notes along with the best of the laptop luggers all day long. If you do any writing on the road or out of the office, I highly recommend that you invest in a Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard and lose the heavy laptop.

To get started, go to ThinkOutside's website and download the appropriate driver for your Treo 700W Pocket PC. Don't try to use a Smartphone driver, you'll want to get "v4.0 English" available here.

The first time you use the keyboard you will have to run the setup program so that the two Bluetooth devices can be paired. From then on, just turn them both on and start typing.

The Stowaway keyboard offers four rows of full-size keys so that it is easy to type without making mistakes as you might on other under-sized keyboards. The only problem is that there is no numeric panel for quick number entry. Instead you use a function key and depress the numbers on the top row of keys.

You can also push Numlock if you want to input a lot of numbers. You use a function key to type most special characters as well. There is a blue function key on the left of the spacebar and a green one on the right. Keys are color-coded accordingly.

You can invoke many Microsoft Office applications with the tap of a key in combination with a function key. Available applications include Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Tasks, Today, Close, Programs, Settings, Notes, Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, New, and Send. Launching these applications on your Treo 700W without removing your fingers from the keyboard is a great convenience.

Conclusion

The built-in Treo 700W thumb board is a handy tool for text messaging, short emails, or keying in a contact, but it is cumbersome for serious composition. Of all the alternative on-screen input applications I tested, I found TenGo to be the most efficient, intuitive, and workable solution right out of the box and for these reasons I highly recommend it.

If you have the luxury of a desktop or table for a portable keyboard, the Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard is the best solution and works beautifully with the 700W Pocket PC. The only drawback is that while it has nice, full-sized keys, typing numbers and special characters required awkward function key combinations. Nevertheless, you can easily leave your laptop behind and still enjoy a high level of productivity with your Treo 700W using these text inputting methods.

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