Installation of the Keyboard application onto the Palm handheld is easily accomplished during a typical HotSync. (To prepare the app for HotSync, simply add it to the Install Tool on Windows, or the Install Handheld Files in the Mac HotSync Manager.)

Once the app was installed we were ready for testing at a meeting. We sauntered in and unfolded the keyboard in a flourish--clicking it open from its folded position, laying it flat, sliding the keyboard parts together (it's broken into thirds for folding), and attaching our m500 in a matter of seconds. The attendees at the meeting were suitably wide-eyed and impressed with our James Bondian device. (This model of the Palm portable keyboard also accommodates Palm m125, m130, i705, and other m500 series handhelds.)

But the Palm portable keyboard is more than a flashy toy--it's a productivity juggernaut that has some of the best keyboard action we've ever experienced. The keys are not soft and mushy like other keyboards we've tested for handhelds. Instead, they're a bit on the tight side but with a lot of give. Also, the more we used the keyboard, the more we found ourselves shying away from tapping the screen to navigate or to perform actions such as switching applications or opening up the details section of a Memo or Address Book contact. With the Palm keyboard, you can do virtually all your work without taking your fingers off the keyboard.

The keyboard includes custom buttons for the built-in Palm applications (Date Book, Address, To Do List, and Memo Pad). Several keys have added functions, such as the ability to open up the Apps screen, scroll through a screen, or turn on the backlight. You can also customize your own shortcuts list of applications loaded onto your Palm handheld. This is done using the Keyboard app, and you can assign the number keys 1 through 9 (but not 0). After making our designations, pressing Cmd+1 immediately took us to our favorite diversion--YahtC--during a lull in our meeting.

All told, we have nothing but praise for the Palm portable keyboard, not just for the ease of inputting text but also for changing the way we use our Palm handheld. Since we started using the keyboard, we now often travel without any laptop, confident that any degree of writing or note taking during meetings can be handled by our Palm alone. (It should also be noted that we typed this review on our m500 while sitting comfortably at our local coffee shop.) If you are a heavy Palm user, the Palm portable keyboard is an essential and very cool tool. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• Highly portable
• Customizable
• Keys have a very comfortable feel

• Will need to work on flat surface