Seiko Thumboard Keyboard for Palm m500

My advice is to NOT buy this keyboard, even for $10. You must install the drivers for the keyboard onto your PDA; the only problem with doing this is that the drivers to be loaded come ON A FLOPPY DISC!!! How many customers still have a computer that still accepts floppies? I sure don't, so now I have a $10 mini boat anchor or coaster.

Very pleased with this product! So much easier to make updates on the go, compared to using the stylus and screen keyboard. Head up, the software for this product is on a 3.5 floppy diskette. If your computer is fairly new and you do not have a floppy drive on your PC, you will need to copy the diskette to a CD.

This thumb keyboard works very well with my Palm m500. I gave it four stars for ease of use, but that is because I can type faster using my Palm fold-out keyboard compared to using this thumb keyboard. What makes this thumb keyboard a worthwhile investment for me is the fact that there are times when it's just not practical for me to use a fold-out keyboard to do typing, such as in coffee shops where the table is just a tad too small for effectively using a fold-out keyboard, on public transportation, in a fellow professional's office to take notes, for doing graduate school course work, editing work, etc. I recall one other reviewer bemoaning the difficulty of getting this device to interface with the Palm. This is because a software driver needs to be installed first. When I got this product, it was in a factory-sealed package, one which contained a 3.5" floppy disk that had the driver I needed. Since one of my computers still had a drive for such a disk, I just inserted it and followed the set-up instructions. After doing so, I've had no major problems with using this thumb keyboard for my work. Bottom line: This is a great product at a great price. As with anything else you purchase anywhere, just make sure it really will fit your needs.

I only had one real issue with this item. The drivers are included but are on a floppy disk. I had to borrow a floppy disk drive just to install the drivers on my Palm. I tried to find them on the web but the Seiko driver website was down, and the seller (College Fund) did not respond to my message. It's a little bulky but I use it every day.

This is perfect for people on the go. I tried the Palm Portable Keyboard (The folding one), but it requires a hard flat surface, something hard to find on a crowded WMATA Bus or subway car. The Thumboard is not as fast as the Palm Portable Keyboard at a desk, but the Keyboard cannot be used in a car, bus, or subway without carrying a lap desk with you. Even at a desk, since my Palm V is not a laptop computer, I had a hard time reading the small display when using the Palm Portable Keyboard. Since the Thumboard does not require a hard surface, I can hold my PDA close to better read what I am typing. My Graffiti writing is currently faster than the Thumboard, but I have trouble with Graffiti recognizing my handwriting on a bouncy bus or the stuttering stops of a subway car. I can enter data much faster on a bus or subway just because of the reduction of errors. The Thumboard is better than the built-in screen keyboard since it includes very useful characters such as the shortcut character (a cursive lower case L). Since it clicks to the bottom of your PDA, you can also use two thumbs to type. I have friends who claim to have worn out their PDA's Graffiti writing area, but I have never had a problem. For the inexpensive price of this Thumboard, you don't have to worry about wearing out the writing area on your expensive PDA. The reason I gave this product a 4 instead of a 5 is the Palm OS. Currently Palm OS does not support external keyboards, so this great product requires a Hack (change to the Palm OS itself), there are several shareware programs on my Palm m500 that I cannot live without (DateBk4-an improved calendar, PocketQuicken- a finance program, HanDbase- a database, and TakeNote!- a text/word processor). At least one of these programs conflicts with the Thumboard Hack. If Palm includes keyboard expansion in future versions of its OS, I will be very happy. Currently I have ordered a Thumboard for my back up PDA- a Palm V- that I use for grocery shopping. A last note, both of my PDAs have molded hard cases. I have to remove them to use the Thumboard (but I had to remove them to use the Palm Portable Keyboard). When I purchased the Thumboard Seiko offered a free carrying case that held the PDA with the Thumboard still attached. If this is an issue for you, check that the Thumboard can click onto your PDA while still in its carrying case and/or the PDA with the Thumboard attached still fits inside your carrying case. -Bj CJ's Husband

I own a Palm m505 (since 2001) and then purchased a Seiko Thumboard accessory instead of the keyboard so I can write down notes while I'm travelling in the backseat of the car (you can't get any mobile than that). Now, I have replaced my dim m505 for a new m515 and continue to use the Thumboard with it. Although there are Hotsync pop-up snags upon insertion of the handheld, eventually the Thumboard becomes useful again and truly fun to use. Even if Palm has brought forth new devices with built-in keyboards, this product is a delight to use. I love my Thumboard as much as I love my my Palm m515! Does the trick. Perfect for me.

I have the model for a Palm VX, not this one, but I expect they work the same. One thing not mentioned in the manual, and which I never thought of either, was that if you have keyboard drivers installed, you have to disable those first to get it to work. Otherwise, they conflict and when you turn on your Palm, it goes right to HotSync and you can't get out of it. Knowing that ahead of time can save a lot of frustration. That said, between the Function button and the Command button, you can do almost anything with it.

Alright, I have to admit that straight out of the box I thought I was never going to be able to use this thing! The keys seemed terribly small and my fingers aren't the most delicate things on this planet. After a couple of days, I'm falling in love. This keyboard has a lot of advantages over other 'portable' keyboards. Size: Truly portable. Comparing it my friend's Stowaway, this thing just takes the cake. Location: If you don't know yet, you slip this over the bottom of your handheld (in my case Visor). It stays in place remarkably well. It's rounded sides and larger profile, makes typing easy because the handheld is easier to hold. Construction: Yes, it's plastic, but it's well made plastic. Everything has clean finished edges. I flexed my in my hand and it creaked a little bit, but not like it was going to fall apart suddenly. In conclusion, I give this tiny but powerful keyboard four stars. It would have earned the coveted five star rating if it's keys were just a smudge bigger, or spaced out a bit more. If you have small fingers and great fine motor skills, you'll be typing out page-long emails in no time.