Portable Bluetooth Keyboard Will Hit the Market Next Month (Updated)

Think Outside announced late in 2003 that it was developing a keyboard that communicates with handhelds and smartphones over Bluetooth. Today, the company says the Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard will be available next month, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Like the rest of the Stowaway line, this will be a full-sized keyboard that folds up to make it more portable.

It is not known at this point exactly which models will be able to use this device, though the report does say it will be "compatible with most cellular phones, PDAs and other devices equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology."

The Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard will sell for $150.

Update:This keyboard has received the approval of the Bluetooth Qualification Program, a necessary step if it is to carry the Bluetooth seal. Details on the program's web site show that this device will use Bluetooth 1.2, which was designed to reduce interference between wireless technologies sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

Why a Bluetooth Keyboard Is Necessary

One problem that has bedeviled the handheld community almost since its beginning has been that each manufacturer uses a different port for connecting peripherals. Even worse, some manufacturers have different ports for different models. This means that users have little hope of using, for example, a single keyboard on two handhelds made by two different companies.

This used to be a problem for PCs, too. Although it took years, desktop and laptop makers finally settled this issue with standards like Universal Serial Bus, or USB. But handheld and smart phone makers have yet to cooperate in this regard; each has stubbornly stuck to its own connectors, and there's never been serious talk of picking a standard.

This problem has been partially alleviated by using infrared to communicate between the handheld and the keyboard, but this isn't an ideal solution, because the infrared ports on the two devices must be kept constantly aligned.

However, an increasing number of handhelds and smart phones come with Bluetooth short-range wireless networking. This was designed from the beginning to allow computers to connect to their peripherals without wires and without requiring a constant line-of-sight connection. This means Bluetooth is well suited to allowing a variety of handheld models to connect to a single portable keyboard model.

Nevertheless, a Bluetooth Keyboard presents some design challenges. For example, it can't draw power from the handheld and therefore must have its own battery. And Bluetooth is a not-inconsiderable power drain.

Related Links

• Bluetooth 1.2 Officially Adopted
• Brighthand Reviews the Palm Wireless Keyboard