I was thinking about this the other day, but I love the fact that there is no keyboard on my tablet pc, ideally what I would want would be a hardware button to toggle the software keyboard or hardware button to launch correction for the last interpretation. My biggest issue with the software keyboard is that I hate having to have the buttons on my screen due to limited start bar space or have that bar hovering over the start bar, and I don't like it docked either and I think this would be great.

Is there a gesture for the software keyboard? I thought there was but I don't have my tablet in front of me to check. Anyway gestures are ok, but I never can pull them off 100% of the time. I like the hardware buttons, I hate using screen real estate for stuff that is essential.

Sounds like a great idea to me!!

The lack of a keyboard on the PocketPC led me to choose a Palm based PDA. I'm not sure that splitting the keyboard would work.

Where are the USB ports on a tablet PC? Are there any? Does everyone use their TabletPC in the same orientation?

If the answer is yes, why not include a USB port at the bottom there and make a small thumb board that plugs into it?

Given the recent annoucement of Palm OS 6.0 (Cobalt), maybe Palm will just come out with a larger TabletPC form factor version and you can use any of the existing Palm accesories for it?

Paul -

"Is there a gesture for the software keyboard?"

My Toshiba came with gesture software, but I don't use it. Gestures make sense to me when using a hardware keyboard and mouse because it's sometimes quicker to just shake the mouse back and forth than to move the pointer to the "back" button in the browser, but with a stylus, I find it much easier to just position the stylus over the appropriate button - it's easier to be quick and precise with my *arm* as the pointing device than with the mouse (especially when using a mouse that seems to have a randomizer hooked up to its acceleration feature).

I hope that made sense :) Not entirely sure that it did...

Impressive wingspan!

You would need to enforce a coffee-cup exclusion zone. Perhaps less BLAM and more SMOOOTH?

Patent it, dude.

Scott -

"The lack of a keyboard on the PocketPC led me to choose a Palm based PDA."

For the PDA market (whether Palm/PocketPC/whatever), I found the Targus Stowaway to be the absolute best solution, but it's also been discontinued. The thumb keyboards never left me satisfied, although they do make plenty of them for the PocketPC now (and there are finally PocketPCs coming out with them built in).

"If the answer is yes, why not include a USB port at the bottom there and make a small thumb board that plugs into it?"

The problem with using an external keyboard is that it's another thing to carry. And, in this case, where I want something that just conveniently "pops out" when I need it, I'd rather not carry around a whole extra device just for the rare moment when I'd use it. With the Targus keyboard, I accepted the burden of carrying an extra "thing," but that was only because the PocketPC is so small, and carrying around a PocketPC and folding keyboard was still much easier than carrying around a laptop. The tablet, though, is another story (in my opinion) - I want to keep everything "in" the device.

Plus, when I decide that I want to use the keyboard for the situations I described (URLs, email addresses, whatever), I want to have the keyboard available *immediately* - I don't want to have to mess around with cables and external hardware.

Just press the button and [BAM] - there's the keyboard. I type something in, and then push the keyboard back into the tablet.

"...maybe Palm will just come out with a larger TabletPC form factor version and you can use any of the existing Palm accesories for it?"

Great as that might be, I wouldn't be able to install any of my Windows apps on it. I have VS.NET, Office, blah blah blah on my tablet right now. I couldn't have that software with a Palm based device, and I'm not so attracted to Palm that I'd be willing to "make do" with whatever "Office compatible" apps they might offer (at any rate, the certainly wouldn't offer a "VS.NET compatible" app).

In short, I'm not looking for a solution by migrating to another platform. I like what my Tablet PC has to offer, and that's why I want to see it improved.

Julius -

"Perhaps less BLAM and more SMOOOTH?"

Good point :) BLAM is exciting, but you could poke out somebody's (very large square and square) eye that way.

Gabrielle -

"Patent it, dude."

I thought about the patent thing, but I'd rather not go through that process.

What I'd rather see (and many people would call me crazy for this) would be for MS to patent it - not to enforce the patent, but to ensure that manufacturers would have equal opportunity to implement the feature without having to sweat getting nailed for licensing fees. Maybe I'm stupid and naive, but I think that MS is interested enough in seeing the tablet succeed that they'd do something like that.

Dude the winged keyboard remind me of the winged maxipad commericals.

Scott: not seen the iPAQ h4350? (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/215348-64929-215381-314903-f43-349051.html)

I still find Letter Recogniser fastest on my (very long in the tooth) Jornada 525.

Damn fine idea Rory. I bet I can beat you to the patient office!

Ship it!!! Awesome idea! I have a tablet with a detachable keyboard - and it sucks... its either too big and too bulky - or I'm limited to using my pen to type on the screen.

You can call it the Battlet (bat man tablet)

I'm still trying to invent a swivel
for a washingmachine agitator so after
it empties the water out it can just
become a dryer so you don't have to
keep two humongous boxes of neo-drudgery
in your home.

marco

Mike: Someone mentioned that HP had come out with a PocketPC with a keyboard a few days ago. I looked and couldn't find it. That looks like all that is good and right with PDAs to me. :)

Rory: My musings weren't meant to convert you to a Palm platform. Just wondering out loud...errrr...in the comments section. Now you understand why I can never find my notes. They're distributed all over der interweb.

I like the concept of a pop-out keyboard too, but the orientation thing is confusing me. Pop out of which side? Or do TabletPCs only work vertically? Can you turn them sideways and re-orient the desktop?


The pop-out wing keyboard you've suggested looks like it would be awkward to use unless the Tablet was propped up, and at that point why not use the KB built in. Now poppping out complete at the bottom... that sounds good to me.

Marco: try an over-under washer-dryer combo. http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/search.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=APPL&cat=Laundry+Care&subcat=Laundry+Centers&displayTarget=Subcategory

Scott -

"I like the concept of a pop-out keyboard too, but the orientation thing is confusing me. Pop out of which side?"

Well... Pop out the way they do in the image :)

They would "slide" out of the sides - almost as though each side were a piece of toast with its own little toaster that it can be pushed back into.

"Or do TabletPCs only work vertically?"

Nope - they can be used in multiple orientations, which could be a problem. I used one last night at the nerd dinner, and it was in "landscape" mode, meaning that the "bottom" of the screen was on one of the longer sides rather than shorter they way I've done the picture.

I guess I'm so used to using the tablet in vertical mode that I hadn't even thought about the alternate orientations.

"... looks like it would be awkward to use unless the Tablet was propped up"

Nah - I can totally see myself using it without a problem. Remember that it isn't for taking dictation or anything - it's for very occasional use - Burst Use (TM) to coin a really awful marketing phrase that I'll use to pitch the idea to the various tablet manufacturers...

"Now poppping out complete at the bottom... that sounds good to me."

The reason I don't like the idea of the keyboard popping out at the bottom is that I'm often using the tablet with it resting on my stomach - that'd make a "bottom popping" keyboard really difficult to use.

The one thing I might change is the vertical placement of the pop-outs - it might be better for them to be a little higher, but that's a detail that could be worked out...

I wonder if anyone will fall on it?

For those of you who weren't at the Portland Nerd Dinner on Thursday night, what Andy is talking about is ... uh ... well, it's about ... argh. Let's not go there. Heh.

Just wait a few months...TabletPC 2004 is SO SO SO MUCH BETTER at URLs and stuff.

i think it'd be cool with a little propeller on the front of it. you could run around your office like you're flying

A longhorn tile with commonly-mis-drawn characters on it instead?

(Or, just make sure you have a shortcut to the accessibility Onscreen Keyboard thingy) :)

If the wings are way down there, the tablet will twist out of your hands and fall to the floor. Unless you've just omitted the telescoping monopod (see if that gets you any additional Google searches...)

Just have a Bluetooth crackberry-style keyboard built into a slot at the bottom of the tablet... maybe kind of like a PC card interface where you have an "eject" button. Just eject the keyboard and start typing away. Stow it away when you are finished with it. Recharges itself when stowed.

The last poster had one of my ideas, exactly, so consider this a second on that motion. Tiny, wireless keyboard. Doesn't even have to live in the tablet (although that's a fine idea), just something small enough to have sitting nearby. It could use the PC card slot--it has power, and I have a pocket translator that is roughly the same size. Maybe make it a "dumb" device that just draws power but has no other pins so I don't have to go through the whole "eject hardware" rigamarole.

Also (or instead) I want a "literal" mode, so when I'm writing in a serial number, it doesn't try to turn KMW500 into "kazoo" or something. Or "4/C" into "lick" or any one of a million other things when I'm taking notes that are technical in nature. You'd need a way to differentiate ones, Ls, Is, 5s, Ss, etc., but it could be done.

And why the *^%$# can't you export Journals in a useful format, rather than select all, copy-as-text for each page?!? I like the space and flexibility of Journal but I more often use the input panel and Word for lengthy meeting note-taking. (Scott--is this fixed in TPC 2004?) If not, at least have a "Paste into this running app [choose app]" button, rather than copy, switch app, position cursor, paste, switch back, repeat.

Really you want to "type" with your pen at touch-typing speeds, rather than handwrite or thumb-board. In fact, this is now possible with new software called AlphaTap. See link below...

Thumb keyboards for tablets?

Adventures in Tabletting

Adventures in Tabletting

Adventures in Tabletting