HP Bluetooth Foldable Keyboard

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 8 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 4 stars

  Easier to use a stylus, and drains batteries even off

  by dgad on March 28, 2005

  Pros: A good basic keyboard for typing in word or excel

  Cons: Drains battery while off, can't navigate the screen

  Summary: I very much wanted the keyboard to work for me but too many issues make it useless.
  First, even once it is off, it drains the batteries. I take out
  ...

  Read more

  Summary: I very much wanted the keyboard to work for me but too many issues make it useless.
  First, even once it is off, it drains the batteries. I take out the batteries every time I am not using it. What a pain. Others have mentioned the same issue.
  
  Also you can't navigate to the home positoin or end positions or through fields easily. There is also no touchpad. I find myself picking up a stylus constantly to go to different fields. In the end it is just easier to use the stylus.
  
  It would be effective if you are typing a word document or a long email but beyond that I don't find it practical. It is a great idea but needs to be fine tuned more.

  Show less

  7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  No working with HX4705

  by Alexenk on October 11, 2008

  Pros: Portable and saves the devices's screen from damaging by writing on with the stlylus, this in case it works.

  Cons: Running with Windows CE2003 simply does not work. Poor support from HP.

  Summary: After several months trying to up-date drivers and asking for support from several sites it has not been possible to pair the keyboard to my HX4705. I got this since ...

  Read more

  Summary: After several months trying to up-date drivers and asking for support from several sites it has not been possible to pair the keyboard to my HX4705. I got this since I am a frequent traveller and use my HX4705 with very good performance and results but, when trying to make it faster and easier to work with by buying this keyboard it has not simply been able to pair even after downloading 3 up-dates of software. To be fair with this device I may complain more of the HP support rather than the device by itself.

  Show less

• 4 stars

  missed one thing but it's the most important

  by desharri on June 25, 2008

  Pros: number keys, key size, lock open, compact enough, rechargable batteries

  Cons: pairing, user manual, device holder, price

  Summary: It's a 2 year old, you have to pay attention to IT or it won't behave. This is useless in meetings or other start and stop settings because ...

  Read more

  Summary: It's a 2 year old, you have to pay attention to IT or it won't behave. This is useless in meetings or other start and stop settings because the pairing is lost and you have to start from the beginning to repair it. This means I have to pay attention to my HP bluetooth keyboard not my meeting. This is especially noticable in 1 to 1 meetings. This problem renders the device useless.
  The device holder is flimsy and doesn't have a front holder so the device constantly slides onto the keyboard or if trying to type on your lap it does falls on the floor. It would be better if I could use my device iPAQ 211, landscape, but again minding the device not my business.
  The manual is incomplete. It doens't have a good trouble shooting guide, it doesn't have good instructions for regular use situations or for features of the keyboard. On-line is just the same manual. HP support site doesn't even have my ipaq or keyboard listed which makes the problems all that much worse because I paid the premium price and I'm getting service off the back of a truck.

  Show less

• 6 stars

  Pretty good, but there's probably better

  by tghounsell on July 26, 2007

  Pros: Fairly good integration, easy access to special char's.

  Cons: Flimsy, no shortcuts for app. menus, start-up tiresome

  Summary: Construction:
  The keyboard is quite comfortable, but it's a bit rattly, and seems like it could break very easily. The battery cover fits somewhat loosely. Compared to the keyboard
  ...

  Read more

  Summary: Construction:
  The keyboard is quite comfortable, but it's a bit rattly, and seems like it could break very easily. The battery cover fits somewhat loosely. Compared to the keyboard I used to use with a PALM V, this one is very flimsy. There is a slider for locking the keyboard so that it doesn't fold in on you if you want to put it in your lap. The slider is difficult to slide and seems like it would just as soon break as slide. Personally, I don't think this is sturdy enough for me to consider keeping it in my lap.
  
  Typing Usage:
  The keyboard has built in 3rd character keys that are used in conjuction with the right-hand ALT button to give you tildes, currency symbols, and a few french or spanish characters with ease. That's handy. I like the layout and the easy access to most characters.
  
  Built-in Shortcut Access:
  It has built in short cuts to launch most of the standard applications including Excel and word. Some shortcuts are shown on the keyboard as function keys/icons, others are only found in the manual. CNTL-N will launch a new document but the documentation doesn't mention this, so maybe other hidden ones.
  
  No Application mMenu Access:
  Other than CNTR-N, there doesn't seem to be any way of accessing on-screen application menus (Edit, Tools, View, etc.) without reaching for the stylus. Maybe the applications themselves were written without keyboard shortcuts. Whatever the issue, it does slow things down a little bit having to touch the screen. Perhaps all keyboards have this issue - I dunno. Once you have tapped an onscreen menu, you can navigate that one menu with up and down keys, but you cannot move from that menu to another menu within the application.
  
  There are programmable hot-keys, but these can only be programmed to open an application, not open an onscreen menu nor have it type a special character or frequently used phrase.
  
  Start up:
  If you normally leave bluetooth turned off, you're going to have to make a point of turning it on and restarting the keyboard's application each time. If you leave bluetooth and the application running, you can just flip open the keyboard, turn it on and start typing.
  
  Overall:
  I would have preferred a keyboard with a bit more heft to it. I would have preferred a physical connection over bluetooth for simplicity and to avoid extra batter wear. I'm a bit disappointed that I can't access the application menus from the keyboard. If I looked around more I might have found a cheaper keyboard that avoids the cost and complexity of bluetooth.

  Show less

• 9 stars

  i recommend it

  by thomas lai on October 9, 2006

  Pros: full size keyboard

  Cons: the lock does not really make a big difference

  Summary: i brought mine at compusa for 69.99, the keyboard is great, but could anyone help me?
  for some reason i can't use this to play games!? what should
  ...

  Read more

  Summary: i brought mine at compusa for 69.99, the keyboard is great, but could anyone help me?
  for some reason i can't use this to play games!? what should i do? also, about the battery power, does it really drain the power when it is not on?
  thanks

  Show less

• 4 stars

  Good keyboard - bad performer

  by Jonathan Hardy on June 5, 2006

  Pros: laptop type formfactor

  Cons: Battery Eater, flimsy construction

  Summary: I originally tried another keyboard - the stowaway by Think Outside. Couldn't get the bluetooth drivers to take at all.
  
  Then figured I'd get the iPaq version -
  
  ...

  Read more

  Summary: I originally tried another keyboard - the stowaway by Think Outside. Couldn't get the bluetooth drivers to take at all.
  
  Then figured I'd get the iPaq version - man what a disappointment.
  
  Good points.
  full sized (laptop style) keys.
  Portable, folding design.
  
  It stops there. I don't know about this CNET reviewer - but maybe your reviews are differen't if you don't pay for the product. To think that this thing cost $130.00 is rediculous.
  
  Negative points.
  
  EXTREMELY FLIMSY lock.
  EXTREMELY Flimsy stand.
  Batteries - drain even when not in use. 1 week, new batteries - used once. Week later - completely dead - what gives?
  
  I would not recommend this to anyone.
  
  Jonathan

  Show less

• 9 stars

  Very useful. Greatly increases productivity

  by clinnenb on September 5, 2005

  Pros: Small, good feel, easy setup, works well.

  Cons: Hard to remember to keep extra batteries around, pairing breaks after replacing batteries

  Summary: I have used the HP Bluetooth keyboard for about a month now, and I have really benefitted from having it. I use it to take my notes in class rather ...

  Read more

  Summary: I have used the HP Bluetooth keyboard for about a month now, and I have really benefitted from having it. I use it to take my notes in class rather than writing them on paper or trying to use the Pocket PC data input options. I type fairly fast and have found I can keep far more meeting and class notes using this keyboard than any other method. This works very well when toggling between the keyboard and drawing diagrams on the screen.
  For people finding themselves struggling to take down meeting notes, class notes, or even jot down ideas and journal, this keyboard is more than worth the purchase price.
  
  
  I have found myself resorting to my old methods a few times when I let the batteries die, and didn't have an extra set with me. I have also found a few of the characters, '?', '/', and '~' in strange locations on the keyboard, and therefore missing them a lot, but for a compact keyboard that fits in my pocket and works with my PDA, I don't have any regrets in buying it. I honestly had to look for flaws to write anything bad.

  Show less

• 8 stars

  Easy to set up & use

  by rogerctyler on April 1, 2005

  Pros: Smaller than last foldable keyboard

  Cons: Can't think of any

  Summary: Great buy & well worth the money.

  Summary: Great buy & well worth the money.

See pricing