Accessories Best portable keyboard for the eDGe - Page 5

borisb · 11-22-2010, 11:28 AM

The trackpad would be a mouse device and different from the optical trackpad on the PE. It may or may not be useable, I think, given that the Android operating system used on the eDGe (and many cell phones) doesn't actually have the concept of a mouse cursor. I look forward to hearing your review when you get a keyboard

emen · 11-23-2010, 01:08 PM

I have a touchpad keyboard, and the touchpad works fine with the (big) Edge, it acts exactly like the built in trackball.

Dr. Ruth · 12-10-2010, 01:07 AM

For the key board do you just plug it in and it boots up itself.

Can you use it with Word documents and Power Point slides???

ShiningT1g3R · 12-10-2010, 05:08 AM

It depends on how you use it. If the keyboard is USB, then you simply have to plug it in and it usually works immediately afterwards. If the keyboard is bluetooth, you have to enable the bluetooth feature and sync it with the Edge each time you power it up; although I may be unsure of if that is actually necessary (I don't use bluetooth stuff yet because there's nothing really good out there for something like the Edge that isn't already USB).

But as for using a mini keyboard for typing Word Documents and Power Point slides, it works just as well as a regular keyboard. 8-)

borisb · 12-10-2010, 07:57 AM

Does the eDGe support Bluetooth keyboards directly? I'm not sure enTourage formally announced the addition of the capability... To be save, use a Bluetooth keyboard that comes with a little Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the USB port. This effectively makes it like a regular USB keyboard and should work without a problem.

cheyennedonna · 12-10-2010, 04:49 PM

Do you mean a wireless keyboard? I'm not sure a Bluetooth dongle would work with the edge, since it would need drivers and a Bluetooth stack installed. I have tried a Microsoft wireless keyboard with a USB transmitter - it works but when I plug in the transmitter all my desktop widgets blink off then reload.

borisb · 12-10-2010, 10:15 PM

I was thinking of a Bluetooth keyboard wirelessly. At least one "Bluetooth" keyboard comes with a custom/dedicated Bluetooth-to-USB dongle that makes the keyboard look like a USB keyboard (i.e., it's a dedicated BT link between the dongle and the keyboard, but the eDGe only sees a USB keyboard, in effect the dongle does the BT receiving work and emulates a USB keyboard).

kenjennings · 12-13-2010, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

Do you mean a wireless keyboard? I'm not sure a Bluetooth dongle would work with the edge, since it would need drivers and a Bluetooth stack installed. I have tried a Microsoft wireless keyboard with a USB transmitter - it works but when I plug in the transmitter all my desktop widgets blink off then reload.

A number of forums and blog posts disagree about the problem and the solution. I gather that bluetooth keyboards are supported by "default" in Android versions greater then 2.0 and only if the particular Android device elected to include the Bluetooth HID driver. Otherwise there are some third party drivers that are hit-or-miss for hardware compatibility, though some are reported working on Android 1.5.

So, directly connecting a Bluetooth keyboard is not (yet) supported for the edge. It looks like we're stuck with it until we get a newer version of Android. Only bluetooth headsets seem to be supported now.

I have a mini bluetooth keyboard, and the edge scans and sees it, goes through the motions of connecting/pairing, but doesn't really connect.

The wireless keyboards that use a USB dongle specific to the keyboard should work if the dongle only shows itself as a USB keyboard to the edge. I wouldn't expect the generic bluetooth dongles to work.

I just ran across this Freedom Pro Bluetooth keyboard page which includes a driver. It may or may not work with other keyboards. I may try it later.

kenjennings · 12-13-2010, 07:36 PM

Follow up: Doesn't work.

I downloaded the driver. It wouldn't allow the edge to get the .apk file directly, so I had to download it on a PC and use AndFTP to copy it to the edge.

It appeared to install fine, but I don't see any other icons in applications. I guess a driver may not be expected to show another icon.

The eDGe's Bluetooth config in Settings doesn't do anything new. The eDGe treats my SolidTek ASK-3152 bluetooth keyboard as if it were a phone headset.

12-10-2010, 07:57 AM	#65
borisb Edge User	Does the eDGe support Bluetooth keyboards directly? I'm not sure enTourage formally announced the addition of the capability... To be save, use a Bluetooth keyboard that comes with a little Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the USB port. This effectively makes it like a regular USB keyboard and should work without a problem. Last edited by borisb; 12-10-2010 at 10:13 PM.

12-13-2010, 07:36 PM	#69
kenjennings Edge User	Follow up: Doesn't work. I downloaded the driver. It wouldn't allow the edge to get the .apk file directly, so I had to download it on a PC and use AndFTP to copy it to the edge. It appeared to install fine, but I don't see any other icons in applications. I guess a driver may not be expected to show another icon. The eDGe's Bluetooth config in Settings doesn't do anything new. The eDGe treats my SolidTek ASK-3152 bluetooth keyboard as if it were a phone headset. Last edited by kenjennings; 12-14-2010 at 12:21 PM.

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11-22-2010, 11:28 AM	#61
borisb Edge User	The trackpad would be a mouse device and different from the optical trackpad on the PE. It may or may not be useable, I think, given that the Android operating system used on the eDGe (and many cell phones) doesn't actually have the concept of a mouse cursor. I look forward to hearing your review when you get a keyboard

11-23-2010, 01:08 PM	#62
emen Edge User	I have a touchpad keyboard, and the touchpad works fine with the (big) Edge, it acts exactly like the built in trackball.

12-10-2010, 01:07 AM	#63
Dr. Ruth Edge User	For the key board do you just plug it in and it boots up itself. Can you use it with Word documents and Power Point slides???

12-10-2010, 05:08 AM	#64
ShiningT1g3R Edge User	It depends on how you use it. If the keyboard is USB, then you simply have to plug it in and it usually works immediately afterwards. If the keyboard is bluetooth, you have to enable the bluetooth feature and sync it with the Edge each time you power it up; although I may be unsure of if that is actually necessary (I don't use bluetooth stuff yet because there's nothing really good out there for something like the Edge that isn't already USB). But as for using a mini keyboard for typing Word Documents and Power Point slides, it works just as well as a regular keyboard. 8-)

12-10-2010, 04:49 PM	#66
cheyennedonna Edge User	Do you mean a wireless keyboard? I'm not sure a Bluetooth dongle would work with the edge, since it would need drivers and a Bluetooth stack installed. I have tried a Microsoft wireless keyboard with a USB transmitter - it works but when I plug in the transmitter all my desktop widgets blink off then reload.

12-10-2010, 10:15 PM	#67
borisb Edge User	I was thinking of a Bluetooth keyboard wirelessly. At least one "Bluetooth" keyboard comes with a custom/dedicated Bluetooth-to-USB dongle that makes the keyboard look like a USB keyboard (i.e., it's a dedicated BT link between the dongle and the keyboard, but the eDGe only sees a USB keyboard, in effect the dongle does the BT receiving work and emulates a USB keyboard).