Back in 2000/2001 my work place loaned us Palm Pilots and the compatible folding keyboard to those who wanted one. I absolutely loved that piece of kit and when I left that organization I bought my own Palm but it was a subsequent generation and I could only find a wireless keyboard that was a piece of crap.
Fast forward to now and I am on the cusp of retiring and will no longer be faced with carrying a work laptop and it’s associated stuff when I travel. But I still want a certain level of functionality without the hassle and bulk.
Can anyone recommend a reliable and accurate folding keyboard (preferably not wireless) that is compatible with a smart phone? Right now I am using a 2021 Motorola moto g power that I am very happy with but could change in a year or so as required.
I’ve never used a keyboard with my smartphones, but if I did, I’d consider this one from Amazon. It has good reviews with many sales, nice features, full keyboard, attractively priced, and comes with a phone stand. There’s a link to a newer version for a bit more money, but this one looks fine.
It’s Bluetooth (not wired), but reviewers say it connects easily and works well.
I have carried something similar to @Tibby’s cite while traveling for use with my Android phone and company-issued Apple iPad. Worked great. There is a gap between the left and right half where the hinge is, which messes with your muscle memory of where the keys are just a bit. Every keyboard has its idiosyncrasies about the special keys around the edges, but this gap affects the QWERTY part. Which can be vexing until you get used to it. Switching back and forth between that and a gapless keyboard drove me nuts for any long stint of writing. But was fine for typing urls, passwords, stuff into searches, etc.
Any of those keyboards are a bunch bigger (and a LOT thicker) than even a larger-than-average current smartphone. If you’re someone who carries a big purse, it’ll fit just fine for daily carry. Otherwise not.
If it’s intended for travel only, my own habit as a frequent traveler was/is to carry a Microsoft Surface with the full sized keyboard detachable “TypeCover”. Vastly more ergonomic than a smartphone plus separate folding keyboard. And not really much more weight or volume unless you get one of the huge Surfaces. The “Go” model is quite small, but still lightyears ahead of a smartphone and makes a great internet terminal. People sometimes poke fun at Microsoft hardware, but these things are great. If price matters a lot, refurbs of prior year’s models are available for relatively cheap.
Right now as I’m typing, I’m sitting in a restaurant typing on my Surface (refurbed from Amazon) that’s getting its WiFi from my phone. The bigger screen and real keyboard is sooooooo (yep, that many "o"s) better then squinting at the Dope on the Android screen and pecking at either a folding keyboard or the on-screen one.
I loved my Surface Pro, but decided to get a 13” HP Sprectre 360 when it died. I loved that equally well, so decided to get another, when it too died.
I bought a “certified” refurbished 16” i7 Spectre 360 on eBay last week, for almost half the price of a new one. It exceeded my expectations, and was in “like new” condition. After spending much time migrating my apps and data, I plugged in the charger and it didn’t charge. I contacted the seller (100% 5-star rating with thousands of sales) and he turfed me to HP tech support. The tech suggestions didn’t work, so I shipped the unit back for a full refund (which I should get in a couple days).
When I get my refund, I’m going to order another one from the same seller and keep my fingers crossed.
I still use my PC for heavy lifting, but touch-screen 2-in-ones are great for on the road (or on the bed).
Good advice. Unfortunately the laptop fully discharged before I could get my data off. That concerned me because it included my password form filler. This has passwords to virtually my whole life (including the codes to breach Fort Knox*). But, realizing my form filler was synced to my other devices, I changed the master password. I also contacted the seller for assurance that he would wipe the hard-drive clean when returned. He said they do that automatically.
Once I switched to all-cloud storage for everything, upgrading PCs is pretty easy.
Take a couple screenshots of the “add/remove programs” control panel to see what’s installed, a screenshot of the customizations I’ve made to the Start menu and the desktop, then wait a few minutes for them to cloudify.
Turn on the new one, log in to MSFT as me, then leave it sit for an hour or so as my whole live courses automatically into the new box. Fiddle with installing those few special apps I still use, fiddle with the desktop & star menu and we’re done.
Very little effort and not much time.
Despite all the whining, the 21st Century does have some really cool features.
