BlackBerry Forums Support Community

acnst · 03-09-2006, 03:32 PM

It is a 60 day trial, not 30. Mark, if I where you I would try to get hold of a Windows Small Business Server 2003 (incl. Exchange and SQL) trial and install. You can order the trial here.

Mark Rejhon · 03-09-2006, 05:39 PM

Heavens, it could take at least 1 or 2 days just to do all of this. Installing trial versions of Exchange and BES, and the learning curve of getting it all working properly, just to fix my BlackBerry's functionality for external keyboards...

I'd rather pay someone else to put my BlackBerry on their BES. I might ask a BES hosting service to do some extra favours. (I'm thinking of going back onto BES hosting again, anyway)

tom2112 · 03-15-2006, 11:29 PM

I did a nice Shasta review on the amazon product page:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Fencoding=UTF8

Good price too at $66.

Mark Rejhon · 03-17-2006, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom2112

I did a nice Shasta review on the amazon product page:

I noticed that one of the reviews that confuses infrared and bluetooth, has a "Report This" link for reporting inappropriate reviews. Just thought to let you know!

P.S. I still can't use either Bluetooth keyboard with my 8700r, due to a BlackBerry policy issue (I am not on BES.). Later this year, I'll probably be back onto BES hosting, and will ask the hosting provider to make some changes...

atwageman · 03-27-2006, 01:58 AM

Wirelessly posted (BB 7520: BlackBerry7100i/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/103)

Any one use one of those keyboards yet on a 7100i? Non BES.

UberDave · 03-31-2006, 05:07 AM

Hi Mark,

I know you're having some issues with BES, but it's time to get it figured out so you can finish the review! I hate to bust your chops, but it's been over two months now... At your request TO sent you a unit to review, even if it takes you a long time to figure out the BES issue I think you need to get it done... This review just isn't much good without a review of actual usage.

Mark Rejhon · 04-05-2006, 01:39 PM

This is an unpaid review by an unpaid BlackBerryForums volunteer - it takes money to spend on the efforts to fix my BES dilemma. The review will probably be updated in a month or two, once I get back onto BES hosting service and then get them to reprogram my BlackBerry IT policy. Or someone else lends me (postage paid both ways) donates me an untarnished BlackBerry 8700r with no policy preinstalled.

stevec_ny · 04-08-2006, 01:04 AM

I just picked the the Freedom Input keyboard today from J&R. I have to say I'm not really impressed at all. The flex noted above by Mark is present, but not too bothersome. The power switch is located right next to the lower left latch that keeps the keyboard locked close, making it feel clumsy when trying to turn the keyboard on & off.

The worst is trying to actually type on this thing. I'm not sure if it's more of an issue with SPP, the BT driver, or the keyboard itself, but I kept finding that the keyboard would drop random characters while touch-typing. I'm a reasonably fast typist (which is why I got this keyboard in the first place), but I'm spending more time backspacing (which seems to repeat a lot slower than any of the other keys & after setting the repeat rate high) & correcting all of the misspelled words. This is with the latest driver available via their OTA install. I tried typing one keystroke per second, & some characters were still not recognized, & the dropped key would be different every time.

Just to see if it was a blackberry issue, I also downloaded the lastest drivers for the Palm Treo & tested it with the keyboard. The results were not much different. I changed the batteries with freshly charged NiMH. Same results. I really, *really* wanted to like this keyboard, especially for its versatility across devices but I'm really disappointed. I can type faster on the Blackberry & Treo witout erros than I can on this keyboard. :(

The best thing I can say so far is that it only cost me a little over $30. My first impression was to return it, but I'm going to hold onto it for a few more days & try again with the MMG drivers to see if they make the difference.

Trixie · 04-22-2006, 10:12 AM

I just bought a Freedom blackberry bluetooth keyboard, and have to return it, as I am using the ExchangeMyMail BES server, and have been told the policies there cannot be changed to accommodate li'l ol' me.

I assume this is a problem with ALL bluetooth keyboards?

There shouldn't be any problem with a wired external keyboard, should there? I know there are USB-connection ones available.

Grrr... I really think ads for these devices should clearly state that BES policies could very well prevent you from using them. I had to find out the hard way.

Trixie

EricaJ1074 · 04-23-2006, 02:48 PM

I have a 7105t and a backup 7100t. Which keyboard fits these models better?

Mark Rejhon · 04-25-2006, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trixie

I just bought a Freedom blackberry bluetooth keyboard, and have to return it, as I am using the ExchangeMyMail BES server, and have been told the policies there cannot be changed to accommodate li'l ol' me.

I assume this is a problem with ALL bluetooth keyboards?

There shouldn't be any problem with a wired external keyboard, should there? I know there are USB-connection ones available.

Grrr... I really think ads for these devices should clearly state that BES policies could very well prevent you from using them. I had to find out the hard way.

This is a problem that has affected me - BES policies even after leaving the BES.
Yes, it is a problem with ALL Bluetooth keyboards.
There are no USB keyboards compatible with BlackBerries. It won't work.

JoeInMotion · 04-28-2006, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Rejhon

This is a problem that has affected me - BES policies even after leaving the BES.
Yes, it is a problem with ALL Bluetooth keyboards.
There are no USB keyboards compatible with BlackBerries. It won't work.

I'm not sure if this was already mentioned but there's a USB BlackBerry keyboard I found while looking for a Bluetooth keyboard myself at the eAccess eStore (sorry I can't post urls yet). Excellent review btw. I'm sold on the Shasta keyboard now.

acnst · 04-28-2006, 04:55 AM

The USB connected keyboard is made by http://www.man-machine.com/ and called CoolMIR v2 BlackBerry Keyboard.

Mark Rejhon · 05-04-2006, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acnst

The USB connected keyboard is made by http://www.man-machine.com/ and called CoolMIR v2 BlackBerry Keyboard.

This is news to me -- thanks for the note. This requires a host USB chip and a self-contained power supply in the keyboard (which this keyboard has). A creative workaround, indeed.

Richpop · 10-12-2006, 09:15 AM

I have read this and other favorable reviews of the Think Outside Shasta keyboard. I'm surprised that no one has noticed that it does not have an on/off switch. My batteries go dead overnight. If I cannot find a solution soon I will return it. I contacted Think Outside. They said I should use rechargable batteries or remove the batteries after each use. There must be some other solution if no one else is complaining.

koleary19067 · 12-01-2006, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richpop

I have read this and other favorable reviews of the Think Outside Shasta keyboard. I'm surprised that no one has noticed that it does not have an on/off switch. My batteries go dead overnight. If I cannot find a solution soon I will return it. I contacted Think Outside. They said I should use rechargable batteries or remove the batteries after each use. There must be some other solution if no one else is complaining.

Some one mention earlier in the thread that this keyboard shuts off after inactivity. Does not make sense if you said it ran down your battery overnight.

soko · 01-25-2007, 12:39 PM

I have an 8700R blackberry and just received as well a think outside collapsible keyboard. Since I am not as technically adept as everyone else seems to be, can you please clarify:

1-can this keyboard work with a blackberry -- my reading of the thread is that an additional driver is required that currently isn't provided by blackerry -
2-if not, are there other keyboards that work with blackberry

Hope my questions aren't too ignorant.

chrismacsween · 02-27-2007, 06:30 AM

Hi Mark,

Looking at your recent review of the Shasta and our Freedom 1, I can see that you have not come across our Freedom Universal Keyboard. I will be very interested to see an updated review with our new keyboard. We will organise a review sample for you. The Freedom Universal is a dual profile keyboard (SPP and HID) unlike the Shasta which is just SPP. Whilst the additional HID profile may not be of immediate interest to Blackberry users, many of these users carry more than one device which may well include Smartphones, Pocket PCs and laptops. Currently the SPP drivers that ThinkOutside provide will not work with these phones.
We are also a Blackberry Alliance member and cooperate closely with RIM to support our end users within the corporate and personal environment.

BlackBerry Forums Support Community

REVIEW: Two External Bluetooth Keyboards [ThinkOutside Shasta] + [Freedom Keyboard]