StowAway / iGo driver (multiplatform) compliance tests

[Guest Menneisyys]

Upon my fellow blogger Tim Hillebrand’s report and because I’ll need to quickly enter a lot of info at MWC (and I don’t want to lug around my desktop replacement and, therefore, pretty heavy IBM Thinkpad a31p just for inputting text), I’ve installed the latest StowAway / iGo Bluetooth drivers on all my mobile devices (even non-Windows Mobile ones) to find out whether the drivers available HERE are (still) compatible with the latest operating system / firmware versions. I’ve found out the following:

Windows Mobile

Pocket PC’s (a.k.a. WM6 Classic / Professional):

HP iPAQ hx4700 (WM5 AKU 3.5.2; selecting & using the Widcomm driver, NOT the MS one); HTC Universal (WM6), Dell Axim x51v (WM5 official A12 (AKU 2.3) ROM with the MS BT stack), HTC Wizard (mfrazzz’ XDA Mobile 6 Release 5 FINAL) and the WM2003 HP iPAQ 2210: all work OK with the factory, default driver.

(Note that, as far as mfrazzz’ XDA Mobile 6 releases are concerned, version 3 was a no-go at all: it didn’t even try to connect. Pressing the Disable built-in HID support doesn’t help at all – unlike with all my other test devices or the same Wizard running Release 5.)

Smartphones (a.k.a. WM6 Standard)

HTC Vox / s710 (factory WM6 Smartphone ROM); no native driver; therefore, I tested it with the s620 / Excalibur / MteoR driver (they’re the same – actually, it seems ALL HTC Smartphones have the same drivers, unlike with WM5 and pre-WM5 Pocket PC’s): OK

HTC Oxygen / s310 with the above MS SP drivers (no native driver): the config app doesn’t even load (“Keyboard driver not functioning!”); then, after closing it, I started to get system errors about the keyboard driver DLL not responding.

Blackberry:

BB 8800 (4.2.1.101 / 2.3.0.80, T-Mobile): Works OK; program invocation hotkeys also work as expected.

Palm OS:

Palm T3: Works OK, albeit some of the program invocation shortcuts (apart from the most basic calendar/ contacts / inbox) take you to some other program, not the default one (unlike with the WM or the BB version). Otherwise, it’s OK.

Symbian:

Nokia N95 (firmware version v20): No native N95 (or any new – the latest ones are dated from 03/2007; the Palm / WinMo / BB drivers have been released a bit later; for example, the BB one in 07/2007) drivers from ThinkOutside; however, the N92 driver works just great on the N95. All the shortcuts work (as opposed to the built-in drivers). Note that the green Fn + Backspace terminates the connection (unlike on WinMo), which, then, must be re-enabled by just re-invoking the wireless keyboard applet. Also note that, unlike with Windows Mobile, Alt+keys directly enters accented characters, which are a bit more cumbersome to bring up under WinMo.

Note that the built-in Tools / Connectivity / Wlss Keyboard works without the need to install any third-party driver – apart from the complete lack of program / task switcher shortcuts and the lack of the English Pound, Japanese Yen and Euro entry.

Conclusion

All in all, the drivers are fully compatible with even the latest devices / firmware versions on all mobile platforms. On Windows Mobile, all the tested WM6 devices, Smartphones and Pocket PC’s alike, worked just great.

That is, you don’t need to be afraid of purchasing the keyboard – it WILL (almost surely) work. The only device not compatible was the HTC Oxygen / s310 low-end MS Smartphone. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other WinMo devices incompatible with the existing drivers, though - it's just that I haven't found one.

[Guest eAngel]

:D I might have gotten into a pickle. I purchased the ThinkOutside iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for Smartphones...as a b-day gift for Mom, who has the AT&T Palm Treo 750. Silly me, I bought it online, trusting the "compatibility" list the vendor supplied. Hmmm. Anyway, it's clear that the device software is only intended to support up to WM5.0 smartphones. In general, the keyboard connects well. The general "typing" functions well. But, the shortcut keys are a no go. So, I'm hopeful that you guys are familiar with this predicament, and possibly have a creative solution. I am ever-hopeful, and ever-grateful! Any help would be soooo very appreciated!

Upon my fellow blogger Tim Hillebrand’s report and because I’ll need to quickly enter a lot of info at MWC (and I don’t want to lug around my desktop replacement and, therefore, pretty heavy IBM Thinkpad a31p just for inputting text), I’ve installed the latest StowAway / iGo Bluetooth drivers on all my mobile devices (even non-Windows Mobile ones) to find out whether the drivers available HERE are (still) compatible with the latest operating system / firmware versions. I’ve found out the following:

Windows Mobile

Pocket PC’s (a.k.a. WM6 Classic / Professional):

HP iPAQ hx4700 (WM5 AKU 3.5.2; selecting & using the Widcomm driver, NOT the MS one); HTC Universal (WM6), Dell Axim x51v (WM5 official A12 (AKU 2.3) ROM with the MS BT stack), HTC Wizard (mfrazzz’ XDA Mobile 6 Release 5 FINAL) and the WM2003 HP iPAQ 2210: all work OK with the factory, default driver.

(Note that, as far as mfrazzz’ XDA Mobile 6 releases are concerned, version 3 was a no-go at all: it didn’t even try to connect. Pressing the Disable built-in HID support doesn’t help at all – unlike with all my other test devices or the same Wizard running Release 5.)

Smartphones (a.k.a. WM6 Standard)

HTC Vox / s710 (factory WM6 Smartphone ROM); no native driver; therefore, I tested it with the s620 / Excalibur / MteoR driver (they’re the same – actually, it seems ALL HTC Smartphones have the same drivers, unlike with WM5 and pre-WM5 Pocket PC’s): OK

HTC Oxygen / s310 with the above MS SP drivers (no native driver): the config app doesn’t even load (“Keyboard driver not functioning!”); then, after closing it, I started to get system errors about the keyboard driver DLL not responding.

Blackberry:

BB 8800 (4.2.1.101 / 2.3.0.80, T-Mobile): Works OK; program invocation hotkeys also work as expected.

Palm OS:

Palm T3: Works OK, albeit some of the program invocation shortcuts (apart from the most basic calendar/ contacts / inbox) take you to some other program, not the default one (unlike with the WM or the BB version). Otherwise, it’s OK.

Symbian:

Nokia N95 (firmware version v20): No native N95 (or any new – the latest ones are dated from 03/2007; the Palm / WinMo / BB drivers have been released a bit later; for example, the BB one in 07/2007) drivers from ThinkOutside; however, the N92 driver works just great on the N95. All the shortcuts work (as opposed to the built-in drivers). Note that the green Fn + Backspace terminates the connection (unlike on WinMo), which, then, must be re-enabled by just re-invoking the wireless keyboard applet. Also note that, unlike with Windows Mobile, Alt+keys directly enters accented characters, which are a bit more cumbersome to bring up under WinMo.

Note that the built-in Tools / Connectivity / Wlss Keyboard works without the need to install any third-party driver – apart from the complete lack of program / task switcher shortcuts and the lack of the English Pound, Japanese Yen and Euro entry.

Conclusion

All in all, the drivers are fully compatible with even the latest devices / firmware versions on all mobile platforms. On Windows Mobile, all the tested WM6 devices, Smartphones and Pocket PC’s alike, worked just great.

That is, you don’t need to be afraid of purchasing the keyboard – it WILL (almost surely) work. The only device not compatible was the HTC Oxygen / s310 low-end MS Smartphone. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other WinMo devices incompatible with the existing drivers, though - it's just that I haven't found one.

[Guest Menneisyys]

dunno why it isn't working - I have a LOT of WinMo devices, even WM6 ones and shortcut keys worked just great with most of them...