Re: C760/C750 keyboard vs. Sony Clie UX50?

* Brent Geske ([email protected]) wrote:
> Has anyone used both a C760/C750 and a UX50 that could comment on / compare 
> the keyboards?
> 
I've not used a ux50, but I do have a c760
> 
> - Key Edges:  The 200LX key edges are easily felt;  this helps you maneuver 
> around in a manner quite similar to touch typing.  The UX50 has keys pretty 
> much flush with the keyboard surface and this makes them very difficult to 
> feel/find.  (The keyboard itself looks like plowed furrows with the keys 
> centered on the higher ridges between the furrows;  the keys are actually a 
> bit inset into the ridge and thus appear to be sort of depressions in the 
> ridge;  this inset combined with the near flushness makes it very difficult 
> to feel the key boundaries.)

The keyboard on the C760 is more of a plane with the keys glued onto
the top of them. The keys are think enough that I can pretty easilly
feal where one ends and where the next one begins. The f and j keys
have the traditional protrusions on top to indicate position.

> - Key Throw Distance:  The 200LX has a pretty respectable key throw 
> distance for a keyboard its size;  this makes it easy to feel that you've 
> actually pressed a key.  The UX50 throw distance is very short;  you hardly 
> know whether you've pressed it or not based on this short distance.

One the c760, the key itself doesn't move, it's more like a membrane
keyboard. There is a gap between the surface of the keyboard and the
inside surface of the pda, so the whole keyboard sort of bends in.
For me this is enough feedback to tell that I pressed the key, but
your mileadge may vary.

> 
> - Key Click:  The 200LX has great tactile feedback in the form of an easily 
> sensed click.  The UX50 clicks a bit, but is much harder to detect.

The c760 definitly doesnt have the same feedback as an actual
keyboard would have, but I find it adequate.
> Back to the question -- how does the C760/C750 keyboard fare in real world 
> use?

I use my c760 quite a bit for things I used to do on my laptop at
home. Web browsing, email, irc, some light coding. The keyboard is
adequate for the job, but I don't think you'll ever find yourself
typing as fast as you would on a real keyboard, regardless of size.

  Greg