Though it looks like something crazy and impossible to use, believe me, it's not that hard to learn! In fact, I got used to it very quickly. Of course you'll need to relearn how to type. But Matias Corporation has also thought about that. On pages 26 and 27 of the Half Keyboard manual you'll find a tutorial to help you learn how to type. Follow the instructions, practice a little bit, and you'll be typing very fast before you know it.

If we start thinking about classrooms, libraries, meetings, or even airplanes, the Half Keyboard is much more comfortable to use then the other kinds of keyboards for Palm OS devices. The handheld and the keyboard can lie on the surface of a table, letting you pay attention to someone speaking or even read something in a book or memo while typing with one hand and writing with the other hand, as shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

The Half Keyboard lets you multitask.

You can even put the keyboard or the handheld over a book, memo, or any other kind of document you're working on to make your notes easier.

Matias Corporation has also created a wearable version of the Half Keyboard for field use. You can wear the handheld on one wrist and the keyboard on the other with the help of a bracelet, as shown in Figure C.

FIGURE C

The Half Keyboard is completely wearable.

Conclusion
All in all, the Half Keyboard is a nice piece of hardware that fits both end user and corporate needs. Though it's a small keyboard, the keys are the same size as the ones we use on our desktop keyboards. Another clear advantage is that, to use it, you won't need a flat surface, or any surface at all for that matter. If you can get past the learning curve of the multi-key feature, you'll find the Half Keyboard to be an extremely useful tool.

Vladimir Campos is LatinGo Associate Director and MobileSite.com.br co-founder. For more information, visit http://www.vladimircampos.net/eng.