Cirque Demos Pocket Keyboard for Palm and Visor

Cirque Corporation, a provider of alternative input products, today unveiled the Pocket Keyboard, a mini-keyboard for Palm and Handspring palmtop computers, based on Cirque's award-winning GlidePoint technology. It is 3.5-inch by 2.625-inch touch panel that connects to the serial port and allows users to type information using a finger rather than a stylus.

The Pocket Keyboard is scheduled to begin shipping early in the second quarter of 2001 for about $40.

Update: A photo is now available.

The surface of the Pocket Keyboard provides a basic QWERTY format and includes arrow, number, shift, enter, tab, caps, control and symbol keys. The keys are roughly the same size as the tip of a finger and the overlay is embossed in a grid pattern to help users locate the keys. The embossed surface of the keyboard, combined with user-selectable audible feedback, gives users a tactile sensation. Because the keyboard is based on GlidePoint technology, the Pocket Keyboard instantly recognizes the centermost point of pressure and inputs the character for the corresponding key, allowing accurate input with both large and small fingers.

It will work with the m100, and Palm III, V, and VII series, as well as all Visors. It also supports the original Pilot 1000 and 5000 series from Palm. It comes with a set of interface adapters for the various PDAs. These permit the product to be packaged as one SKU while accommodating multiple versions of PDAs.

It runs on two CR2032 lithium coin batteries. According to Cirque, the battery life of the Pocket Keyboard should outlive the life of the batteries used in many PDAs and are inexpensive, readily available, and easy to replace. A quick search on the Web found that CR2032 batteries cost about $2.50.