Thinkpads Forum

Does anyone have information on the new THINKPAD KEYBOARD FOLIO (0A36370) for the Thinkpad Android Tablet?

Would like to know:
1) Is it wireless or not?
2) Interface type? Bluetooth? USB? RF other?
3) Are there Windows 7 drivers for it?

I want to use it for HTPC use - nice smallish keyboard with Trackpoint and thankfully for me NO Trackpad!!!! If they are Bluetooth and have drivers, I will buy several.....

Thanks!
Jay

Would like to know:
1) Is it wireless or not?

Yes, and 3G selected models

2) Interface type? Bluetooth? USB? RF other?

Bluetooth 3.0

3) Are there Windows 7 drivers for it?

Not sure

jnwhite wrote:1) Is it wireless or not?
2) Interface type? Bluetooth? USB? RF other?

AFAIK, the keyboard connects through the USB port on the ThinkPad tablet.... it early days yet, so you'll need to watch for more info becoming available on the keyboard.

Cheers,

Bill B.

I wish it was bluetooth based to use on other devices, but sadly it is in fact using USB2.0. They said they wired it instead to save on battery life.

One of the Lenovo videos shows clearly a full-sized USB connector that is used to dock the tablet to the folio. So no mysteries here.

Personally, I find that when using three battery-operated devices (tablet, keyboard, mouse) at the same time then at least one set of batteries is always about to give out...

PS: You can of course use your preferred BT accessories with the tablet (and not buy the folio keyboard)

So the full-sized USB port is on the bottom. That just about rules out a USB-stick modem, which answers some vague language I just read at the Lenovo site. I also understand that the pointer on the folio-cover keyboard is an optical trackball rather than a mechanical mouse mover.

I'm fairly unhappy with a device that won't let me use my wireless stick that I already pay for and for which I deliberately got a USB device to use with future devices. Sure, I could use it with a short extension cord, I guess. That's not even good for other accessories! Why am I thinking they did this just to push us into buying their accessories?

Grumble, grumble.

Well, I've been watching videos on the modern vast wasteland (YouTube) and I've seen several demos of flipping it 90 degrees and back. My, er, Entourage Dual-book (7" folding Froyo e-reader/tablet) DOES rotate the tablet side 180, 270, and 90 degrees, so maybe the Thinkpad tab does too.

SafeHarbor wrote:I'm fairly unhappy with a device that won't let me use my wireless stick....

Your expectation is simply quite unrealistic for a tablet device, so you're destined to remain unhappy

Cheers,

Bill B.

Hiya, Bill,

Good to see you still kicking around.

A number of Android tablets out there support the USB stick, including the strange little duck of one I have now. I understand that it requires kernel support and the driver installed. A few manufacturers leave it out because the include built in WAN, and on some the 3G icon (or the menu settings under Networking) only appears when a USB modem is installed.

It may not be such a extremely forlorn hope.

SafeHarbor wrote:I understand that it requires kernel support and the driver installed.

The point is that getting consistently good enough 3G reception on a mobility device where its orientation is not fixed by its inherent physical parameters is basically incompatible with using a external 3G USB stick (quite apart from the ergonomic issues that such a device also poses)

Cheers,

Bill B.

Concerning broadband cellular access: it seems that the Slate features a SIM-Card slot, so you might be able to, erm, roam accordingly to thy desire, if you purchase the 3G enabled version, according to what the Youtube video presentation. It's next to the SD card Slot.

csioucs wrote:Concerning broadband cellular access: it seems that the Slate features a SIM-Card slot, so you might be able to, erm, roam accordingly to thy desire

The basis of the 3G service offering is not totally clear to me as yet...... but it seems that it is unlikely to be locked into ISP specific post-paid plans in most markets, and is more likely to use pre-paid data pack (and SIMs) from whichever ISPs decide there's a market in supporting tablet devices.

From my understanding, this is most likely going to be a new(ish) 3G service approach for North American users, but is a fairly standard 3G service model for tablet devices in quite a few parts of the world.

Cheers,

Bill B.

The keyboard is definitely USB, I have one. The advantage over a Bluetooth/wireless keyboard is this one can be used on flights.

jkendrick wrote:The keyboard is definitely USB, I have one. The advantage over a Bluetooth/wireless keyboard is this one can be used on flights.

What's your impression of the Keyboard?
I read somewhere that the regular folio damages the pad (an issue with the plastic parts of the folio).

Is it available anywhere other than Lenovo itself?

Thanks

Shofar