Expert in PDA's keyboards wish for a PSION 5 keyboard

[Eight Bit]

The psion 5 keyboard looks a bit too overdone for me. I think a Psion S3a kind of keyboard would probably be better

no no, I have the S3, Siena, and several S5. No doubts the S5 has the best keyboard ever realized on PDA. 

I meant that the S3A keyboard would be better for the Pandora successor, not that it would be better than the S5 overall...   Psion 5 keys are just too big and thick I think

 

[Asmo]

The HP 95lx (100/200lx etc) had an arguably better keyboard - it wasn't much to look at, but it had just the right amount of tactile feedback (not too soft, not too stiff, with a positive 'clunk' feeling when fully depressed) and being small keys well separated it was surprisingly hard to accidentally hit another key during use. The keys leading edges were also slanted toward the user (a HP calculator trait) slightly, reducing the chances of fingers slipping off when typing quickly.

The Psion 5 keyboard was a good-looking thing, but it lacked travel in the keys and had the aforementioned speed issue. The 3 series needed stiffer key action. The Siena was much the same. The Revo had a mini lookalike of the Psion 5's keys - but they were hinged from the bottom of each row, so if you hit the keys below their center there was a chance nothing would happen.

Come to think of it, if they had been QWERTY instead of A-Z, the earliest Psions (the original up to the LZ64) had nicer keys, good travel, firm and well spaced. Just stupid layout.

 

[Grench]

The HP 95lx (100/200lx etc) had an arguably better keyboard - it wasn't much to look at, but it had just the right amount of tactile feedback (not too soft, not too stiff, with a positive 'clunk' feeling when fully depressed) and being small keys well separated it was surprisingly hard to accidentally hit another key during use. The keys leading edges were also slanted toward the user (a HP calculator trait) slightly, reducing the chances of fingers slipping off when typing quickly.

The Psion 5 keyboard was a good-looking thing, but it lacked travel in the keys and had the aforementioned speed issue. The 3 series needed stiffer key action. The Siena was much the same. The Revo had a mini lookalike of the Psion 5's keys - but they were hinged from the bottom of each row, so if you hit the keys below their center there was a chance nothing would happen.

Come to think of it, if they had been QWERTY instead of A-Z, the earliest Psions (the original up to the LZ64) had nicer keys, good travel, firm and well spaced. Just stupid layout.

I had an HP95LX and an HP28S. I still use the 48G RPN emulator on my Pandora and phone.

Those old HP RPN calculators had GREAT key feel and were very durable. How complex is the mechanism? Is it patented?

 

[Asmo]

I had an HP95LX and an HP28S. I still use the 48G RPN emulator on my Pandora and phone.

Those old HP RPN calculators had GREAT key feel and were very durable. How complex is the mechanism? Is it patented?

I remember (possibly on the old boards) somebody here had images of a disassembled one showing the mechanism - maybe if someone remembers they'll chime in?

 

[moxie]

Probably Hermocom. Uh, that is...*looks up* hmc