iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

iGo discontinues Stowaway keyboard

Stowaway_20sierra Kevin and I both have been using the venerable iGo Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard for years due to its full-sized keys provided in a folding form that will fit in a shirt pocket. We haven't found a better performing keyboard for the mobile set so it is extremely disappointing to hear that iGo is discontinuing the Stowaway and dropping it from its product line. According to iGo they want to focus on their main product line, the iGo power adapters so they will drop the keyboard like a hot potato. If you have been considering a mobile keyboard without compromises you'd better act fast to find one (affiliate link) before inventories begin drying up.

(Pocket PC Magazine via GottaBeMobile)

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

I just picked one up from Amazon.com for $39.00. You guys might want to pick up yours while they are discounted a bit.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

You're lucky. The only one I've found in Canada is $139CAN... which nowadays is $139US.

If anyone knows a more reasonable price 'round here, do tell.

Even buying off eBay will, sellers charge about $30US for shipping.

Guess I'll have to do some quick calls to US friends in the next few days :(

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Are Bluetooth keyboards failing to meet expected sales?

Even Nokia only have one model, and they must have about fifty Bluetooth headset models. If they were selling well you'd think they would have brought out another model by now.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Ah... http://blankmedia.ca/ is selling it for $44.95 & taxes and about $13 for eXPress (or whatever it is) parcel order. Which should mean I get it Thursday (but probably Friday/Saturday).

It's a weird site, though. The 'Rules & Regulations' go on about open media returns and how things have to come back in shelf-perfect form. So I emailed them with instructions to tell me how they'd handle the plastic bubble case the keyboard's in if I have to return it before processing my order and final confirmation.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

go to mymemory.co.uk they sell it for 26.99 pounds.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

if you pay me the shipping cost to the US I can order one for you

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Too bad. The selection of good BT keyboards is quite limited. I got mine already though, but it's not good that there'll be no replacement available - I may go and buy a spare one right away.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Why the hell did they buy ThinkOutside in the first place? <_<

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

after my first stowaway ultraslim died (certain keys stopped working), I found there's something of a design flaw involving how at least one of the printed ribbon cables inside slides against the inside of the metal (plastic lined there) case. unless you're really careful -- which I try to be now -- I think it is inevitable that the surface will collect dust/dirt causing the cable to bend the wrong way at the join and then the connections eventually break. I found confirming reports via google, and did some photos with plans for a webpage, but all my compute equipment is in transit for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, I bought two more when the prices came down recently - but figure once they die I will move on to something else (n810 or later).

rob.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Hm. So, what are the alternatives for folding bluetooth keyboards once these are gone? (I'm not talking about non-folding ones, like Apple's keyboard; I'm only talking about the folding/portable ones that you use with full hands (not thumb based ones))

Freedom Input has one, but honestly, dealing with them is such a pain (my gf tried to order me one for my birthday), that I can't recommend them.

What other vendors are out there? And are they known to work (or not work) with the NIT family?

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Erm... I take it you know about Nokia's own folding BT keyboard, the SU-8W? As you'd expect, that works with the tablets.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

The SU-8W is a 4-row keyboard, isn't it? Are there any other HID-compatible 5-row BT folding keyboards out there? (I've tried unsuccessfully today to find somewhere that sells the Igo Sierra, except some on ebay that won't send outside UK.)

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

I've heard of the Nokia one, but since I've never actually seen it for sale anywhere (not even on Nokia's web page, at least not when I've looked for it on their US site), I'm not really considering them much of an option. But, then, I'm rather disappointed in Nokia's handling of accessories in general (in that there are accessories that they don't sell across all of their regions, even though there's nothing bout the accessory that requires any kind of internationalization).

But, yes, that's one alternative. What about others?

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

It's in stock on Amazon.com (the US site), it's a US keyboard layout too:

http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-278352-W...2229981&sr=8-3


I think the problem with North America is that it's by far Nokia's lowest-selling market, so there may not be the buyers for the accessories there if the main devices sell in small numbers.

Nokia's got much greater sales in practically all other regions, even relatively poor ones such as the Middle East and Africa, and growth is much higher in these other regions too.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Provantage, Buy.com, Dell, and others sell it, but for considerably more than the iGo keyboards, even before they dropped to recent clearance sale prices.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Palm has one also...

http://store.palm.com/product/index....entPage=family

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Interesting. At least it's cheaper than the Nokia model. If it's HID, it might be a good alternative down the line.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

eBay, eBay, eBay :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

You'll probably find new iGos there for even cheaper, as I did.

And you might get a better shipping arrangement as well (i.e. "gift" designations on the Canuck Customs form!)

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Yeah, last I had looked at Palm, they only had IR keyboards. So now the question is "is it HID, and will it work with the NITs?"

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

That would explain why orders might take longer (less in-region stock), but not why the products just aren't listed/available via their regional on-line store. I wouldn't mind if the shipping took 2-3 times longer because it has to be shipped from the UK or something ... what I do mind is that the product is available in the UK, with english documentation, but it's not even listed in the US.

There's no excuse for that. Lower selling region means "lower stock on hand", not "the product effectively doesn't exist".

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Before the n810 with its transflective screen came out, I was considering a Tablet Kiosk, and they have a 5 row BT foldable for $99:

http://www.tabletkiosk.com/tkstore/p...ct=155#details

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Hm... tabletkiosk's carrying cases might be rather appropriate too. Thanks for the link!

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

I bought my Dell-branded stowaway keyboard in Canada from Expansys for $80 after shipping and taxes ($64 plus all the hidden costs). It looks identical to the iGo keyboard. It has been a joy to use.

http://www.expansys.ca/p.aspx?i=150080

The keyboard says, "Designed and Manufactured for Dell by Mobility Electronics Inc." Does this mean that Dell will continue to carry them even after iGo stops selling them? Or is "Mobility Electronics Inc" another name for the company that makes the iGo brands?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2110/...e6054ef1c4.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2184/...1c6bf5d2ff.jpg

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

I believe the Dell is just a rebranded iGo/ThinkOutside ... which means that the Dell's will be discontinued as well (unless Dell switches to a different brand, or buys the manufacturing rights or something).

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

The old Palm foldable serial keyboards were just rebranded stowaways, but that bluetooth model seems to not be, at least it doesn't look exactly like a stowaway.

I found some 5-row stowaways on ebay.co.uk, but no shipping outside the UK.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

A commenter on Engadget Mobile speculated that the Palm Bluetooth keyboard is a rebranded Darfon G950. After looking at photos of the two on web sites, I tend to agree.

EDIT: According to the Darfon web site, the G950 supports both the SPP and HID Bluetooth profiles.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

I agree, the photos seem to show the same keyboard. It folds in two, not in three like the stowaway though so it's a bit larger when folded. Nice to know that there are still some products on the market though.

EDIT: Correction - the stowaway sierra folds in four, not three

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Um... my stowaway folds in 2, not in 3 ... what are you talking about?

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Actually my stowaway folds in 4, not in 3.. from the picture the Darfon seems to fold in 2 (at least that's what it looks like. Could be wrong though).

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

http://blogs.zdnet.com/images/sierrakb.jpg

http://www.pocketnow.com/html/portal...2014%20370.jpg

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

There are two sizes of Stowaway, 4 row and 5 row.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

I know this thread is a bit old, but I just wanted to answer the puzzle re: palm bt keyboards. They are just rebranded Freedom Input keyboards, although I got my Palm for substantially less than the Freedom Input version. And, yes they are HID.

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

Are you certain about that? They don't look as Freedom keyboards, on the other hand they look very much like Darfon G950 keyboards as someone else suggested..

Re: iGo discontinues Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard
 

They are both like the Darfon G950 (I suspect Darfon makes them, and Palm & Freedom Input are rebranded, but I'm guessing on this latter)


Take a look at the three:

Here is the current Palm bt keyboard (model #3245WW):
http://store.palm.com/product/index....entPage=family

Here is the Freedom Input Universal:
http://www.freedominput.com/site/ind...d=15&Itemid=96

Now, the Darfon G950:
http://www.darfon.com.tw/English/HID....asp?item=G950

The only real difference I can see is that the Palm version doesn't have the Windows key between the Fn & Alt keys on the bottom row, and a few other very minor cosmetic differences on key labels. You can also get the Freedom Input with slightly different keyboard layouts (QWERTZ, German, & Scandanavian). I don't know whether the Palm or Darfon versions are available in different configurations.

Now the new Freedom Input Slim Keypad is a whole different animal (maybe a platypus). Palm also has two other keyboards for sale: an infra-red (I think is an older stowaway model), and they still sell the ThinkOutside 4-row ultra slim keyboard under the ThinkOutside brand label rather than rebranded as a Palm. I suspect this latter is what you were thinking of. The post I was responding to said that the Palm they saw didn't look like a stowaway, which I took to mean that he/she was probably looking at the Palm branded bt keyboard (model #3245WW) rather than the ThinkOutside stowaway bt keyboard Palm still sells. How's that for confusing?