10/10
I won’t argue with results. It works & I love it, but why does it work?

Even though it supports HID it is still transmitting it over #Bluetooth LE and should not be compatible with a Classic Bluetooth #PDA. Whats going on here?

Looking up only the second line from the chip give us a different Cypress data sheet that lists Bluetooth 3.0!

Does this #Keyboard have a 2 in 1 chip? Both Classic and BLE for ultimate compatibility?

https://mm.digikey.com/Volume0/opasdata/d220001/medias/docus/752/CYW20730_RevJ_4-25-17.pdf
#WindowsMobile #PocketPC #Palm

9/10
These keyboards have been manufactured for years under different names. It’s also used a variety of different #Bluetooth chips over the years.

Whatever chip we have here, we struck gold!

It appears we have a Cypress CYW20730 chip. The data sheet confirms it’s a 5.1 BLE chip that supports HID profile 1.1.

https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-CYW20730_Single_Chip_Bluetooth_Transceiver_for_Wireless_Input_Devices_Datasheet-AdditionalTechnicalInformation-v12_00-EN.pdf?fileId=8ac78c8c7d0d8da4017d0ee1f8da6825

8/10
I can’t believe it! Goal achieved.

The Arteck is a new easily obtainable & affordable #Keyboard. It connects to every persistent #WindowsMobile #PocketPC device that I tested! It’s driverless and the layout is almost perfect for it’s size. It’s also backlit!

I’m confused though. It’s #Bluetooth LE 5.1 and should not work with these Bluetooth Classic 1.2 and 2.0 devices. Whats going on here?

Lets crack it open and take a look.

7/10
Now the best for last! The Arteck HB030B #Bluetooth #Keyboard.

This is a cheap keyboard that you can still find new. It has a chiclet design, is backlit & doesn’t compromise much on the layout other than messing a bit with the Alt, Ctrl and Windows key button arrangement.

Amazingly this Bluetooth 5.1 keyboard connects to all of my iPaqs (111, 210, HX2495, HX2795b) & my #Dell Axim X51V using Passkey 1234!

6/10
This is the #Ipad Kensington Key Folio Pro K39357US.

This #Bluetooth chiclet #Keyboard is fantastic! It is sleek, responsive and feels modern. It also has a decent layout and doesn’t forget the right shift key like the previous Key Folio.

Once again it effortlessly connected to all of my iPaqs (111, 210, HX2495, HX2795b) and surprisingly also connected to my #Dell Axim X51V using Passkey 1234!

5/10
Next up is the #Ipad Kensington Key Folio K39294.

It’s a #Bluetooth 2.0 spill proof rubber covered #Keyboard that drove me crazy due to the right shift key being absent. LOL.

It’s connectivity was identical to the Freedom Pro. It easily connected to all of my iPaqs (111, 210, HX2495, HX2795b) and unfortunately refused to connect to any of my #Dell Axim X50 and X51 series.

4/10
First up is the Freedom Pro #Bluetooth #Keyboard.

This keyboard folds in half and has a slide out removable stand for your #PDA.

I didn’t like it. It was probably decent for the time but we can do much better these days.

Regardless, it easily connected to all of my iPaqs (111, 210, HX2495, HX2795b) and unfortunately refused to connect to any of my #Dell Axim X50 and X51 series.

3/10
It was already going to take some luck to get great compatibility with a random #Keyboard but I also had another goal; the #Bluetooth keyboard needed to run under the HID profile so no driver installation would be necessary.

The dream is to get a new keyboard, connect over Bluetooth and just start typing!

I began researching and securing a variety of keyboards to try & focused my testing on persistent #WindowsMobile 5.0+ devices

2/10
Unfortunately after talking with people & reading up on the #Bluetooth protocol I learned that Bluetooth Classic (1, 2, & 3) is not compatible with the current Bluetooth LE (4, 5, etc.). I had no idea!

A new keyboard seemed doubtful and everyone I talked to suggested buying an old expensive #PocketPC or #PDA #Keyboard but then I got a great suggestion; get an old #Ipad keyboard.

Those are plentiful and cheap!

@goblingua

I once found a fun geocache. The guy had broken into a public lamppost and hooked a cheap #cellphone up to the power wire, then replaced the lamppost cover. You got the coordinates for the lamppost. The phone broadcast a #bluetooth access point named with the coordinates of the cache!