4. Suggested Improvements

The design of this unit is high quality and the technology shows great promise but certain modifications could expand the device beyond the realm of a simple "bling." A few salient points:

Light box projection should be directly integrated into the PDA/phone design, which I’ve heard is under development. Accuracy must be drastically improved or some sort of automatic error correction must be added. There are too many phantom keys/misses even after playing around with sensitivity settings. Error rates could be somewhat related to human error/training as evinced in point three. There should be some way to deploy index keys so those typing with traditional methods will have a "home spot" to return to. "Hard" index keys may also serve to provide greater accuracy/key detection.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, the unit is smaller than a foldable keyboard but is about the same size as the thumb board included with my 6315. I found I could type faster and with far fewer errors using my thumb board due in part to its physical presentation/hard feedback. Both foldable and thumb board offer tactile feedback; I tried emulating the "hard sense" of "F" and "J" index keys by putting some tape points down under the VKB’s projection. Trying to type anything with accuracy and without having to go back and proof/correct errors remained unviable. If you use the "hunt-and-peck" system of typing instead of a "Mavis Beacon" standard QWERTY mount, you’re much better off. But if you have to modify your typing style, you’re not getting the full benefit of a keyboard and are losing practice time for when you go back to a traditional 101/104.

To be fair, typing did improve after using the keyboard for a time but in our opinion, it wasn’t worth the effort.

Author’s Opinion

I-Tech’s VKB is a neat little device and runs big on the "wow/impress your friends factor." But when it comes down to the nitty gritty of transcribing notes, I’ll stick to a Belkin foldable or, God forbid, a thumb board instead of relaying on the VKB. I have a difficult time justifying the purchase of the unit at its retail price of $179.99.