If you have a table, this keyboard is really fine. But without a table…
The Nokia SU-8W keyboard has been here for several months now. It wasn’t much fun to use with the Nokia 770 internet tablet’s original operating system, which back then required inofficial drivers, but the Nokia N800′s OS supports this keyboard by default. Pairing is easy, yet a little confusing with the N800 sometimes, and typing in applications is straightforward. The keys have a very good feel and yes, you can comfortably touchtype with it. It has an integrated folding stand that is designed for cell phones which can hold the N800, as well.
The SU-8W runs forever on one set of 2 x AAA batteries and a reason other than its low power drain might be that I hardly ever use it. Let me explain why.
Originally I expected to use this keyboard for extensive typing while on the go. But Maemo isn’t made for keyboard use (if it is, this user didn’t see the clues needed to learn it), so the N800 needs to be in touch distance since you have to use the pen or a finger for GUI interaction every now and then.
The SU-8W folds in the middle. There is no lock, so if you try to quickly type a longer note while on the subway and just whip out the keyboard to write it down, this is the result:
It’s no fun to use the SU-8W on the subway in a hurry.
Obviously, you can’t use the N800 with the keyboard while walking or standing. An absurd situation resulted when I once needed to send an important long message by email while at the train station. So I sat down cross-legged on the concrete floor, put the N800 on the floor in front of me, put a book on my lap and the keyboard on the book. That worked, but definitely wasn’t comfortable.
Oh no, an FN-key, designed to drive me mad!
The keys have the near-perfect size for touchtyping, but the SU-8W has only three rows of keys, with the fourth row of numbers accessible through a green FN-key, which is inexplicably designed to act similar to caps-lock instead of shift.
You can pair the SU-8W with PCs (it works with the Everun). But the German SU-8W keyboard has non-standard label locations for some special characters such as @ or ß, so that you won’t easily find those while using XP. My wife called her attempt of writing a short email with that setup a “maddening experience” and I still haven’t gotten used to the the FN-key function, either.
That fourth row of keys is missing. There would have been enough space for a fourth row with non-square keys and the keys still would have been big enough. (Then again, having touchtyped on a Libretto 50ct, I may be more tolerant than others when it comes to key size.)
Hi,
nice review! It would be even nicer if they had included a lock for the keyboard though.
- I just got myself one of the new Apple Wireless keyboards, which works perfectly with the N800 (except for the key mappings – how do I change the mappings in the N800 for HW keyboard… ne1?
). The keyboard is light/small enough to be thrown in the suitcase on travels yet still solid enough for heavy coding (which I doubt the SU-8W will ever be 
).
- Lars
How is the electrical connection made between the halves of the keyboard?
I ask because I had (note the verb tense) a Stowaway keyboard, but it died when the flex cable connecting the two halves failed – and the “cable” was nothing more than an extension of the keyboard circuit “board” itself, so there was no way to fix it. I now have a very expensive paperweight.
Begin rant:
“Flex” cables are not really designed to flex continually. They are designed to flex ONCE, during device assembly. Any flexing after that is at your own risk, ESPECIALLY if the radius of the curve is not very carefully controlled.
End rant:
I’ve been trying to find a store somewhere here in the middle of the US that carries the Nokia keyboard, so that I can evaluate it myself.
@David:
“How is the electrical connection made between the halves of the keyboard?”
I have no idea. Looks pretty solid to me, but I didn’t open the case to have a look.
I tell you what David, You are right. It has a cable that got busted for me.
Yeah, its an interesting device, but my keyboard stopped behaving 2 weeks after I purchased it. The left half of the keyboard is not working now. I took it to local nokia repairs but they dont know heck about the keyboards. All they know are the handsets and their repair. I believe thats a big negative about the device.
By the way, if anyone of you have one of this broken keyboard, I may need some parts from you (possibly a cable) so that my half of the keyboard starts working.
Indeed, the SU-8W is a very nice companion for the N800. I’ve used this setup a lot, as it makes it a lot faster to chat and code (once you’ve gotten used to the funny Fn-key). It’s also possible to use it on one lap at a time (as opposed to laying it across both of your laps), though it’s a bit of a balancing act. The N800 has keyboard shortcuts for most tasks, so you actually rarely need to tap the display.
Unfortunately my SU-8W has stopped behaving properly. Sometimes the keys along the left side of the fold just don’t work. And just now, the combined Tab-and-Escape button has stopped working, robbing me of my much-needed tab completion, not to mention my command-mode in vim!
I suppose a non-folding keyboard would be more sturdy in the long run. Maybe a Frogpad would work? 
When I bought the Nokia SU-8W keyboard I was so happy. But this happines ended very soon. First of all there is no fixator in the keyboard and it is very inconvenient.
Then after about 2 month of rare use, I noticed that some keys on a left side of the keyboard do not work at all. My conclusion this keyboard is piece of crap. Do not buy!