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!
1/10
Those who have followed me for a while know my obsession with #RetroTech. After my #Palm TX bit the dust, I took the opportunity to jump into the world of #PocketPC.
I wrote several tutorials in the past and recently turned my focused to finding a new #Bluetooth #Keyboard that would be compatible with them. There were some made back when these devices were new but there had to be a better, current solution.
Can't believe I was working on that thing since Mai 2024... Anyway, finished the restoration today. 
On the bottom part, I had to scrape off all the sticky rubber coating - which took ages.
Happy to report that it still works after re-assembling, had no screws or other parts left, and the stickyness is all gone. 
Sadly, while the EL backlight looks cool, there's pretty much nothing you can do with Windows CE 1.0. There was a ROM upgrade for CE 2.0 available, but finding that is impossible today...
Lately I have been playing around with #IrDA due to my current #PocketPC #Palm and #PDA obsession.
It's so cool doing wireless file transfers between devices. It's like pre-Bluetooth.
Is there ANY way to get IrDA working on a current #Windows 10 or 11 PC with a USB IrDA dongel?
I have heard conflicting info on this. I want to say the answer is no but then projects like Irdroid muddy the waters for me.
I'm reminded back in the day this was shortened to "wince". And it made us wonder who was running MSFT marketing.
________
#windows
#microsoft
#MSFT
#WindowsCE
With the top part done, I'm going to work on the bottom part of the shell today. Removed all the attached sliders, springs, etc. already, but the process will still be much more complicated. Lots of grooves, curvy sections and edges. Not sure if it will turn out as good as the top part.
After not having had any time to do something retro-related over the last few weeks, I now started a new project to restore a Philips Velo 1, a 1997 pocket PC running Windows CE 1.0.
Of course, it is finished with that (now sticky) rubber coating...
I'm trying to save it by cleaning and applying a clear coating. If that does not work, the rubber coating needs to come off and I will spray it dark blue using Vinyl Dye instead.
Windows CE reaches end of support (but it’s not exactly dead yet) #HandheldPc, #Micrososft, #WindowsCe, #WindowsCompactEmbedded, #WindowsEmbeddedCe
https://liliputing.com/windows-ce-reaches-end-of-support-but-its-not-exactly-dead-yet/
Good news, no more WinCE-ing!
Ars Technica: Windows CE, Microsoft's stunted middle child, reaches end of support at 26 years
Windows CE, Microsoft’s stunted middle child, reaches end of support at 26 years - Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)
It was a proto-... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1979685 #windowsceendofsupport #microsoftwindowsce #windowsmobile #windowsphone #microsoft #windowsce #biz #tech
If you are curious about the specs, it is running Windows CE 1.0 and has 4 MB of RAM and a Hitachi SH3 processor. You have to divvy up the memory between storage and program memory 
How about this for some "retro" tech? I just found my old Compaq clamshell PDA that I got when I was working as an ISP call center support tech.
The batteries that were still in the unit were Rayovac rechargeable alkalines that didn't leak (thankfully). I replaced those with IKEA rechargeables and a known-good CR2032 coin cell battery.
It's back at factory default because of the lack of NAND storage outside of any cards that you slap in. The screen is faded and barely readable even with the now faded screen lighting.
