FluidStasis

Last summer I decided to upgrade my aging G1 cell phone with a Nexux S. Upgrading was a long and treacherous decision, but I had finally compromised and accepted that I would have to sans physical keyboard and SDMicro card slot. It was more important to me to receive Android updates than a full qwerty keyboard. Admittedly, as a former G1 and Sidekick II owner, I had high standards that included a full 5 rows and formatting keys like ctrl and alt. Turns out that my intuition was right; a few months after buying my phone, I received a notification that ICS was ready to download and install. While I’m still not completely sold on the new menu layout, the increased usability has rocked. The newest feature I discovered is bluetooth support for wireless keyboards. I have an old Stowaway ThinkOustside keyboard that I bought with my Palm TX. I’ve used this keyboard with past phones (HTC/T-mobile SDA, Blackberry Pearl) and I was disappointed that it didn’t work with Android. On a whim, I pulled the keyboard out and tested it with ICS. The keyboard was recognized instantly and pairing was flawless. Later that week I tested the arrangement by using the pair for note taking during a computer architecture class. The keyboard and phone worked nearly flawlessly. I still have the same gripes that I have always had about this keyboard (mainly that it lacks a number row), but it has transformed note taking for me. I had previously attempted note taking with my netbook, but found that the battery discharged too quickly in my bag to be useful. The slower battery drain of my cell phone paired with the near-full sized keyboard was just the ticket to keep pace with professors fast moving slides. For those Android developers out there, thanks for supporting bluetooth keyboards!