Palmtop Portable IMPACT

Palmtop Portable IMPACT is the smallest and most affordable of our communication devices, yet it offers all of the features supported by its larger cousins. Weighing only 9 ounces, the Palmtop offers unparalleled convenience and portability. When installed in its sturdy nylon carrying case with external speaker (both included), it is ideally suited for mobile users. In addition, it can serve as an unobtrusive mounted device for users with limited mobility.

The hardware utilized for Palmtop Portable IMPACT is a portable computer (the Casio E100) running Microsoft's Windows CE operating system. Here are some technical specifications on the Palmtop:

Weight: 0.6 lbs
Size: 5.1" by 3.3" by 0.8"
Screen: Screen: 240 by 320 pixels, 65,000+ colors
Ports: Compact flash, infrared, serial, headphone
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion, 5-8 hour life (depending on usage)
Inputs: Touchscreen, scanning, rocker button
Peripherals: Docking cradle, AC power adapter, serial cable, carrying case, external speaker, speaker cable
Options: External switch box, Mayer Johnson Symbol Pack, External keyboard

Palmtop Portable IMPACT ships with 9 different pre-defined onscreen keyboards and 1 pre-defined symbol-based interface. Of course, with the built-in interface editor you can create your own symbol-based and phrase-based configurations right on the device. Below you'll find thumbnail pictures of each of the Palmtop interfaces. Just click on the picture to see a full-sized view of one of the configurations.

The Alpha configuration provides an alphabetically arranged keyboard that requires no memorization to use. The Alpha-List interface includes a 4 word prediction list to accelerate message production. A second page (on both) provides access to numbers and additional punctuation.

The Direct and Direct-List interfaces are designed to minimize stylus (or finger) movements. Letters that often occur together, like "er" and "th" are adjacent to one another. These interfaces require some learning at first, but offer substantial rewards in the long run.

The Scan, Scan-List, and Scan-Char configurations are optimized for scanning selection. More frequent characters are placed near the upper left corner so that they can be selected more quickly using row-column scanning. Unlike the Alpha and Direct interfaces, all the characters are located on a single page. The Scan-Char layout includes a character prediction list (shown to provide even greater efficiency than does word prediction).

The Ambig-Char and Ambig-Word interfaces have 3 characters on each button. Each time you select a button, Portable IMPACT tries to figure out which character you meant by looking at the earlier letters and words that you typed. When the system guesses incorrectly, you simply tell it to try another guess.

The Symbol-Base configuration is designed to serve as an example of the type of symbol-based interface that you can generate yourself using the built-in interface editor. Modify this interface or create your own from scratch!

Enkidu Research, Inc., 24 Howard Ave., Lockport, NY 14094. Tel: 800-297-9570; Fax: 716-433-6164.