Kindle Fire HD + Amazon Bluetooth Keyboard

[Skydiver]

Just wanted to share some new learnings we got as my club goes fully electronic.

We were hoping to do all match registration straight into Practiscore running on a Kindle Fire HD. This was to avoid the song and dance of trying to export the registration from EzWinScore to the device and delaying the start of the match while that push happens. To make life easier for our registrar, we picked up the AmazonBasics Bluetooth Keyboard in the hopes that it would be easier typing on a real keyboard instead of the touch screen.

Unfortunately, the keyboard is relatively useless. Either the Kindle or the keyboard is really aggressive with its power saving so the connection between them keeps getting lost and the keyboard needs be "woken up" again when the next person needs to be entered. I haven't tried other Bluetooth keyboards yet to see if at least the need to wakeup the keyboard issue goes away.

Additionally, you can't use the keyboard to navigate the Practiscore UI by tabbing to the next field or using the up/down arrows to expand the comboboxes or make choices from the autocomplete popups. You basically have to take your hands off the keyboard and tap the screen to do any of those operations.

It's easier and less frustrating to do it all on the touchscreen as bad as that may sound.

[Graham Smith]

As far as I am aware, all pads have the same issue regarding navigation. The navigation interface is the touch screen. Period. No mouse. No arrow keys. No tabs. The one exception that I know of for sure is that Apple makes some mini-Office like apps for use on the iPad that do work with the arrow keys.

As to the keyboard losing it's connection. I rather suspect that there is some kind of setting that needs tweaking. But these are so new you may have a problem finding out what that is.

Welcome to the bleeding edge of technology.

[wgnoyes]

ipad's (or even iphone's) connection to a wireless bluetooth keyboard appears rock solid, and really speeds up direct registration into practiscore as far as typing names. If you fix your connection between keyboard and the KF, that will speed up registration, as well. But yes, you still have to touch the screen to select this, that, and the other. It's not a full-bore computer as much as you want to make it to be; it's a tablet, and your primary input device is the screen.

[Skydiver]

I just tried out the Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard 6000. It's working so much better than the Amazon keyboard. It doesn't seem to be as aggressive about going to sleep. Even when waking it up, it seems to find the device without any problems. At least now our registrar has an option.