[UPDATED] HOW TO: Replace/Repair the hardware keyboard of your Motorola Droid / Milestone

EDIT: Awesome Sergio Mooh was so kind to translate it to espaniol :D -> go HERE!

Hey guys, long time no hear!

Since I can't sleep, because I'm worried about my friends in Japan and can't sleep, I decided to put together a little tutorial on how to replace your hardware keyboard of your Motorola Droid or Milestone.

As we all know, these things are not built to last forever (yeah, still waiting for Godot... uhm Froyo here) Software wise, but also the hardware likes to show it's weaknesses over time. My personal nemesis is the hardware keyboard... As I'm a bit of a bulk-email-on-the-go-typer, my keyboard (the rubber-bubble-plastic-thingie) showed "slight" signs of exhaustion...

crap.

As you can see, I've got the terrible bubble-version and I bet, it is the most awful variant ever. Yeah, you can better distinguish the keys from each other, but you also "shift" the keyboard around while typing and when the phone gets warm due to high usage, the glue softens and you get these wrinkles in the keyboard. It is not pretty but the worst thing is the "sucking" sound you hear each time you push a button. Annoying as hell...

EDIT: Awesome Sergio Mooh was so kind to translate it to espaniol :D -> go HERE!

Hey guys, long time no hear!

Since I can't sleep, because I'm worried about my friends in Japan and can't sleep, I decided to put together a little tutorial on how to replace your hardware keyboard of your Motorola Droid or Milestone.

As we all know, these things are not built to last forever (yeah, still waiting for Godot... uhm Froyo here) Software wise, but also the hardware likes to show it's weaknesses over time. My personal nemesis is the hardware keyboard... As I'm a bit of a bulk-email-on-the-go-typer, my keyboard (the rubber-bubble-plastic-thingie) showed "slight" signs of exhaustion...

crap.

As you can see, I've got the terrible bubble-version and I bet, it is the most awful variant ever. Yeah, you can better distinguish the keys from each other, but you also "shift" the keyboard around while typing and when the phone gets warm due to high usage, the glue softens and you get these wrinkles in the keyboard. It is not pretty but the worst thing is the "sucking" sound you hear each time you push a button. Annoying as hell...

[UPDATED] HOW TO: Replace/Repair the hardware keyboard of your Motorola Droid / Milestone

One or two things about keyboards. [Part 2]

Finally. After quite a while of testing, I will now reveal the ultimate slim coder-keyboard. Guess what. It is cheap, it is slim and it is from a quite unknown German company.

Perixx Periboard 407

I've never used a better keyboard in my whole life. Yeah, it isn't wireless and you can tell that the prints on the keys might come off soon (the print feels quite cheap) but typing is like heaven on this baby!
The keys are similar to those on a Sony Vaio VPCF1, but way softer while typing... and int isn't so hard on the joints over time. The keyboard is pretty standard... Full QWERTZ/Y, got a function key for the multimedia keys... I also love the distance between the keys, it makes it easy to type, even if you are a little... "unprecise" while typing. You can't adjust the angle, but it feels quite perfect for typing.
Only downside is the fact that the numlock Turns on, every time the computer boots up, so the integrated numpad (UIOJKLM) will screw up your attempts to login if you don't pay attention. I got this baby for about 12€/16$ (you can order it here from conrad, but it is a German store)
It is available in white and black and it looks awesome too! (but it will collect smudge... at least the black one is in piano-gloss... but that is something that I accept without a second thought)
Best coding/hacking-keyboard ever!

Perixx Periboard 402

The other one I tested but didn't like that much was the Perixx Periboard 402. It has some advantages over the 407, but also some disadvantages...
On the pro-side there we have two USB-Ports on the left and right side of the keyboard, which are very handy if you need to plug in a memory-stick or something else you don't want to crawl around under your desk for. It is also great if you have one of these small wireless dongles for Mice that don't use this bluetooth hocus-pocus. The multimedia/function keys are separately and not integrated into the F-Keys, so you don't have to fiddle around with pressing the wrong buttons etc.
The downside: It feels like rubber... you type on it like it's rubber. Probably it is rubber too... The plastic doesn't feel that great... it constantly gives you this "semi-sticky" feeling... it is kinda... eww.
But the price is quite unbeatable (15€/20$ at conrad) and you can adjust the angle of the keyboard too. You'd have to try it to know if it's right for you.

check out the Perixx (wired mini) product line [here]

Finally. After quite a while of testing, I will now reveal the ultimate slim coder-keyboard. Guess what. It is cheap, it is slim and it is from a quite unknown German company.

Perixx Periboard 407

I've never used a better keyboard in my whole life. Yeah, it isn't wireless and you can tell that the prints on the keys might come off soon (the print feels quite cheap) but typing is like heaven on this baby!
The keys are similar to those on a Sony Vaio VPCF1, but way softer while typing... and int isn't so hard on the joints over time. The keyboard is pretty standard... Full QWERTZ/Y, got a function key for the multimedia keys... I also love the distance between the keys, it makes it easy to type, even if you are a little... "unprecise" while typing. You can't adjust the angle, but it feels quite perfect for typing.
Only downside is the fact that the numlock Turns on, every time the computer boots up, so the integrated numpad (UIOJKLM) will screw up your attempts to login if you don't pay attention. I got this baby for about 12€/16$ (you can order it here from conrad, but it is a German store)
It is available in white and black and it looks awesome too! (but it will collect smudge... at least the black one is in piano-gloss... but that is something that I accept without a second thought)
Best coding/hacking-keyboard ever!

Perixx Periboard 402

The other one I tested but didn't like that much was the Perixx Periboard 402. It has some advantages over the 407, but also some disadvantages...
On the pro-side there we have two USB-Ports on the left and right side of the keyboard, which are very handy if you need to plug in a memory-stick or something else you don't want to crawl around under your desk for. It is also great if you have one of these small wireless dongles for Mice that don't use this bluetooth hocus-pocus. The multimedia/function keys are separately and not integrated into the F-Keys, so you don't have to fiddle around with pressing the wrong buttons etc.
The downside: It feels like rubber... you type on it like it's rubber. Probably it is rubber too... The plastic doesn't feel that great... it constantly gives you this "semi-sticky" feeling... it is kinda... eww.
But the price is quite unbeatable (15€/20$ at conrad) and you can adjust the angle of the keyboard too. You'd have to try it to know if it's right for you.

check out the Perixx (wired mini) product line [here]

One or two things about keyboards. [Part 2]