The new Camangi Webstation software is much, much better than it used to be. It is faster and definitely more stable (though it does have some issues with coma-mode if left unused for a long period.)
Anyhow, I couldn’t let Judie, Dan, Larry and the other Gear Diary members with iPads have ALL the fun…so I decided to write this post entirely on the Camangi Webstation. I downloaded the WordPress app for Android, and I’m banging away nicely on a full-size USB keyboard. It looks a bit silly, admittedly, but it’s working remarkably well. There is no lag between typing the words and their appearance on the Webstation, and surprisingly the WordPress app is very responsive.
With the increased internet browsing speed after the update, it was easy to upload the test draft, and even opening posts on the web-based WordPress management site is do-able. A bit slower than on my Droid, but the flip side is that there’s far less zooming and panning needed.
As far as navigation, the arrow keys and the enter button work well as a pretend D-Pad, and theoretically I could use this setup without ever touching the Webstation’s screen. It would be an exercise in frustration for an extended period, but the fact that it could be done at all is pretty incredible.
In the interests of not “cheating”, I used my Droid to snap a shot of this setup in action, so even the one non-Webstation aspect of this post was still done with Android.
As of now, this doesn’t really change my view of the Webstation as an ebook reader first, good fallback web browser second, but the next time my netbook takes a bath it’s good to know I can whip up a temporary replacement!
Now, does anyone have a good suggestion on a compact USB keyboard? I’d feel pretty silly lugging a full size one around to control a 7-inch screen…