GW Micro - Small-Talk Ultra - Documentation

Introducing the Small-Talk Ultra 02 from GW Micro, Inc.

The Small-Talk Ultra 02 literally puts the power of a laptop in the palm of your hands. It comes standard with a complete copy of Window-Eyes allowing you to take the accessibility and power offered to you by Window-Eyes wherever you go. Whether you want to take notes in class, listen to music, use high-powered applications at work, surf the web, or anything else you can do with Windows XP or Windows Vista combined with Window-Eyes, the Small-Talk Ultra 02 is right there with you every step of the way.

The Small-Talk Ultra 02 contains a s GHz processor, 120 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, a user detachable lithium polymer battery, a custom carrying case, built-in 58 key thumb keyboard, USB 88-key keyboard, optional docking station with built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, a built-in speaker, microphone, WiFi, and Bluetooth. With this amount of power and connectivity, the Small-Talk Ultra 02 can do virtually anything that a laptop or desktop computer can do.

Package Contents

• Small-Talk Ultra 02 Unit
• Custom Designed Carrying Case
• Power Supply
• Ear Buds
• Battery (already attached to the unit)
• USB Keyboard

Product Description

When the Small-Talk Ultra 02 is placed in front of you on a flat surface, you should place the unit so the screen is oriented up. This will be referred to as the top panel. The Small-Talk Ultra 02 is 5.6 inches long, 3.3 inches wide, and 1.0 inches thin, and weighs under 1 pound with a standard battery. On the side facing up, there is a 5-inch flat screen color display that is readable both indoors and outdoors. The Small-Talk Ultra 02 can even be used by low vision consumers, which is why it still contains a screen and the functions related to it. The screen can slide up toward the rear panel of the unit exposing a small QWERTY keyboard (which was just referred to) and a thumb mouse. The Small-Talk Ultra 02 also comes equipped with a small, portable USB QWERTY keyboard that can go anywhere the Small-Talk Ultra 02 can go. This way, you can keep the screen slid down, and still be able to use the device.

Moving your hand toward the front panel, and down to the right, you will feel a USB 2.0 port. Continuing along to the left on the front panel, you will feel four different tactile areas, three ports, and a vent. The port to the left of the USB port is used to connect the AC adapter to the Small-Talk Ultra 02. You can connect the AC adapter to an electrical outlet to charge the battery or to simply use the Small-Talk Ultra 02 without the battery. The VGA/Ethernet adapter can also be plugged into this port, which will be discussed later. To the left of the AC adapter port, you will feel several small holes and a long rectangular groove, which is used for venting. Continuing to the left is the HDMI port, which can be used to connect the Small-Talk Ultra 02 to a computer monitor supporting HDMI. You must have an HDMI cable (not included) to connect the Small-Talk Ultra 02 to an HDMI monitor. To the left of the HDMI port is the built-in microphone, and to the left of the built-in microphone is the 3.5mm audio jack.

If you move your hand around to the left panel, toward the front of the unit, you will find the power button, which is used to turn on the unit. Continuing toward the top panel, you will feel a small hole, which is the Universal Security Slot that can be used to lock the Small-Talk Ultra 02 to prevent theft of the device. Standard laptop security cables can be purchased from your local consumer electronics store to secure the device. Above the security slot is the Battery Release button. Pressing this button will release the battery from the bottom panel. Toward the top of the left panel is a smooth surface, which is the WiFi antenna.

Moving on around to the rear panel, you will feel the built-in speaker/vent.

On the right panel, you will feel another smooth area, which is an additional WiFi antenna. If you purchased the EV-DO option, the WWAN antenna will be located here. Toward the front of the unit on the right panel, you will find another vent.

The battery takes up the entire bottom panel. Toward the top part of the unit on the right side, you will feel a button on the bottom panel. A sighted consumer can press this button to activate the battery fuel gauge. If the battery is almost completely charged, all of the lights will turn on for a few seconds when the button is pressed.

The VGA/Ethernet adapter that was mentioned earlier provides you with extra connectivity. By connecting the adapter to the AC adapter port, you will have three ports: an AC adapter port on the left, a VGA port in the middle, and an Ethernet port on the right. The cable connects to the AC adapter port. You will feel a small rectangular box where it plugs in. There will be a cable just a few inches long to a slightly larger box shape, which contains the three ports on the bottom. The primary purpose of the cable would most likely be to either connect your Small-Talk Ultra 02 to a computer monitor or if your network requires an Internet connection. You may choose to leave this cable connected to your equipment at home, and connect the Small-Talk Ultra 02 to the cable when needed.

Docking Station (optional)

The optional docking station provides you with extra connectivity. Its primary use might be when you are at your desk, and do not want to have to reconnect every wire that you have. The Small-Talk Ultra 02 allows you to keep these ports connected to your devices that are not portable, so you only have to connect the docking station, instead of multiple cables each time you come back to your desk.

The docking station includes 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, audio, and power connector. Depending on which docking station you purchased, it will include either a CD±RW/DVD-ROM drive or a dual layer optical drive (DVD±RW/RAM) drive. Both models include a HDMI-DVI adapter.

Feeling along the front panel of the docking station, you will feel a very long rectangular hole. This is where you can either insert DVDs or CDs. Toward the left of the front panel below the long rectangular hole is a much small rectangular button. You may need to use your fingernail to press the button, as it is even with the molding of the case of the docking station. Pressing this button will eject the media from the DVD/CD slot. To the far right of the front panel toward the bottom panel is one of the USB ports.

Moving your hand to the right panel, you will feel a U-shaped bar toward the rear panel called the adjustable arm. Pull up on adjustable arm to rotate it 90 degrees from its current location. Then, feel along the adjustable bar until you feel a long horizontal bar. This horizontal bar is called the cradle. In this position, the cradle will have two thin bars pointed down. Place the docking station on a solid, level surface. Then, place your right hand on the main portion of the docking station. Using your left hand, grab the small, thin bar on the left, and use it to rotate the cradle 180 degrees toward the front panel until the small thin bars on the cradle are pointed straight up. The two thin bars should now be pointed straight up as mentioned, and you should feel two ports along the top of the cradle. This is used to attach the main unit of the Small-Talk Ultra 02 to the docking station. To attach the unit, place the main unit between the two thin bars with the bottom panel of the main unit facing down. The main unit should fit firmly into place.

With the cradle now above the unit, the ports on the rear panel are exposed. From left to right along the rear panel are the following ports: HDMI, VGA, audio jack, Ethernet, 2 USB ports, and a power connector.

After feeling these ports, you can continue moving your hand around to the left panel to find the security slot. As aforementioned, your local consumer electronics store offers standard security locks for laptops, which can be used to lock the docking station.

Carrying Case Description

The Small-Talk Ultra 02 carrying case is custom designed, consisting of two compartments: a main compartment that holds the Small-Talk Ultra 02 unit and USB keyboard, and a smaller compartment that holds Small-Talk Ultra 02 accessories (such as the docking cable, and the AC power adapter or other personal computing accessories such as USB/Flash drives, and software media).

When opened, the main compartment expands into two distinct sections. The top section, or section immediately opposite the outside compartment, contains a perforated pouch on the left side, and four Velcro straps and felt screen cover on the right side. The perforated pouch holds the excess USB keyboard cable when connected to the USB port on the Small-Talk Ultra 02, and is sealed with a Velcro strip. The Velcro straps and felt screen cover are designed to secure and protect the Small-Talk Ultra 02.

The bottom section of the main compartment contains the USB keyboard. The USB keyboard is held in place by two straps: a stationary cloth strap at the base of the keyboard, and an elastic stop at the top. Additional support can be found underneath the USB keyboard, where two Velcro pads are used to fasten the keyboard in place.

To remove the Small-Talk Ultra 02, unhook the Velcro straps from the felt screen cover, and unplug the USB keyboard. To secure the Small-Talk Ultra 02, place the felt screen cover on top of the Small-Talk Ultra 02 screen, and attach each Velcro strap one at a time to the felt screen cover. When the Small-Talk Ultra 02 is secured, plug in the USB keyboard.

To remove the USB keyboard, release the elastic band from the top, and gently pull the keyboard out of the stationary cloth strap, in the direction of the Small-Talk Ultra 02 unit (For added protection the USB keyboard is attached to the bottom of the case with two Velcro pads). To replace the USB keyboard, insert the bottom of the keyboard into the stationary strap, and restrain the top of the keyboard with the elastic band, ensuring that all four corners of the keyboard reside inside the case compartment, and that none of the keys are restricted by either the cloth strap, or elastic band.

Thumb Keyboard Layout

The thumb keyboard, located beneath the movable screen, consists of two main sections, separated by a small, round mouse pointer. To the right of the mouse pointer, you'll find a number pad. Unlike standard keyboard number pads, the thumb keyboard number pad is laid out like a telephone keypad. The top row, moving left to right, contains 1, 2, and 3. The next row contains 4, 5, and 6. The third row contains 7, 8, and 9. The final row contains dash (or underline when used in conjunction with the Shift key), 0, and equal (or plus when used in conjunction with the Shift key). Each of the number pad keys also function as a Function key when used in conjunction with the Fn key (described below). Each number on the number pad, when used with the Fn key, performs the associated function key. In other words, pressing the Fn key, followed by the number 1 key will perform F1. Pressing the Fn key, followed by the number 2 key will perform F2, and so on. The only function keys that differ from their corresponding number keys are those of the last row of the number pad. Pressing the Fn key, followed by the dash key will perform F10. Pressing the Fn key, followed by the 0 key will perform F11. Pressing the Fn key, followed by the equal key will perform F12.

To the left of the mouse pointer, you'll find all the letters of the alphabet, modifier keys such as Shift, Ctrl, Alt, etc., left and right mouse click keys, and several embedded keys. Embedded keys are used to bind additional keystrokes to existing keys when used with the Fn key (also referred to as the function key, although not to be confused with the Function keys located on the number pad). For example, if you press the letter Q, you'll type the letter Q. If you press the Fn key, followed by the letter Q, you'll type an exclamation mark. Embedded keys allow you to have access to all of the keys found on a standard 101 key keyboard without requiring all of the keys to physically exist.

Starting on the left hand side of the thumb keyboard, you'll notice one column of two keys, each spanning two rows of the keys to the right. The top key is the mouse left click key. The bottom key is the mouse right click key. To the right of the mouse click keys, there are four rows of keys. The top row, moving left to right, contains ESC, Q, W, E, R, T, Y, U, I, O, P, single quote (or apostrophe), and Backspace. The second row from the top, moving left to right, contains TAB, A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, and semi-colon. The third row from the top, moving left to right, contains Shift, Z, X, C, V, B, N, M, Comma, Up Arrow, and period. The bottom row, moving left to right, contains Decrease Magnification (disabled when running Window-Eyes), Increase Magnification (disabled when running Window-Eyes), Fn, Ctrl, Alt, Forward Slash, Space, Left Arrow, Down Arrow, Right Arrow, and Enter.

The Fn key, mentioned previously, can also be used in conjunction with many of the letter keys to perform the following keystrokes: Fn-Q = exclamation mark, Fn-W = at sign, Fn-E = pound sign, Fn-R = dollar sign, Fn-T = percent sign, Fn-Y = caret, Fn-U = ampersand, Fn-I = star, Fn-O = left parenthesis, Fn-P = right parenthesis, Fn-Backspace = delete, Fn-A = left brace, Fn-S = right brace, Fn-D = bar, Fn-F = nothing, Fn-G = grave accent, Fn-H = tilde, Fn-L = nothing, Fn-colon= rotate, Fn-quote = Turns on keyboard light, Fn-Up Arrow = Page Up, Fn-comma = mute, Fn-period = video, Fn-space = nothing, Fn-Left Arrow = home, Fn-Down Arrow = Page Down, Fn-Right Arrow = end, and Fn-Enter = insert, Fn-ESC = Ctrl-Alt-Del shortcut, Fn-Tab = Print Screen, Fn-Z = Left Bracket, Fn-X = Right Bracket, Fn-C = Backslash, Fn-V = nothing, Fn-B = brightness down, Fn-N = brightness up, Fn-M = show/hide Desktop, Fn-/ = launch wireless dashboard

Understanding the Thumb Keyboard Sticky Keys

In an effort to make complex keystrokes easily accessible with the small thumb keyboard keys, the Shift, Fn, Ctrl, and Alt keys are sticky. Sticky keys allow modifier keys to remain engaged without having to keep the key held down. In other words, instead of pressing, and holding down the Ctrl, Shift, and R keys to perform a Window-Eyes Read to End command, simply press and release the Ctrl key, press and release the Shift key, and then tap the R key. Although the use of sticky keys makes performing complex keystrokes easier on the thumb keyboard, they do have their drawbacks. For example, to use the default Time and Date hotkey (INS-T by default), you have to press Fn-Enter to perform the Insert, followed by T. The problem, however, is that the Insert command itself is not sticky, and when followed by the letter T will simply announce, "T." You might think that simply holding down the Fn key, while simultaneously pressing the space bar, and letter T would resolve the problem. The Fn-T key combination, however, is designed to echo the percent sign. There are multiple solutions to this problem:

1. Redefine the Date and Time hot key in Window-Eyes.
2. Use the USB keyboard for more complex keystrokes involving modifier keys.

USB Keyboard Layout

The USB keyboard is much like a standard 101 key keyboard in that it contains all of the keys you would normally expect to find on a keyboard, including a number pad (which is embedded within the letter keys, and access with the Fn key).

The top row, moving left to right, contains ESC, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, Num Lock, Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break. The second row from the top, moving left to right, contains 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, dash, plus, backspace, and home. The third row from the top, moving left to right, contains TAB, Q, W, E, R, T, Y, U, I, O, P, Left Bracket, Right Bracket, Backslash, and Page Up. The fourth row from the top, moving left to right, contains Caps Lock, A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, Semi-Colon, Single Quote (or Apostrophe), Enter, and Page Down. The fifth row from the top, moving left to right, contains Shift, Z, X, C, V, B, N, M, Comma, Period, Forward Slash, Shift, Up Arrow, and End. The bottom row, moving left to right, contains, Ctrl, Fn, Windows, Alt, Tilde, Space, Alt, Windows, Context, Insert, Delete, Left Arrow, Down Arrow, and Right Arrow.

When the num lock is off, the embedded number pad is accessible using the Function Key (Fn) in conjunction with the following keys: Fn-7 = Home, Fn-8 = Up Arrow, Fn-9 = Page Up, Fn-4 = Left Arrow, Fn-5 = Center, Fn-6 = Right Arrow, Fn-P = Dash, Fn-1 = End, Fn-2 = Down Arrow, Fn-3 = Page Down, Fn-Colon = Plus, Fn-0 = Insert, Fn-Period = Delete, and Fn-Question = Slash.

Changing the Battery

The steps to remove and replace a Small-Talk Ultra 02 battery are the same, regardless of whether you're replacing the single capacity battery with a dual capacity battery, or simply replacing a depleted battery with a fully charged battery.

The Small-Talk Ultra 02 battery is locked in place by a single button, located toward the middle of the left panel (or just above the security lock hole) when the screen is facing you. To release the battery, position the Small-Talk Ultra 02 so that the battery release button is pointing upward. Hold the unit securely with your left hand, and press the battery release button with your right. When the battery is released, it will become disengaged at the top of the unit. Slowly remove the battery.

Hot Key Conflicts

The Small-Talk Ultra 02 takes over the typical Window-Eyes keyboard commands of Ctrl-Alt-Left and Right Arrow. Press Ctrl-Alt-Right Arrow repeatedly to increase the volume on the unit, and Ctrl-Alt-Left Arrow to decrease the volume. These keys are used to adjust the main volume. To change the various voices in Window-Eyes and/or Window-Eyes volume, you will need to redefine the Window-Eyes keys to something other than Ctrl-Alt-Left or Right Arrow. For more information, please refer to the Window-Eyes manual, or contact our technical support department.

Small-Talk Ultra 02 specifications and documentation may change without prior notice. Your Small-Talk Ultra 02 may vary slightly from the description in this document. If you have any technical questions concerning your Small-Talk Ultra 02 please contact support@gwmicro.com or call 260-489-3671.

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