In a 'Top 10' list of how stupid you can look on a train when surrounding yourself with technology, typing away at a portable keyboard while squinting at a PDA crudely propped up by a plastic support must come somewhere near the top. However, if you absolutely must reply to a dozen or so e-mails on the way to work, you could reasonably argue that it saves you time and is therefore worthwhile.

The reason people are prepared to risk their credibility with such devices is because they fulfil their primary purpose of being easier to use than the keypad on the handheld. G-tech's fabric keyboard adds that much more portability to the equation.

The portable fabric design does add a degree of convenience. It connects via Bluetooth and is compatible with Smartphones and PDAs using Symbian S60 v2.0 and 2.1, Symbian UIQ v2.0 and 2.1 and Windows Mobile 2003.

Setup depends on your handheld, but generally involves installing a small application which is run before the keyboard can connect. It's your typical Bluetooth pairing situation and works fairly well, although we did notice a few typical glitches during operation.

After a short calibration routine you're up and running, meaning that any applications that require text input, such as using a mobile word processor, writing a text message or browsing the Internet, are now controlled via the keyboard. You have a limited set of options here to adjust sensitivity; these include key repeat rate and key delay rate, along with auto connect and disconnect timings.

Using the keyboard in a real world environment left us with a mixed reaction. Being made out of fabric and therefore very pliable you'll need to make sure you're working from a totally flat surface, so a tabletop of some description is a must. Even then, and even at the highest sensitivity level, you need to give the keys a fair old prod for the software to recognise the selection.

This slows things down quite a lot, particularly for those who can touch-type, and the flat design isn't nearly as effective as feeling the reassuring depression of the correct key on a standard keyboard. People who are particularly slow at operating a phone's numeric keypad might find that the G-tech makes them more productive, but then it's unlikely that many would find the need to invest. If you've mastered predictive text input you'll probably still find this quicker.

The G-tech is certainly handy in terms of portability: the fabric surface wraps neatly around the battery compartment and into the carry pouch provided, but the drawbacks of the device make it difficult to promote it as an all-round solution.

The fabric keyboard is an interesting idea and it's certainly very portable, but in practice is rather frustrating to use, quite expensive, and probably won't save many people much time in the long run.