Over the past few months I was doing double duty as a judge in the button enhancer category of Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazines and also presenting reviews of them here. Hopefully through the reviews, you got a better idea of the software programs in that category and how I was judging and voting. The results of the voting have already been published in the Dec 2008/Jan 2009 issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine.

Here’s a list with the links to the software reviews in button enhancer category:

FantasticBytes’ Softkey Manager

Burr Oak Software’s HotButton Plus

Hundera’s HButton

Momidi’s BtnPlus

AE Button Plus

Today, I’ll be doing a review of Alexander Eltsyn’s AE Keyboard Mapper, which is the last software that I will review in this button enhancement category. Unfortunately, since I was unable to get pocketMax Software’s ButtonMax to work at all on my Treo 750 device (it disabled my touchscreen and I needed to go through a process to uninstall and remove it), I was forced to skip the evaluation and review and of course, the voting for this program. Thank goodness for backups as I need to do a hard reset and restore to get my Treo working again!

There will be one final wrap up posting for the button enhancer category where I will provide an overall review of the programs reviewed and final thoughts and why I voted the way I did. Stay tuned for the final wrap up!

AE Button Mapper, is quite an interesting and different button enhancer program. The main reason why I’ve left this program for last is due to a number of reasons.

Keyboard Mapping Application

First, it isn’t really a button enhancer program like the others in the category where you press and hold on a hardware button or hardware button combinations and launch a program, this program is a keyboard layout mapping application and offers a lot more than launching programs. Also, this program extends beyond the hardware buttons and includes all the keyboard QWERTY keys. The program is not limited to the typical Pocket PC/Windows Mobile smartphone devices as you can “map” any button of the device to input a special character, perform a specific task or run an application. In some forums, people have discussed using the program for their GPS devices.

To make it a fair comparison for review and evaluation in the button enhancer category, I decided to not include this program for voting. However, that, does not mean that I disapprove or am disappointed with this program. Oh no. To the contrary, I was very impressed with it. Enough of my thoughts, which I will explain in further details in the wrap up posting, let’s continue on with the review.

As the name indicates, AE Keyboard Mapper is a keyboard mapping program, which enables you to map the individual keys on a smartphone keyboard or even an external keyboard that is connected to a Windows Mobile device. This means you can assign a variety of different tasks to each keyboard key, which obviously includes but not limited to, launching applications.

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For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

Similar to AE Button Plus, this program also requires a certain amount of set up to make it work. First of all, the trial version of the software will enable you to map keys to a different key layout but, if you want to use it to launch specific programs, you will need to purchase a license to try it out. Thankfully, I was able to do so since I was provided with a license by Handango for the Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine awards evaluation and voting. Otherwise, I would not have been able to demonstrate its program launching capabilities without purchasing a license.

Cumbersome Registration process

Unfortunately, and obviously as a way to circumvent piracy, even after making the purchase at Handango. I have to go to the AE Keyboard Mapper’s activation page to enter the code provided from Handango to find the true registration or “activation” ID for inputting into the program to register it. This is probably one of those jump through hoops that I, as a consumer am not very happy about, but can understand the developer’s perspective. As an extra measure, each time you request for the registration ID, it is recorded and logged. So, I’d strongly advise to note your registration ID somewhere on your computer or in a notebook so that the developer doesn’t suspect you are doing something unethical by requesting the ID too many times.

This kind of hoop jumping involves all software from Alexander Eltsyn so that includes the AE Button Plus, which I’ve already reviewed. So, keep that in mind.

Scan keys

After the registration process mentioned, you next need to manually set up the program. You need to run the scanning utility program aekmapscan located in the [Program Files\AEKMap\aekmapscan] location on your device. Every key you press from there on will come up with a code. You are expected to jot down the code somewhere (ie. a notebook, piece of paper, etc). You will need this code when you are manually creating your own keyboard layout.

Manually create keyboard layout

Once you’ve figure out the keys and their corresponding code, you’ll need to create your own keyboard layout. The program comes supplied with a sample “useless” layout (also available here) which provides some sample code and documentation. You should read it to get an idea of how it works. There’s a page (AEKMap - Layouts) with various keyboard layouts that other users have generously uploaded. Most likely, you’ll need to create your own keyboard layout according to the format specified. You will need to use a text based program (ie. Notepad on the computer or a text based program in Windows Mobile) and create a file with the extension .AEK. Either copy it or move it to the [Program Files\AEKMap\] folder. Once you’ve created your keyboard layout, run the AEKMap Settings and load the newly created .AEK layout in the program. Then, run AEKMap. If done correctly, you should notice the layout show up briefly in the bottom right hand corner and you don’t an error message. If it loaded correctly, you should now be able to enjoy the program’s powerful features.

The trial version only allows key mapping for inputs. If you are looking to launch programs with the software, you will need pay for the license and go through the registration process which I’ve mentioned previously, before you can access this feature.

Video of AE Keyboard Mapper

Video at YouTube Part 1

Video at YouTube Part 2

Here are my observations:

Supports up to 4 Keyboard maps

Wow! This is quite an amazing program that I was looking for! Unfortunately, since it did not “fit” well in the button enhancement category with the others, I felt I couldn’t give it the votes for the award. Being that it’s a keyboard mapper, it is amazing that you can easily “map” an entire keyboard layout to your device and use it as if it came with that particular keyboard layout! So, those who want a Russian keyboard on an English device can easily install this program and swap the layout and then use it with the Russian keyboard layout! How amazing!

Program launching with QWERTY keys

What really appealed to me is that it can launch programs with button combinations involving the QWERTY keys instead of simply limited to the hardware buttons! This provides me with much more program launching shortcuts than I’d otherwise have. Also, I can launch different applications with multiple presses instead of being stuck only being able to launch one program with one keyboard combination. So, that means, I can assign Windows+A to launch Audible, and Windows+A (two presses) to launch Audio Notes. This is very nice.

Cumbersome Registration Process

Enough praises, here are some not so positive observations. First, I am not terribly impressed with the hoop jumping I needed to go through to register the program. Even after making the purchase, I’d still have to go to the program’s website to get the registration ID so that I can then input into the program to register it. And, I am not impressed that my registration requests are logged.

Numerous Manual setup

Second, there’s quite a bit of manual procedures to get the program to work. You’ll need to launch the scanning utility and jot down the corresponding characters for each button you press so that you can later use it to create your own keyboard layout. Next, you’d need to create my own keyboard layout. This will require you to read the documentation to get a sense of how to create your own layout. Creating the layout required inputting the code and the instructions manually in a text based program and then loading it in the program and testing it out. Not many people are that enthusiastic about anything to go through this process, so unless you’re into tweaking and hacks, you may not find that this program is what you’re looking for.

Max limit of 16 application launches

Third, I am disappointed that there is a maximum limit of 16 application launches that the program can support. If you want to launch 17 different applications with this program, you are out of luck. You’ll need to delete one of them and then add it in. I’m not sure why there is such a limit and I would be interested if the developer, Alexander Eltsyn can provide an answer. Even with such a limit, I am still happy with the program.

Review Summary

AE Keyboard Mapper is quite a different button enhancer program compared to all the others in the category. It is actually a keyboard mapping program which can also work very well as a button enhancement program, which is likely why it was included in the category. With the support of mapping up to 4 different keyboard layouts (think of having a German, French, Russian and Italian keyboard layout on your otherwise English device), this program can be well worth the money. Aside from the keyboard mapping capability, what’s amazing is that it can also launch programs with specific keyboard combinations. This means, Windows+A can bring up Audible and Windows+K can bring up Kinoma Play. Think of how much faster you can launch your programs! As demonstrated in the video, this program works like a charm and is a powerful piece of program. However, unless you are willing to take some time to go through the software registration process and manual set up of the program, you may find it too much of a hassle for it. Regardless, if you take the time to set it up, it may be worth your effort. Thanks for reading.

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