New Keyboard!

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I’m quite excited to have purchased one of those really neat little keyboards for my ipad. Admittedly they’ve been available since forever, but it’s a new toy for me and I love it! It makes blogging on the iPad even more exciting.

Thought I would share my immediate thoughts on it. It’s the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover, in white, to reflect my white iPad 3. I know that it also comes in a black, as well as new versions for the iPad Air and Mini.

I’m pretty picky about my keyboards, I was always keen on the older (more chunky) Apple keyboard and particularly appreciated the noise the keys made when typing. It took a while to get used to the newer Apple keyboards which were thinner and less chunky. That said, I now love it. I’m happy to say that, although reflecting the most recent Apple keyboard, it still echoes nicely the old chunky white one.

The compact feel to the keys is not too small to type, and yet not too big that it’s oversized for the device. It’s a really nice fit. And speaking of fit, lets talk about the way it clips onto the pad. It sits nicely in the stand when in typing mode, and magnetically clips onto the side (like the official flap covers). It folds over nicely and echoes the look and feel of the iPad back when shut.

It will take a little bit of getting used to, in that I am used to using both the Apple flap cover and a clear plastic back – neither of which work alongside the keyboard. But hopefully the keyboard will still provide a decent level of protection. I think the only bit I will miss here is the clear plastic backing. But the overall feel of this product is real quality. The keys are solid but light, the surface is smooth, but not plastic-cy. Really top quality.

Functionality is great, with the keyboard syncing via Bluetooth in literally a few second from the first time. It also has some really useful keys, including the main iPad base button instead of escape (works for both returning to the menu screen or double tap for multi-tasking). Also useful is the cut, copy and paste buttons as well as the ability to pull up the digital keyboard where needed.

One of the small drawbacks of the device, but is on all Bluetooth devices (I have tested across other solutions – including the Apple Bluetooth keyboard) – the keyboard does not allow autocorrect as the digital keyboard does. Doesn’t sound that annoying, but it’s amazing how much I use it without realising. Fortunately, the keyboard has its own dedicated (function) key to bring up the digital keyboard – once that’s up, you can still use the physical keyboard but the auto-correct seems to work.

Because it’s essentially a wireless device, it does need charging. So far I haven’t had to charge it yet – so I can’t comment on the battery life, but the fact that it has an internal battery that is charged via USB already puts it a step up from the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. It’s also got an on/off switch to help preserve battery life.

It’s a little strange getting used to not using a mouse, because this keyboard does change the iPad into a small laptop – but frankly – I think it’s brilliant. I love touch-screen keyboards, but there is something so much more satisfying to push buttons. Frankly, Logitech, you have outdone yourselves. Brilliant job. I love your product.