I picked up this keyboard for my iPad - not that the onscreen one was a problem, this one lets you type easier with the iPad in a stand or when typing long messages which might otherwise be difficult (or time consuming) on the onscreen keyboard.
Out of the box, the thing is ready to go. Batteries (2x AA) are built in and all you have to do is go into the iPad settings, turn on Bluetooth, turn on the keyboard (hold the POWER button on the right side for 2 seconds until the green light up top comes on, and then sync the two (syncing is done by pressing a random 6-digit set of numbers (shown on the iPad screen) on the keyboard).
The keyboard itself is very nice and matches the iPads silver frame. The length is about 2" wider than the iPad (in landscape mode. About 4" wider in portrait mode). Weight is less than the iPad itself, and height (at it's thickest point) is about 1 inch (at it's thinnest - the bottom of the keyboard - it's about 1/4"). This is much easier to travel with than the Keyboard Dock for iPad (it also allows more control as you're not forced to use it in the docked-position (the keyboard can move freely).
Unfortunately, unlike the iPad Keyboard Dock, which has special iPad buttons (like LOCK and Photoframe), this is designed for a mac, so you have keys like EJECT which don't work on the iPad. Fortunately, the Play, Pause, Brightness and Sound keys do work. You can also use familiar keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+A to select all, CTRL+C to copy and CTRL+V to paste. The keyboard does NOT have a numerical pad (only the row across the top of the letters), but I prefer this to having the keyboard be 4-5" longer.
A suggested setup is to put the iPad in the A-frame for Ipad as a stand, and use the keyboard at the most convenient angle. This also allows you to set the iPad aside for easy browsing.
I can't comment on battery life as mine is still on the initial set. Fortunately AA's are easier to find, and I prefer that they did this over a lithium battery (which would need to be re-charged (something not always easy when traveling) or a single AAA which wouldn't last nearly as long). Even with the AA's the weight is very light.
This works great when thrown into a bag - the A-Frame, iPad and Apple Keyboard don't weigh much together and are all roughly the same size.
Overall a very nice product. My only complaint would be that it's not designed FOR the iPad (hence the odd keys like Eject), but is being sold/advertised for it. Since it doesn't come cheap, it would be nice if they went back and actually updated those odd keys for the iPad (or gave an option to re-map them within the iPad OS).
One other note is that when on, the onscreen keyboard does not display. To bring it back, simply turn off the keyboard (hold power for 2 seconds) and the iPad will return to its onscreen display.
If you will not be using it for a while (and are not using other Bluetooth items) you may want to disable bluetooth when done so as not to drain the battery faster.
After using it for a little while, my big complaint is that (in a bag) it can easily turn itself on and wake up the iPad with any touch. The power button is easily activated apparently (a lock of some sort would have been great), and any key press will turn the iPad on (unlocked, not just take it to the slide-to-unlock page). In a bag this can go un-noticed for a while, and easily drain the batteries on the iPad.
(56 customers reviews)
Customers Rating=4.5 / 5.0
More Detail For Apple Wireless Keyboard Retail Packaging
- Anodized aluminum enclosure
- Extended layout with document navigation controls, a numeric keypad, and special function keys
- Low profile keys
- Bluetooth Technology
- Ultra-thin design
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