Logitech Announces Ultrathin Keyboard Cover For iPad Mini

[MacRumors]

A new model of the popular Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for the iPad will be available for the iPad mini later this month, the company has announced.

The Bluetooth keyboard uses the Smart Cover magnets in the iPad mini to hold it securely attached to the device in both cover and keyboard modes. In use, the magnets in the iPad mini grip it tightly in a channel toward the rear of the keyboard.

Attaching securely with the click of powerful integrated magnets, the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard mini has a slim aluminum cover that matches the iPad mini and brings durable protection to it with minimal weight. When you're ready to use it, flip the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard mini around to reveal its built-in Bluetooth® EasyType keyboard, offering a traditional typing layout in a small seven-inch form factor, plus iPad mini function shortcut keys for the commands you use most often, such as copy and paste. It also doubles as a hands-free view stand so you can use your iPad mini without having to hold it.

The exterior is aluminum to match the iPad, with both black and white options to match the two available iPad mini colors.

The keyboard will cost $79.99, $20 less than its full-sized brother.

Article Link: Logitech Announces Ultrathin Keyboard Cover For iPad Mini

[Avatarshark]

Great, I already have the full size one, and I can't wait till I get my iPad Mini

[ArtOfWarfare]

The iPad Mini keeps looking better and better... Maybe by the time they roll out the iPad Mini 2 they'll actually have my college textbooks for $15 each... Of course, it still lacks a decent C++ editor/compiler so it can't be a replacement for my MBA for a while.,.

(I kind of failed to connect with the topic at hand, I just realized. I'm saying this $80 keyboard is making the iPad Mini look more like a viable MBA replacement.)

[phr0ze]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

Of course, it still lacks a decent C++ editor/compiler so it can't be a replacement for my MBA for a while.,.

SSH as a workaround.


I'm excited for this, the other mini keyboard cover looks like poo. I loved the logitech when I had it on the ipad 3.

[Rudy69]

If the next iPad mini (or even iPad) has a keyboard case like the Surface I will pick one up for sure (I don't want a bluetooth keyboard with batteries etc). The only neat thing about the Surface is the thin keyboard case

[MLMcMillion]

As nice as this looks, I'm still (im)patiently awaiting the Clamcase for the mini. I have a ZAGGKeys Mini 7, and while the keys are decent, the build quality of the housing is terrible.

[bacaramac]

Originally Posted by Rudy69

If the next iPad mini (or even iPad) has a keyboard case like the Surface I will pick one up for sure (I don't want a bluetooth keyboard with batteries etc). The only neat thing about the Surface is the thin keyboard case

I don't care if its Bluetooth or not, but if Apple can make a cover/keyboard like the surface I'm in for sure. I'm sure they can find a way to slip batteries into it.

[janstett]

Originally Posted by Avatarshark

Great, I already have the full size one, and I can't wait till I get my iPad Mini

That's what I thought but I recommend against it. I have the Logitech for my iPad and love it, so I got one of the knockoffs for the mini when it came out. Way too small to touch type at best you can hunt and peck.

Don't bother with this one.

[nagromme]

The Surface keyboard is neat for being so thin and self-powered, even if it is just extension of Apple's magnetic Smart Cover concept. I like the many colors too.

But when you want really thin, I'd say just leave the keyboard cover at home.

And for the times when you really do want a physical keyboard, Logitech's seem to have better key travel than Microsoft's, and are more stable/rigid on a soft surface (bed, messy desk), and require less depth/footprint (no extra kickstand needed).

AND they work in portrait, which I would very often want. See more of a document/list/web page at once. (I'm assuming this based on the full-size Ultrathin: it has magnets in the slot to help hold the iPad in and they're only for landscape, but the slot still holds the iPad in portrait like a conventional non-magnet stand.)

As for batteries, a BT keyboard doesn't need much power--you charge them seldom, keeping the inconvenience minimal.

I don't know whether I'll get the Mini or the next iPad, but either way I plan on a Logitech Ultrathin keyboard. I'll use it maybe 25% of the time but it's worth it.

I like these so much better than the cheap (scratching?) kind that physically "clip around" the face of the Mini. I don't need that tight an attachment.

Originally Posted by janstett

That's what I thought but I recommend against it. I have the Logitech for my iPad and love it, so I got one of the knockoffs for the mini when it came out. Way too small to touch type at best you can hunt and peck.

Don't bother with this one.

That depends on whether touch-typing is your goal, though. I estimate the keys on a Mini keyboard like this to be at least as large as the onscreen keys of a full-size iPad in portrait mode. I love typing on that portrait keyboard, so I think I'd do fine with a physical Mini keyboard. (I'm not a touch typist--but I can hunt-'n'-peck faster than I can think, so I don't care.)

[JimmyTheKnife]

Originally Posted by janstett

That's what I thought but I recommend against it. I have the Logitech for my iPad and love it, so I got one of the knockoffs for the mini when it came out. Way too small to touch type at best you can hunt and peck.

Don't bother with this one.

This. I also have the Logitech for my full-sized iPad and got one of the $40 knock-offs for my mini. It's just too small and (for me) impossible to touch type on. I now wish I had tried the larger Zagg keyboard for the Mini - it's not as compact, but might allow touch-typing.

[APlotdevice]

I find case keyboards for the full size iPad already a bit too small. So I question how practical this keyboard would be.

[rtdunham]

Originally Posted by JimmyTheKnife

This. I also have the Logitech for my full-sized iPad and got one of the $40 knock-offs for my mini. It's just too small and (for me) impossible to touch type on. I now wish I had tried the larget Zagg keyboard for the mini - it's not as compact, but might allow touch-typing.

I agree. I bought a scosche rubber full size roll up/ fold keyboard at mwsf. Ill be testing it to see whether its's any better than the pretty good mini virtual keyboard. A third party mini clamshell I also got at mw has shown itself to be clearly too small to be of any beneft. I carry my mini in my cargo pants pocket so am reluctant to go the bigger zagg route. But I liked the zagg I had for my iPad retina very much.

[nagromme]

The full-size iPad Ultrathin keyboard had 14 special functions. Looks like that's expanded to 18 in this one:

Select Text Back
Select Text Forward
Lock Screen
Home
Search
Play/Pause
Toggle Onscreen Keyboard
Cycle Keyboards/Emoji
Mute
Volume Up
Volume Down
Cut
Copy
Paste

And now also:

Dictation (I assume that's what the mic icon is for)
Picture Frame
Skip Forward
Skip Back

(And Tab has been relegated to Fn-Q. Tilde and backquote already needed Fn.)

Also, rubber bumpers seem to be new. I hope the next iPad gets a Logitech Ultrathin that matches these new Mini Ultrathin features.

[Jessica Lares]

They need to make them bigger! I'm just getting the Apple wireless keyboard because it's going to be a better solution than these tiny keyboards. Especially at these prices, they aren't worth it. They're making them so uneducated people will gobble them up, not realizing that the keys will pretty much be unusable.

Get a case that works like a stand, and then use a laptop sized bluetooth keyboard. That's all you really need.

[Happy-Mac]

I feel like for that price their should be integrated Bluetooth speakers (or something), however small, but at least something else to justify $80 for a small keyboard with some magnets that make it stick to the mini.

[nagromme]

Originally Posted by Happy-Mac

I feel like for that price their should be integrated Bluetooth speakers (or something), however small, but at least something else to justify $80 for a small keyboard with some magnets that make it stick to the mini.

Neat idea. A little stereo sound, not dependent on iPad orientation!

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by phr0ze

SSH as a workaround.


I'm excited for this, the other mini keyboard cover looks like poo. I loved the logitech when I had it on the ipad 3.

That's an interesting thought... Would you consider an iPad Mini + this keyboard to be a viable replacement for an MBA? All I do with the MBA is programming and homework... Homework is generally done in Pages while programming is done in Xcode (if I need a UI or Gedit + terminal if I don't.)

[JoeIsInTheCloud]

Originally Posted by Rudy69

If the next iPad mini (or even iPad) has a keyboard case like the Surface I will pick one up for sure (I don't want a bluetooth keyboard with batteries etc). The only neat thing about the Surface is the thin keyboard case

The Surface's keyboard cover is a neat idea in theory, but have you tried using it? I played with one for a couple of days. Not the greatest typing experience.

[mrsir2009]

That keyboard looks slick

----------

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

They need to make them bigger! I'm just getting the Apple wireless keyboard because it's going to be a better solution than these tiny keyboards. Especially at these prices, they aren't worth it. They're making them so uneducated people will gobble them up, not realizing that the keys will pretty much be unusable.

Get a case that works like a stand, and then use a laptop sized bluetooth keyboard. That's all you really need.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any of these tablet keyboards in context

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by mrsir2009

That keyboard looks slick

----------



Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any of these tablet keyboards in context

I have a mechanical wired keyboard that is the size of the Mini (It's about $50 on Amazon, so don't bother looking for it, better keyboards at $30 that are much bigger, haha, my dad brought it home from work one day). It's great for situations where the OS doesn't recognize your built in keyboard (has happened to me in Ubuntu ) and you need to find the drivers via ethernet, but otherwise it's not something you'd want to use on a day to day basis.

These chiclet keyboards are a lot worse because the keys not only have to be a lot thinner, but they also have to be just as tight. They're already a lot thinner than the traditional keyboards to begin with.

[maxosx]

I have the latest ZAGG PROplus for my iPad 4.

It has first class build quality, made from aluminum that matches the iPad very nicely. The backlit keys are quite nice as is the ease of typing, key size & high quality structural integrity. When closed it makes a very secure easy to carry solution for those who like having a keyboard.

That said, unless I had really small hands, I just cannot imagine using a tiny keyboard with my iPad mini.

[Dgail]

The is great news! I initially tried the Ultrathin for the full sized iPad and returned it due to my iPad 2 slipping out of the groove under its weight.

I have tried a couple of "generic" keyboards (all around $20-35) for the Mini and have returned them as they present a weird typing experience and I was actually making more mistakes with them than the virtual keyboard on the Mini.

I understand that Logitech still uses the full sized keys on the this new keyboard and stacks up some of the character keys, I am definitely anxious to try it as it sounds like they attempted to provide a better typing experience. I think the the lightness of the Mini, if they used a similar design, I would not think the Mini would work itself out of the groove, and possibly that they would not need to use the silicon strip at all to hold it in.

For my iPad 2, I settled on the Zagg Pro Plus, a little bit heavier (more aluminum over plastic) and it uses primarily friction to hold the iPad in the groove.

[APlotdevice]

Originally Posted by JoeIsInTheCloud

The Surface's keyboard cover is a neat idea in theory, but have you tried using it? I played with one for a couple of days. Not the greatest typing experience.

Indeed. The touch keyboard offers no feedback, and with the other one there's no spacing between the keys to keep you from accidentally hitting two or more at a time.

[dona83]

Originally Posted by JoeIsInTheCloud

The Surface's keyboard cover is a neat idea in theory, but have you tried using it? I played with one for a couple of days. Not the greatest typing experience.

Agreed, it was terrible.

[phr0ze]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

That's an interesting thought... Would you consider an iPad Mini + this keyboard to be a viable replacement for an MBA? All I do with the MBA is programming and homework... Homework is generally done in Pages while programming is done in Xcode (if I need a UI or Gedit + terminal if I don't.)

Well, SSH for doing C++ is one thing. But xcode needs a full apple. Your best bet if you insist is a Remote view session to a Mac. But with the way xcode works there will be many frustrating aspects.

Probably the best in portability for xCode is MBA.

Doing Pages on an ipad is fine.