Okay, so to start with - I've always been one of those people that say - why on earth would you want a keyboard for an iPad? Got a beautiful thin piece of electronics that just works and works well. So why the need to mess it up with of all things a keyboard?
I was at a seminar this week and watched a colleague typing away on a keyboard attached to her iPad - all very quietly and unobtrusively, but still at the end of the day - she was all caught up with her e-mail and I ended up dragging out the laptop - yuck!
So I then started my search for a light weight keyboard that wouldn't bulk up my slim iPad Air too much.
First of all - all the keyboard covers/cases add some bulk and weight.
My first purchase was the Zaggkeys cover. I really loved the engineering that went into the design. Loved the full keyboard display and the quality workmanship and build. I work for a manufacturing company so build quality is a must for me. The Zaggkeys cover just felt really solid and the keys felt good when I typed on them at Best Buy.
Brought that baby home and typed away all weekend, even when I really didn't need to - after all just had to play with the new toy. Right off the bat - although I loved the hinge which gripped the iPad, it also was a pretty tight fit and not pick up and go when you want to disconnect and go to naked iPad. Not a deal breaker but I knew I would be planning for when I used the keyboard or not. The iPad paired up nicely with the Zaggkeys. A couple of cool features are the battery warning key and the backlighting in multiple colors - if you are into that. For me the backlighting is not something I would ever use. First of all, I'm a touch typist and don't need to see the keys and secondly, I wouldn't want to drain the battery down quicker than need be. The feel of the keys was really nice and the sound of the keys was really pretty quiet. I was a happy camper at first. But after carting the iPad/Zaggkeys combo around the house for a couple of days - I realized the extra heft of keyboard. But even with the extra heft and the less than easy slide in and out of the hinge - I was planning on keeping the Zaggkeys.
Initially at home, I noticed that I was making more mistakes than usual in my typing - chalked it up to getting used to a new keyboard - right? But when I was still having typos the 2nd day and most if not all of the typos were double key strokes, I began to question if the problem was the keyboard itself and not me. So off to Google to check it out and found several reviews with the same double keystroke problem. What a bummer. I was thinking that I was all set. So I kept typing slower, faster, more carefully, etc. but nothing helped the double keystrokes. I even tried the recommended fixes - rebooting the iPad and repairing the keyboard. But alas the dreaded double strikes were still showing up. My worst letter being the "t". Didn't realize how many "t's" are in normal writing. So of course, the reason for the keyboard in the first place was to be able to type like the wind and get all that work done - well this Zaggkeys wasn't going to accomplish my objectives if I spent all my time backspacing to correct all those "t's".
So back to Best Buy the Zaggkeys cover went. This time I brought my iPad in the store with me and paired up with my next choice - the Logitech Ultra Thin. In the store - working really good and oh how nice it was to just type and not have to pay attention for mistakes and backspacing all the time. This is what it is all about!!!! Happy faces all around for me. The Logitech has a lot more plastic to it but feels way lighter. I know it's only a few ounces lighter than the Zaggkeys but it feels so much better - not so much heft. The white Logitech really matches up nicely with my white iPad. The keyboard layout is really good also. The keys are a little nosier than the Zaggkeys but the feel is just as good. And what is just so nice is being able to just type normally and not have mistakes. Hooray!!
Some other positives for the Logitech are the ease of just pick up and go with the iPad as opposed to fussing with trying to line up when attaching to the Zaggkeys and having to be careful pulling it out of the hinge. The Logitech is way easier to just pick up and go or stick in the groove and type away. Will I miss the backlight from the Zaggkeys - nope - tried it out just to see it but wouldn't use it anyway. I guess the only thing that I might miss is the battery check key. The Logitech doesn't have one. Also, I will need to remember to turn off the Logitech as it doesn't have the auto off feature.
So anyway - bottom line is - the Logitech is definitely the one for me. Even if the Zaggkeys worked without the typing glitches - the Logitech will suit my needs much better. Lighter, ultra thin and easy to hook up or separate.
I was at a seminar this week and watched a colleague typing away on a keyboard attached to her iPad - all very quietly and unobtrusively, but still at the end of the day - she was all caught up with her e-mail and I ended up dragging out the laptop - yuck!
So I then started my search for a light weight keyboard that wouldn't bulk up my slim iPad Air too much.
First of all - all the keyboard covers/cases add some bulk and weight.
My first purchase was the Zaggkeys cover. I really loved the engineering that went into the design. Loved the full keyboard display and the quality workmanship and build. I work for a manufacturing company so build quality is a must for me. The Zaggkeys cover just felt really solid and the keys felt good when I typed on them at Best Buy.
Brought that baby home and typed away all weekend, even when I really didn't need to - after all just had to play with the new toy. Right off the bat - although I loved the hinge which gripped the iPad, it also was a pretty tight fit and not pick up and go when you want to disconnect and go to naked iPad. Not a deal breaker but I knew I would be planning for when I used the keyboard or not. The iPad paired up nicely with the Zaggkeys. A couple of cool features are the battery warning key and the backlighting in multiple colors - if you are into that. For me the backlighting is not something I would ever use. First of all, I'm a touch typist and don't need to see the keys and secondly, I wouldn't want to drain the battery down quicker than need be. The feel of the keys was really nice and the sound of the keys was really pretty quiet. I was a happy camper at first. But after carting the iPad/Zaggkeys combo around the house for a couple of days - I realized the extra heft of keyboard. But even with the extra heft and the less than easy slide in and out of the hinge - I was planning on keeping the Zaggkeys.
Initially at home, I noticed that I was making more mistakes than usual in my typing - chalked it up to getting used to a new keyboard - right? But when I was still having typos the 2nd day and most if not all of the typos were double key strokes, I began to question if the problem was the keyboard itself and not me. So off to Google to check it out and found several reviews with the same double keystroke problem. What a bummer. I was thinking that I was all set. So I kept typing slower, faster, more carefully, etc. but nothing helped the double keystrokes. I even tried the recommended fixes - rebooting the iPad and repairing the keyboard. But alas the dreaded double strikes were still showing up. My worst letter being the "t". Didn't realize how many "t's" are in normal writing. So of course, the reason for the keyboard in the first place was to be able to type like the wind and get all that work done - well this Zaggkeys wasn't going to accomplish my objectives if I spent all my time backspacing to correct all those "t's".
So back to Best Buy the Zaggkeys cover went. This time I brought my iPad in the store with me and paired up with my next choice - the Logitech Ultra Thin. In the store - working really good and oh how nice it was to just type and not have to pay attention for mistakes and backspacing all the time. This is what it is all about!!!! Happy faces all around for me. The Logitech has a lot more plastic to it but feels way lighter. I know it's only a few ounces lighter than the Zaggkeys but it feels so much better - not so much heft. The white Logitech really matches up nicely with my white iPad. The keyboard layout is really good also. The keys are a little nosier than the Zaggkeys but the feel is just as good. And what is just so nice is being able to just type normally and not have mistakes. Hooray!!
Some other positives for the Logitech are the ease of just pick up and go with the iPad as opposed to fussing with trying to line up when attaching to the Zaggkeys and having to be careful pulling it out of the hinge. The Logitech is way easier to just pick up and go or stick in the groove and type away. Will I miss the backlight from the Zaggkeys - nope - tried it out just to see it but wouldn't use it anyway. I guess the only thing that I might miss is the battery check key. The Logitech doesn't have one. Also, I will need to remember to turn off the Logitech as it doesn't have the auto off feature.
So anyway - bottom line is - the Logitech is definitely the one for me. Even if the Zaggkeys worked without the typing glitches - the Logitech will suit my needs much better. Lighter, ultra thin and easy to hook up or separate.
TC930 Ultra-Thin Keyboard Case / Cover for iPad Air - Smart Cover and Built-in 800mAh Lithium Battery by Anker 
