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iPad Belkin QODE Ultimate Keyboard for $39 at BB
- Thread starter fanchee
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That's a ridiculous deal. The case just comes out and it's 70% off on sale? Crazy.
Either way, I'm really disappointed it's gone already. No shipping and completely out here in So Cal.
EDIT: PSYCH, grabbed one in Rancho Cucamonga for in-store pick-up.
Either way, I'm really disappointed it's gone already. No shipping and completely out here in So Cal.
EDIT: PSYCH, grabbed one in Rancho Cucamonga for in-store pick-up.
I had this keyboard in black. Bought it from the local AT&T store for full price. Sadly, the sleep/wake function didn't work. Belkin is re-releasing an updated version. Evidently, Best Buy is blowing them out. Great deal if you can snag one. I tried, but as stated above, OOS at all the Los Angeles area Best Buys
Ordered on for pick up from my Reno store! Not sure if I'll use it but $100 off is too good to pass on...
I thought this was supposed to come out in December since Amazon has it shipping by then. At first, I thought they were doing a clearance on the 2nd-4th gen version, then I saw "iPad air". I put it in my cart right away for in store pickup and got it for $39.99! Someone at Best Buy screwed up. Get it while you can before they correct it.
Darn! Back to regular price...and sold out.
Well actually the link from this thread still takes you to a bb page where it's $40. But, if you refresh the page the price jumps back up. Hmmmm.
Well actually the link from this thread still takes you to a bb page where it's $40. But, if you refresh the page the price jumps back up. Hmmmm.
I picked up my $39.99 QODE keyboard. It does not have the sleep/wake function, but overall this is a nice case. Adds a fair amount of bulk to the iPad but the keyboard is nice and the magnets are strong.
Glad to hear. Have been looking at the case since it was announced but never thought I use it much but for $40 too good to pass up. Going to pick up mine on Friday.
Consider yourselves lucky!! Glad for those who got it on the cheap! But bummed I JUST missed out.
I was thinking about grabbing the Zagg Folio for the Air, but this would of been too good to pass up.
I was thinking about grabbing the Zagg Folio for the Air, but this would of been too good to pass up.
I got one for $40 also and like it a lot so far. Can anybody tell me what the shortcuts on the 3, 4, and 5 keys do? Icons look like a little radio with a star, X, and a + inside them. ??
Is there a shortcut for the app switcher?
Looks like a clearance sale of the old (prematurely manufactured) revision, since the new revision with sleep/wake functionality is supposed to ship in December.
Hmm. I wonder if BB will allow us to exchange the ones we bought for the revised version.
If they don't, just buy the new one and return it with the old one in it's place.
They wouldn't know any better.
He's right...
Per Amazon's website (preorder):
"At A Glance:
Lightweight, strong protection for iPad Air
Enjoy fast, accurate typing with well-spaced, responsive keys
Case supports multiple viewing angles
Keyboard folds out of your way for handheld mode
Smart sensing technology automatically turns keyboard on and off
Autowake magnets turn iPad Air on when you open the cover
Offers up to 264 hours of active battery life between charges"
Picked mine up earlier today. No sleep/awake functionality. Not a big deal for me....I never really minded the needed to press a button to wake the iPad. I'd add that if you leave bluetooth on, the iPad automatically wakes up and connects to the keyboard the moment you prop up the stand into one of the magnets in the stand.
Pictures?
1) How tight is the back cover? Will the iPad Air fit with a back skin?
2) How about with a glass screen protector? Potential problems with the back cover or closed?
3) How stable are the 3 viewing positions? Usable on the lap? How strong are the magnets and does the whole thing tend to tip over on uneven surfaces when tapping the screen?
1) The back cover fits pretty snugly. I don't think anything other than maybe the equivalent of a screen protector would fit.
2) A glass screen protector should be fine. No part of the case overlaps with the front of the iPad and when the case is closed, there is still a small gap between the screen and the keyboard.
3) The viewing positions are VERY stable. This is one of my favourite things about the case - even on an unstable surface, there is no way the magnets will release unintentionally. You can pick up the case by the back and have the weight of the iPad pulling downward, and the magnets still hold strongly. I'm testing it on my lap right now and even poking at the screen fairly aggressively, it has some movement of course, but it doesn't tip over.
I got this case on the Best Buy deal. Overall... I'd say it was worth it, although I'm still planning on exchanging/returning it at some point before the return window is up, because it's obvious that the version I got has errors that will probably be fixed in a revision.
When I ordered the case from Best Buy, the product page said I was getting the white one, but it ended up being the silver version, which was good because that was actually what I wanted.
Right out of the box, I was surprised by how light the case was. On my previous iPad (3), I had the Switcheasy Canvas, and this case is definitely lighter than that one. On the downside, it seems... not really like aluminum, more like aluminum-coloured plastic, just because it's so thin and light, considering that it is actually aluminum.
The 'silver' on the back (not the hard plastic shell, but the leathery part in the middle) isn't really silver, maybe a dull gray at best. I wasn't sure until I read the model number on the box whether I even got the white or the silver version. However, later on in more dim lighting, it did blend in well enough. I just thought it was worth pointing out that it doesn't exactly match the rest of the case.
Pairing the device was super easy and quick. The keyboard automatically pairs/unpairs depending on whether or not you have the iPad locked into one of the stand positions, and each time, it never takes more than maybe 5 seconds to pair. Because of this feature, there is no on/off button but I wish there was a button to manually turn it off anyway, because a lot of times I just want to be able to use the stand (like while playing a game) without draining the keyboard battery. Still, I obviously haven't had it long enough to know whether or not the battery life is enough of an issue for that to matter.
The keys are very good! I was pleasantly surprised because I'd tested some other iPad keyboards and was pretty underwhelmed. The keys on this one are responsive and, while compressed to an extent, very easy to type on quickly and accurately (100+wpm typist here; I felt like I was up to speed immediately). The ONLY detractor is that instead of shrinking the enter key or something, the apostrophe key is moved. This is enormously annoying and while I might get used to it, it's one of the worst things about the case to me, right now. The colon key is also moved but that gets used considerably less often so I can get over it.
As for why I said this case has errors - first of all, the sleep/wake feature doesn't work, which isn't a huge deal (there is a shortcut key to lock/unlock the iPad, at least - hitting it completely wakes the iPad up, bypassing the need to swipe). However, the keyboard isn't right. It doesn't match the picture on the site or even on the box. On my case, cut is Fn+X, copy Fn+C and paste Fn+V (and they all work). I actually like that (similar to the computer), but apparently the intended version has those functions along the top row where the numbers are. The other differences are negative - there are three keys in the function row that don't appear to do anything (I initially thought they were for bookmarking, closing and opening tabs in Safari, but no). There is a globe icon on the bottom row that I thought might open Safari, but again, no. I can't get the arrow keys to do anything at all in any app. The music controls, however, do function - even in Spotify, so that's nice, although I'd have preferred that those functions be on dedicated keys instead of sharing with numbers.
Overall, I don't think this case is really worth $130 (is any case?), although I'd be thoroughly impressed with it for $40 if it worked as advertised. Like I said, I'm still planning on exchanging it once it seems like a revised version is out, although for $40 I'd probably begrudgingly keep it even as is. My two favourite parts of the case are that the stand positions are incredibly secure (my main issue with the Switcheasy Canvas, or rather, the version for iPad 3, was that it fell out of position too easily) and that the keyboard is actually comfortable and easy to type on. I've been typing this on the case, and other than the seriously frustrating apostrophe key, I've only been marginally slowed down at worst compared to typing on the wireless keyboard that came with my iMac. It's condensed but not cramped.
I wanted to be descriptive about this because in searching for information from others, I was coming up pretty short. My final say is that I think the case is worth it (and though no case truly justifies it, with the proper revisions I'd still choose to pay $130 for it), but get the revised version when it comes out!
EDIT: In editing this text, the arrow keys do actually work... that's the first time I've seen them do anything. I was hoping I'd be able to scroll with them in Safari but that hasn't worked so far.
When I ordered the case from Best Buy, the product page said I was getting the white one, but it ended up being the silver version, which was good because that was actually what I wanted.
Right out of the box, I was surprised by how light the case was. On my previous iPad (3), I had the Switcheasy Canvas, and this case is definitely lighter than that one. On the downside, it seems... not really like aluminum, more like aluminum-coloured plastic, just because it's so thin and light, considering that it is actually aluminum.
The 'silver' on the back (not the hard plastic shell, but the leathery part in the middle) isn't really silver, maybe a dull gray at best. I wasn't sure until I read the model number on the box whether I even got the white or the silver version. However, later on in more dim lighting, it did blend in well enough. I just thought it was worth pointing out that it doesn't exactly match the rest of the case.
Pairing the device was super easy and quick. The keyboard automatically pairs/unpairs depending on whether or not you have the iPad locked into one of the stand positions, and each time, it never takes more than maybe 5 seconds to pair. Because of this feature, there is no on/off button but I wish there was a button to manually turn it off anyway, because a lot of times I just want to be able to use the stand (like while playing a game) without draining the keyboard battery. Still, I obviously haven't had it long enough to know whether or not the battery life is enough of an issue for that to matter.
The keys are very good! I was pleasantly surprised because I'd tested some other iPad keyboards and was pretty underwhelmed. The keys on this one are responsive and, while compressed to an extent, very easy to type on quickly and accurately (100+wpm typist here; I felt like I was up to speed immediately). The ONLY detractor is that instead of shrinking the enter key or something, the apostrophe key is moved. This is enormously annoying and while I might get used to it, it's one of the worst things about the case to me, right now. The colon key is also moved but that gets used considerably less often so I can get over it.
As for why I said this case has errors - first of all, the sleep/wake feature doesn't work, which isn't a huge deal (there is a shortcut key to lock/unlock the iPad, at least - hitting it completely wakes the iPad up, bypassing the need to swipe). However, the keyboard isn't right. It doesn't match the picture on the site or even on the box. On my case, cut is Fn+X, copy Fn+C and paste Fn+V (and they all work). I actually like that (similar to the computer), but apparently the intended version has those functions along the top row where the numbers are. The other differences are negative - there are three keys in the function row that don't appear to do anything (I initially thought they were for bookmarking, closing and opening tabs in Safari, but no). There is a globe icon on the bottom row that I thought might open Safari, but again, no. I can't get the arrow keys to do anything at all in any app. The music controls, however, do function - even in Spotify, so that's nice, although I'd have preferred that those functions be on dedicated keys instead of sharing with numbers.
Overall, I don't think this case is really worth $130 (is any case?), although I'd be thoroughly impressed with it for $40 if it worked as advertised. Like I said, I'm still planning on exchanging it once it seems like a revised version is out, although for $40 I'd probably begrudgingly keep it even as is. My two favourite parts of the case are that the stand positions are incredibly secure (my main issue with the Switcheasy Canvas, or rather, the version for iPad 3, was that it fell out of position too easily) and that the keyboard is actually comfortable and easy to type on. I've been typing this on the case, and other than the seriously frustrating apostrophe key, I've only been marginally slowed down at worst compared to typing on the wireless keyboard that came with my iMac. It's condensed but not cramped.
I wanted to be descriptive about this because in searching for information from others, I was coming up pretty short. My final say is that I think the case is worth it (and though no case truly justifies it, with the proper revisions I'd still choose to pay $130 for it), but get the revised version when it comes out!
EDIT: In editing this text, the arrow keys do actually work... that's the first time I've seen them do anything. I was hoping I'd be able to scroll with them in Safari but that hasn't worked so far.
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Thanks! Very helpful! Just a few more questions:
4) When using it in keyboard mode, is the lower back of the iPad exposed? Looks like it in some pictures.
5) When using it in book mode, how comfortable and stable is it too hold in one hand? In Logitech's official pictures they always hold it in the right hand. I assume that's because it's more stable than in the left hand where you would keep pressing the keys with the back of the iPad?
6) How's the viewing angle in the lowest position? I always thought that the viewing angle with the Logitech Ultimate keyboard cover was a little too steep for lap-use.
7) How easy is it to remove the iPad?
Could you put it on a (kitchen?) scale with or without the iPad? Sadly the weight data is notoriously unreliable on product pages.
I think that's for switching keyboard layouts (e.g. on a German keyboard the Y and Z are switched).
I'm not sure but I think that's the norm. Arrow keys are only for text editing.