Hands-On With the Collapsible Magnetic 'TextBlade' Keyboard for iOS Devices

[jclo]

Is there a tablet keyboard that you can actually use in your lap? I've always hated the top-heavy weight distribution of tablet-keyboard combos, which is the number one reason I prefer laptops for any extended typing.

I usually show someone something with it open just sitting in my hand grabbing it at the side, like you would a laptop

If you're looking for an iPad keyboard that's very bottom heavy to counteract the weight of the iPad, check out the BrydgeAir. We'll be sharing a review of it in a couple weeks (I'm actually going to be sharing several keyboard reviews). It's machined from a single piece of aluminum and it weighs over a pound (520g vs 437g for iPad Air 2). I can use it comfortably in my lap with no hard surface for it to rest on. ClamCase Pro (as Jessica mentioned) is also comfortable in a lap.

 

[temna]

Hands-On With the Collapsible Magnetic 'TextBlade' Keyboard for iOS Devices

Is there a switch so I can connect this to both my iPad and iPhone then switch between them?

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It was mentioned earlier that there were more functions coming to the keyboard. Including being able to sync it to multiple devices like the Logitech and Microsoft universal keyboards. My TextBlade is coming in April. I am definitely looking forward to it. The new Microsoft folding keyboard is the same crappy keyboard the Surface Pro has. The previous Microsoft universal is awesome. Separate keys, not a huge cracked flat surface. I think that I will use the TextBlade a lot with my iPhone, iPad and Surface Pro. My TextBlade is scheduled for an April 10 delivery. I will defiantly post once mine is here.

 

[Arcady]

I have a better idea for a keyboard that would be just as easy to use as this.

Actually, it would be 120 single-key keyboards. Each one has bluetooth and has a different letter on it. You put them all in a plastic bag. When it's time to type, you just dump them all out onto a desk and start typing!

Or maybe I should just open my iPad case that has a keyboard built inside of it, and cost one-third of this silly keyboard that is in multiple parts and doesn't even have number keys.

 

[Phil77354]

This looks like a very interesting keyboard with some real innovations, and I appreciate the detailed report. It does seem a bit expensive but if the quality is good then it may be worth it. I find typing on the iPad or iPhone screen keyboard to be very unsatisfying and the ability to carry something very compact with me for those times when I might want to type out an e-mail or something longer than a few words would be very worthwhile. Nice report.

 

[teddyc]

it's about the tone

I was genuinely impressed. I'm not out to deceive anyone or parrot marketing materials. WayTools is doing something with keyboards that no one else is doing and a lot of what they're bringing to the table in the TextBlade objectively innovative.
...

By the way, for anyone who purchases the TextBlade, either based on this post or just because it looks interesting, there's a return policy. You can send it back if you don't like it.

The reason you have elicited so many negative remarks with this post is that your tone is not that of an objective reviewer but of a marketing person. It starts with the very first sentence: "Back in January, WayTools, a company known for its high-quality NextEngine 3D laser scanner, surprised the world with a collapsible, magnetic keyboard unlike anything we had seen before."

"Surprised the world" and "unlike anything we had seen before" employ the vocabulary of sales, not of reviews. They are gush-y and hyperbolic. Your reply to critics, quoted above, does more of the same: "By the way ... there's a return policy. You can send it back if you don't like it." That is not something a reviewer says -- readers already know that kind of thing. That's something a person in sales says.

I began reading MacRumors back when there was a Macintosh press -- principally, MacWorld -- that actually did journalism. MacRumors, with its breaking news, was a good adjunct to MacWorld's longer, more considered articles. With MacWorld much diminished, I'd be happy to see more reviews on MacRumors. But posts like this are so bush league -- they read like advertorials. It's about the language and the sensibility. It's about journalism v. fluff.

 

[AndyUnderscoreR]

I'm a bit confused on the accusation that I was lying about spacing. If you look at the position of the letters on the TextBlade in the image of it on top of the Apple Keyboard, you'll see that the spacing is either the same or more generous.

Look at the two tab keys, and the two T keys in that picture, they are clearly a lot closer together on the TextBlade... not that that's a bad thing, it's supposed to be a small keyboard, if just seems odd that anyone would say it's the same or more generous when it's so obviously smaller.

 

[rqc]

This was interesting. I appreciate your informative review.

 

[Truffy]

I guess that if i used an iPad as a laptop replacement it might be of some use. But for my iPhone texting it would just be a PITA.

 

[theBB]

I was genuinely impressed. I'm not out to deceive anyone or parrot marketing materials.

Yet,

The first thing that's important to know about the TextBlade is that its design, which is the culmination of years of work and experimentation, has been engineered to be completely different from any keyboard that's on the market today.

reads just like copy and paste from a press release.

 

[nick42983]

I want to make it very clear that this is in no way an advertisement. WayTools did not pay us to do this post. None of our posts are advertisements. Ever. We don't work that way.

I spent many hours with WayTools employees yesterday, watching them type on the TextBlade, typing on it myself, and looking at each and every component that goes into it. I spent time learning about the way that it works, the effort that went into it, and what you're able to do with it.

I was genuinely impressed. I'm not out to deceive anyone or parrot marketing materials. WayTools is doing something with keyboards that no one else is doing and a lot of what they're bringing to the table in the TextBlade objectively innovative.

Pointing out that I didn't get to use it for a long period of time is a very fair criticism of this post. I had a limited amount of time to type on it, but I will say that I felt my typing speed improving over the course of an hour and I extrapolated from there. I also talked with employees who had been using it for months and months on end and observed them typing on it -- they were fast.

I didn't just blatantly say this is a good purchase, and I didn't base it on my results with typing speed -- I said it's worthwhile if you're looking for something portable and if you're willing to try a new experience. I think this holds true.

By the way, for anyone who purchases the TextBlade, either based on this post or just because it looks interesting, there's a return policy. You can send it back if you don't like it.

Glad you wrote this. Your article was informative, interesting and sincere. I hope to see more in-depth pieces like this in the future. The whiners will always find something to complain about. MacRumors provides excellent content, especially given that it is free.

 

[Digital Skunk]

It think it's a cool device.

I also think the writer needs to take notes from Engadget on product reviews, they tend to do a great job at staying objective and set the standard for these kinds of articles.

I also think the website for the company is a total shame. Like a novice designed it and that's just tacky considering this company supposedly has enough money to market, manufacture, and distribute this device.

They need to get Adobe Muse and keep it simple. The site really looks like vomit from 2001.

Now that I got that off of my chest, the concept is nice, but I don't think it'll be the next breakthrough device. Maybe for folks with an iPhone 6+ that use it as a mini tablet, but not for iPad mini or larger users that can get a real keyboard with backlit and better battery life for a little less.

Those keyboards don't add much in terms of weight.

I'd buy it more because I'm curious to see if it really would be a nice keyboard, but then again, I've got a drawer full of keyboard from many brands that just didn't set right with me.

Also, to the editor that wrote the advertisement, is there a way to purchase individual parts?

It's a pet peeve of mine to see manufacturers sell a product that comes in multiple pieces but not have ready to go SKUs for those parts. Say I were to loose the left half of the keyboard, or drop coffee on it? Do I have to purchase a whole new set?

 

[liavman]

Guys, what's your deal - is this an advertisement or reporting?

Given the number of up-votes to this rather careless remark, I thought I should make a statement in defense of Macrumors.com . What's you deal? Show some respect to the site that has been consistently above board on such things and on a dime you question their integrity? Not cool.

 

[Aluminum213]

I was actually going to give it a shot till I saw the laughable $99 price

 

[taptic]

This site needs a down vote option.

yeah, then I could down vote this post simply because it suggests down vote buttons are good. Despite the fact that I agree with the rest of the post

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I was actually going to give it a shot till I saw the laughable $99 price

Many iPad keyboards are around that much.

 

[Night Spring]

is there a way to purchase individual parts?

I think somewhere in this thread, this question was asked and answered, but I don't have the time right now to go look for the relevant post. The answer was either that yes, spare parts are indeed available, or the company intends to make them available in the near future -- I can't remember which, as I wasn't paying that close attention.

 

[Freyqq]

Interesting product, but the small keys and small space between keys would bother me. What I like best about the apple keyboard is that it is identical to the laptop keyboard, so my typing speed isn't affected.

 

[mw360]

Look at the two tab keys, and the two T keys in that picture, they are clearly a lot closer together on the TextBlade... not that that's a bad thing, it's supposed to be a small keyboard, if just seems odd that anyone would say it's the same or more generous when it's so obviously smaller.

You're misunderstanding the product and the write-up. There is no T key. There is no Tab key. It only has four keys per side, and those four keys are wider than the asdf keys upon which a touch-typist's fingers would normally rest. Therefore at rest, those fingers would be marginally more relaxed thanks to the 'generous' spacing.

 

[dan1000]

Interesting toy/tool. Wrong price.

At $39, it might be an interesting toy. At $99, not.

 

[Clix Pix]

I am intrigued by this and am definitely looking forward to hearing more about it when the keyboard is actually available for purchase! Very, very tempting.......

 

[DanPhillips]

Paid advertising?

The prose is far too sycophantic. In one of the first few paragraphs, you write that they didn't design the keyboard for the iPhone; then, the very next paragraph talks about how the design of the keyboard was constrained to accommodate iPhones. In general, there was far too much repetition of the company's marketing points. It is impossible to trust such an article, and that reflects poorly on your site.

 

[pdaholic]

I get all excited over these new keyboards for iPads and iPhones, and then I remind myself of the multiple keyboards I've purchased over the years for these devices. I really dislike having to constantly go back and forth between touching the screen and the keyboard. They end up getting shoved in a box as I pull out my MacBook. I'm amazed by people who can do everything they need to do with a single device (or they can at least get rid of their laptops). I just can't do it yet.

 

[abhibeckert]

Meh, I could see this being awesome for smartphones but not for tablets, at least not after using a surface pro 3 and seeing what a tablet keyboard should be exactly like. If I get a tablet I'm going to want something to cover and protect the screen, the SP3 keyboard fits that bill perfectly and it's not a compromise like this collapsible one is. But once again, for my smartphone it seems pretty awesome, but grossly overpriced at $99.

A surface isn't really much of a tablet though. With a TypeCover it's 2.33 lb and 0.55 inches thick.

That's a joke compared to an iPad at 0.73 lb and 0.29 inches.

The whole point of a tablet is to be small and light. There are laptops smaller and lighter than a surface pro.

As for the price, it's cheaper than the next keyboard I plan to buy: http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index....ode-104-key-mechanical-keyboard-mx-green.html

 

[Zenton]

Hands-On With the Collapsible Magnetic 'TextBlade' Keyboard for iOS Devices

A surface isn't really much of a tablet though. With a TypeCover it's 2.33 lb and 0.55 inches thick.

That's a joke compared to an iPad at 0.73 lb and 0.29 inches.

Sorry for the ot the iPad is 0.96 pound (437 g) and 0.24 inches (6.1 mm).

https://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/specs/

 

[MOFS]

I think it's clear from jclo's comments that this article wasn't advertising ... but it does look like it. As others have hinted at, the writing does appear to be a very positive spin for the product, with little criticism. This is exacerbated by two things:

• Reviews are posted infreqeuently: if they were more frequent, or Macrumors reviewed similar products at the same time (rather than one off reviews randomly happenning) it would look less dodgy. As it it make the review look like a special case eg a paid advertisement.
• jclo responding to questions about the product. Only in the later comments are you suggesting that alternatives may do things similarly, and you have to dig deep below the front page to find that this is the case. As is, jclo looks like a spokesperson for the company and alternatives are curiously not mentioned. This again makes the article and the response look suspicious.

In summary, I suspect the solution is more reviews in the same class, so that they reviews are not isolated. Currently they are, and consequently look like they're trying to sell the product, not review it.

 

[fabrica64]

Switching between a normal keyboard and TextBlade

I think the biggest problem is that most of us also uses a "normal" keyboard, so you get used to TextBlade then you switch back to a normal keyboard and become again "un-acclimatized" to the TextBlade...
The only way this keyboard would become really useful is using it on any device/laptop and forget normal keyboards.