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Moshi Announces Ultrathin 'VersaKeyboard' iPad Air Case

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Apr 12, 2001
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Accessory maker Moshi today debuted a new origami-style keyboard case designed for Apple's iPad Air. The VersaKeyboard is a slim folding stand case that comes equipped with an ultrathin detachable Bluetooth keyboard.

versakeyboard1.jpg
The case is designed to add full protection and minimal bulk to Apple's thin and light iPad Air, weighing just 12.5 ounces and measuring 0.6 inches thick. It features a polycarbonate shell that includes a keyboard storage slot and a VersaCover that can be folded into several different viewing positions for both landscape and portrait use.

versakeyboard2.jpg
Don't bother bringing your laptop -- VersaKeyboard combines an ultra-thin keyboard with our popular VersaCover to give you the ultimate in iPad productivity. The detachable Bluetooth keyboard can be positioned anywhere within 30 feet of your iPad for maximum typing flexibility. Optimized scissor keys ensure tactile responsiveness and swift iOS keyboard shortcuts. When not in use, the keyboard slides snugly into the rear polycarbonate case for easy storage.
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Like most cases, the VersaKeyboard supports automatic sleep/wake functionality, and the included Bluetooth keyboard offers 130 hours of battery life between charges. The keyboard is approximately 80 percent of the size of a standard keyboard.

The VersaKeyboard will be available beginning in January of 2014 for $99.

Moshi also has a standard VersaCover case for the iPad Air, which is priced at $60 and available immediately.

Article Link: Moshi Announces Ultrathin 'VersaKeyboard' iPad Air Case
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/20/moshi-announces-ultrathin-versakeyboard-ipad-air-case/
staveb said:
If I needed a keyboard, wouldn't I have gotten a laptop?
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my thoughts exactly! everyone is buying keyboards for their $500 ipads and getting less functionality than an actual laptop....

ipad + keyboard case is $600 before taxes.... throw in a little more and get a macbook air! seriously........... i dont know why people are sacrificing usability by getting an ipad and keyboard....

the folks i know with ipads all have "other machines" (mac and pc) to do "real work" according to them... it makes no sense to me...
 
Answer

Maybe they need 10 hours battery and do not want to carry a mobile hotspot. Not disagreeing with everyone I agree if the air had cellular I be all over it and ditch my work iPad.
 
staveb said:
If I needed a keyboard, wouldn't I have gotten a laptop?
Click to expand...

Different people have different needs. I've gone keyboardless on iPad for years, but my next iPad will have a keyboard. Sometimes I'll use it, sometimes I'll leave it home.

An iPad + keyboard does some things better than an iPad without one.

An iPad + keyboard (much like an iPad alone) does some things better than a laptop.

An iPad + keyboard is far smaller and lighter than a laptop with any kind of useful performance. It gets far better battery life. The keyboard is detachable so you aren't stuck with it when you only need it 20% of the time. An iPad is more secure and reliable than a laptop. It's easier to maintain, easier to install software on, and more fun. And for a growing number of tasks, more productive.

There's nothing about an iPad that says entering words is never done. People DO enter words. So some will appreciate a keyboard.

Pick the tool for the task. For a LOT of people--maybe most?--an iPad with removable keyboard is the ideal tool for all or most of their computing needs. For the rest of their needs, they can grab that old laptop/tower off of their dusty shelf once in a while.
 
TimeSquareDesi said:
my thoughts exactly! everyone is buying keyboards for their $500 ipads and getting less functionality than an actual laptop....

ipad + keyboard case is $600 before taxes.... throw in a little more and get a macbook air! seriously........... i dont know why people are sacrificing usability by getting an ipad and keyboard....

the folks i know with ipads all have "other machines" (mac and pc) to do "real work" according to them... it makes no sense to me...
Click to expand...

Since when does a MacBook Air have a touch screen and can perform all of the functions of a tablet? Seem like you are just a little bit confused about the differences. A tablet with keyboard does not equal a laptop. It equals a tablet with laptop semi-capabilities if you prefer to have them at a given time, but can for all intents and purposes function as a tablet as well. You can't really do that with a MacBook Air.
 
IMO, it's all about the right device for the job. The idea of completely being able to replace a traditional desktop with only a tablet is a very focused group.

For example, I support a number of salespeople who are never in the office cause well, their job is to be on the road selling. Per my analysis of their workflow, I was able to give them a cell enabled iPad that provides them with roughly 95% of their workflow while on the road. The remaining 5% is done on legacy applications which currently do not have a native or internal web option. For those, they access a Citrix desktop either from their home offices or on the pad (if they choose to). This 5% is not needed while on the road.

As they were transitioning from a laptop, the majority of them opted for a bluetooth keyboard out of more of a comfort level than a need. Only a handful opted for the onscreen keyboard. I suspect that within the year, most of them will just toss the keyboard once they get tired of lugging it around and having to charge it.

From day 1, I have used the onscreen keyboard on my pad just for the sheer benefit of not having to charge yet another device. Now, is it handy to have a keyboard I can connect to when writing out long emails or the next great American novel? Sure. But again, those times are few and far between where I personally don't see the need to purchase a keyboard. I just adjust the way the pad sits on my lap.
 
I'd love a keyboard for my iPad Air but to be honest I'm not buying one until there's a better solution from Apple. I would love Apple to add a Surface style keyboard for the Air, it would be dead easy for them too since they can use the patent for free. Somehow I doubt it will ever happen.
 
TimeSquareDesi said:
my thoughts exactly! everyone is buying keyboards for their $500 ipads and getting less functionality than an actual laptop....

ipad + keyboard case is $600 before taxes.... throw in a little more and get a macbook air! seriously........... i dont know why people are sacrificing usability by getting an ipad and keyboard....

the folks i know with ipads all have "other machines" (mac and pc) to do "real work" according to them... it makes no sense to me...
Click to expand...

I got an iPad because for 95% of my needs in a portable device, the iPad works the same or better than a laptop. I stopped using a laptop within 3 months of getting an iPad.

I got a keyboard for my iPad because, while it may *WORK* without a keyboard, there are enough times that the keyboard is better to make it worth the $100. Not worth the $300 more to get a full laptop, though, or to give up for the laptop the things the iPad is better at. Getting a keyboard makes that 95% jump to 99%. In the past three years, I have only gone "man, I wish I had a laptop instead of this iPad" once - and that one instance would have been solved by having a newer iPad!
 
I absolutely adore my Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for my iPad Air. Also had one for my mini. They are awesome. I had the Air with keyboard at a meeting today, made it super trivial to jot down notes. The overall form-factor, when both folded up and in use, is super-duper slick. Weighs so little, is a great-feeling keyboard, and extends the overall functionality of my iPad dramatically. Don't always want to lug around my 15" Retina MBP, or bust it out at meetings.
 
I like the geometry of the Moshi covers

I can't comment on this particular keyboard/cover combination. OTOH, I am quite fond of the Moshi Origami covers in general.

Andy Ihnatko reviewed a Moshi cover back in January. You can see his review at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymApPHnCKRc&t=100m01s . He didn't understand the mathematics of the super-stable tetrahedron; he just knew that it was cool. :D
 
Nicky G said:
I absolutely adore my Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for my iPad Air. Also had one for my mini. They are awesome. I had the Air with keyboard at a meeting today, made it super trivial to jot down notes. The overall form-factor, when both folded up and in use, is super-duper slick. Weighs so little, is a great-feeling keyboard, and extends the overall functionality of my iPad dramatically. Don't always want to lug around my 15" Retina MBP, or bust it out at meetings.
Click to expand...

I've done the same thing with my iPad during grad school. It was less expensive for me to use the iPad with my Logitech keyboard to take notes using Evernote than it would have been for me to buy the least expensive MacBook Air. As you know Evernote syncs with everything, so my notes were waiting on me when I got home to work on my iMac. Great combo IMO.
 
staveb said:
If I needed a keyboard, wouldn't I have gotten a laptop?
Click to expand...

TimeSquareDesi said:
my thoughts exactly! everyone is buying keyboards for their $500 ipads and getting less functionality than an actual laptop....

ipad + keyboard case is $600 before taxes.... throw in a little more and get a macbook air! seriously........... i dont know why people are sacrificing usability by getting an ipad and keyboard....

the folks i know with ipads all have "other machines" (mac and pc) to do "real work" according to them... it makes no sense to me...
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of laptops but they are growing on me. I used to have a G4 PowerMac and have now had 3 iMacs. I like desktop and I like screen real estate. However, I went back to school last year and bought a MacBook Air (13") for grad school and it certainly has it's advantages. When we decided our 2 kids needed more time on the iPad, we enabled a bunch of restrictions, and set the iPad up as essentially a learning and media center for them. They are still quite young, so no internet or email/texting needs.

However, I still wanted an iPad and started reading more but iBooks for OS X hadn't even been announced yet, so I bought a iPad Mini in June for the portability, ereader, and all other iPad functions that I would want from the now kid appropriated iPad in a smaller lighter form function. And I bought the logitech ultra thin keyboard cover. As a keyboard, it isn't that great. I understand the ones for the full size iPad are better, not as cramped, but I do use it from time to time, and will sometimes write notes, use it for Wunderlist, or write some emails on it. But it also is great as a stand for watching video. I use it on flights and with my Slingbox app. But I also like my iPads light and naked. So I only skin them. The great thing about the logitech ultra thin is that it detaches like the original iPad covers. So you don't have some bulky heavy keyboard cover to remove. You can use just the iPad when you want to but have the keyboard when you need it or a stand if necessary.
 
staveb said:
If I needed a keyboard, wouldn't I have gotten a laptop?
Click to expand...

Laptops don't have touch screens or detachable keyboards or, ironically, full support from so many companies that provide apps, and they're less portable. But I still wouldn't buy a tablet, and although they can be useful, they're overrated. LAUSD buying iPads for every student... ridiculous.
 
9000 said:
Laptops don't have touch screens or detachable keyboards or, ironically, full support from so many companies that provide apps, and they're less portable. But I still wouldn't buy a tablet, and although they can be useful, they're overrated. LAUSD buying iPads for every student... ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I disagree. One lightweight iPad can replace several pounds worth of conventional textbooks. We've all been through that pain. Why continue to subject our children to it?
 
APlotdevice said:
I disagree. One lightweight iPad can replace several pounds worth of conventional textbooks. We've all been through that pain. Why continue to subject our children to it?
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Oh no, several pounds! Those poor souls. They deserve to not have to exercise as much.

/s Actually, they're not even putting all of the textbooks on the iPads. I don't know about LAUSD, but other districts with similar programs only have a couple of books in digital form. And now that the kids have "hacked" the LAUSD iPads and caused the program to halt... How much pain did you really suffer carrying textbooks?
 
I really dont get how people justify paying $100 for an iPad case, when there are tens of thousands on the market that work perfectly fine and are a fraction of that.

Half the time the shops inflate the price like crazy.

A good example is the Targus Truss. I paid $10 in the US a year ago for one. In the UK I always see it being sold for £49.99 ($80). So many cases are a rip off, and poor quality, it's not worth spending a lot on them.
 
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rmwebs said:
I really dont get how people justify paying $100 for an iPad case, when there are tens of thousands on the market that work perfectly fine and are a fraction of that.

Half the time the shops inflate the price like crazy.

A good example is the Targus Truss. I paid $10 in the US a year ago for one. In the UK I always see it being sold for £49.99 ($80). So many cases are a rip off, and poor quality, it's not worth spending a lot on them.
Click to expand...

Because many people will happily pay for quality. $100 isn't really a large amount to pay for something that looks good and will last.
 
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