Customer Reviews

Foldable Mini Wireless Keyboard For IPhone - Ipad - Tablet PC

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I first opened the package(it is a model MP-0118) and found that there were no instructions other than a small CDROM that wouldn't work in a slot loading macintosh; I thought this shouldn't be so bad. The previous reviewer noted that the keyboard turns on and connects when you open it. This is not really the case (at least with mine and my iPhone 3GS with iOS 4), first you have to pair it.

After a bit of searching I learned that there is a small button in the battery compartment that says CONN, press this with a pen and then it will connect to your iPhone (IOS4), iPad, Macintosh or windows machine. Once you get it paired (and don't worry when entering the pairing code.. the keyboard is in 'num lock' mode when pairing.. just hit the numbers and the enter key)

Next time you open the keyboard to use it. Hold down the CMD (lower left) and FIND (upper right) for 10 seconds, the LED on the keyboard will flash and the iPhone will discover the device automatically. I didn't get it to discover the keyboard upon opening it like the previous reviewer.

Now I can't go anywhere without the keyboard and my iPhone! Very compact, yet comfortable (a little tight but way better than thumb typing emails).

I have been pining for a physical keyboard for my iPhone 3gs almost a week after I bought it. The tactile touch screen is superior to my previous phone(s), but I am still unable to type as fast as I would like. My family tells me that is what my laptop is for, but I don't want a laptop, I want my iPhone to take over that role. Now that iOS4 is out and working on my 3gs (I refuse to jailbreak my phone), I thought I would take a shot at a bluetooth keyboard. I chose this item because it looked like the right size. I have been playing around with it for a day now and I have made up my mind... it is awesome! (I don't give 5 stars)

Pros:
Folds up to approximately the size of the iphone itself (wider but thinner)
Excellent touch to the "scissor" keys
Quick syncing with the iPhone (open and start typing)
Solid construction
Powers on/off by opening/closing
Only requires 1 AAA battery (no stupid watch battery)

Cons:
Backspace key is in a weird place for me
Additional phone stand is a little strange (I will be using a GoGostand instead)
Have not yet tested battery life
Some of the extra function keys (Note, Memo, Email) do not work for the iPhone
Syncing requires Bluetooth to be left on (drains iPhone battery unless bluetooth turned "off" after keyboard use)

This keyboard is really small. In fact is is just a bit bigger than the on screen keyboard on the iPad. It took me a few tries board the iPad will start with the pairing process. Only the "home row" is standard size keys; all the other keys are mini keys. The hinge is not as sturdy as I would like it. In fact, the hinge crack when I first open the keyboard.

The keyboard will take practice to get use to. It is better than the on screen keyboard for those who touch type or need to type a lot. I wrote this review using the keyboard, so it does work. If you are not going to use the keyboard for heavy type (write a 10page term paper) then this would work.

mp 0118 mi micro inovations keyboard review. What i found out the hard way.I'll try not to make it too long. Ther's only one thing to concearn yourself with before buying this keyboard.But first what i like about this was the price. I really didn't want to spend 100.00 dollars or more on something like this.It looks really cool,and comes with the same type of phone stand like the more expensive ones.Its really compact and it seems like it will fit in the same coat pocket as your phone.It's got an 1.5 AAA regular batt wich i like,not have to worry about the rechargeable kind going bad.I was very excited couldn't wait for it to come in.Afer 8 days finnaly got it. Took it out,followed the steps and instructions.My excitment came to an abrupt end and completly dissolved when it failed to connect evrytime to my Blackberry Storm.IT will pair but not connect.I thought they sent me a broken one.I was like cursing maad.Then i got an idea.MY playstation 3 has bluetooth.Let me try... To my surprise it took.It's working just fine. Didn't understand what happend. At least now i know its not the keyboard but my phone.I thought blue tooth was bluetooth what the hell is the diffrence???Anyway. Next day i tried two more smart phones.My friends have somekind of motorola phones At&t android os. I thoutht for sure those would work.To no avail nothing nada the same kind of result. It would pair but not stay connected. Then my cousin showed up with an LG slide out keyboard type internet phone and tried it.The darn thing worked just great.Not bad for a two year old smart phone.I was like F--K ??!!. Again did't understand why this one connected and my Storm didn't. After digging around we find out the problem is with the bluetooth.This is the first thing u need to check. If your phone has bluetooth wich supports "human interface device" Go to bluetooth set up on your phone and enable this feature. My storm does not have it,my friends phones does not either but the playstation 3 and my cousin crappy 2yr old phone did that's why it worked. Yes so again this bluetooth option is vital for it to work.If you don't have it forget it.Buy a phone that does.As for me i will upgrade to the Droid X wich i already checked to see it has this option already.I like a large screen to be able to watch you tube and videos but when it comes down to type on an touch screen i prefer the Keyboard. More better feel and response easy to send stuff. Like someone else said on their review "if you dont need to type a term paper on it its fine for what it is" Handle it with care just like your smart phone and i bet it will last a while. Cant beat it for the price if u want one of these.My only other complaint is : I wish it had a track ball or something but i guess im asking too much. I like it anyway.Get one its cool.

Pros:
The keyboard configured painlessly with my PDA. No extra drivers were necessary. Holding down CMD-FIND and typing in the number on my PDA established the connection. (Drivers are available for Nokia and Symbian phones on the mini CD.)
The keyboard has some intelligence: two quick spaces produce a period and a space.
Opening the keyboard turns it on; closing it, turns it off.

Cons:
This is my third foldable keyboard. For my HP iPaq, I had an HP keyboard and a Fellowes keyboard, so I have something to compare this generic keyboard with. Since I now have an HTC, I needed to find a keyboard that would sork with it. The keyboard layout is 8 and 1/4 inches by 2 and 1/8 compared to 9 and 1/2 by 2 and 5/8 on the Fellowes, so the typing surface is considerably smaller, partly because the top 5/8 inch is occupied by the AAA battery. Folded, the keyboard measures 4 5/8 x 3 3/16 x 9/16 (or 13/16 with the PDA support) compared to the Fellowes' 5 1/2 x 3 13/16 x 1/2. So my fingers feel noticeably cramped on this keyboard.

The spacebar is rather strange and poorly conceived. It is in two unconnected sections measuring a total of about 3 inches. The surface is undulated as the two sections fold into each other. I don't know why the space bar needs to be higher than the other keys, so I would prefer a flat surfaced spacebar. The major problem with the spacebar is the there is a gap between the two sections right where the right thumb naturally falls, making it difficult to use. You have to shift your thumb unnaturally left to space; the right section does not seem to space.

The support (stand) for the PDA can be detached from the keyboard. If left attached, it provides stability for the keyboard as it slides a pin which helps the keyboard to lie flat. My PDA does not sit well on the stand. The stand can also be detached and used vertically. It is not essential.

The manual and extra drivers were on a mini CD which is not compatible with my Mac; I used my wife's Toshiba to read the manual.

Bottom line:
Although I only paid $20 on my Fellowes keyboard in 2006 (and it still works great with my HP), quality keyboards seem to have greatly increase in cost. I was not willing to pay more that $60, but I am disappointed with the quality of this generic keyboard. If I were to do it again, I would wait before buying.

Like Elwin Loomi's review (June 30, 2010) I received no instructions with this keyboard and a mini CD which does not work in my slot-CD Dell. I relied on two documents to help me connect and it took me about 5 minutes. Thanks to both for your free help and info!
Document 1: [...]
Document 2: Elwin Loomi's review
Instructions for connecting to Nokia 5800 Music Express:
1. First figure out how to piece the phone/pda holder to the keyboard which also serves to lock the keyboard flat - ingenious!
2. Insert AAA battery into battery compartment of keyboard (there's only one place it fits).
3. Follow website instructions from Document 1 to download wireless keyboard software to phone.
4. Follow Elwin's instructions to press connect button near battery and enter 0000 as keycode.
5. DONE!
I tested using QuickOffice Word and Excel and it took some getting used to the very small keys (minus 1 star) but it's much better than using the virtual in-phone keyboard for serious doc editing. Although the pda stand comes separate from the keyboard, once attached, leave them attached and they fold up nicely together into a very small package. This is just what I need for writing while traveling without lugging my computer.

I bought this because I needed something to carry along when virtual typing on my iPad2 would be a little too much, for example, my journal entries, or emailing friends on the go.

Bluetooth connection establishment is quick although I wish I didn't always have to do the "cmd find" everytime I had to connect it to my iPad.

Typing was easy, once you got used to the key placements, although, just as many have mentioned, the backspace key is a bit annoying in its placement as well as its size making it hard to do a quick deletion. It is also a bit frustrating to type something like 123_example@Any456.com because of the need to press the symbol button before AND after you type the symbol. Same goes for numbers because the numbers AND the symbols share the top QWERTY row of the keyboard.

All in all, I thought I would be struggling to type on this keyboard because of its size, but I began to find it easy and picked up some speed as I typed on. The keys may be a bit "firm" for my taste. People that saw me typing on the keyboard were impressed with this little gadget.

This will not be my permanent wireless keyboard for my iPad. I have a Jorno keyboard on order. According to the manufacturer, they are now in production, and should be out some time in June 2011, though its progress has been slow. It folds up even more compact, much like the old thinkoutside keyboards that I used for my old Compaq iPaq.

The stand is useless since it won't hold up my iPad, but very useful if you use it for something smaller, perhaps a Galaxy Tab and definitely any smartphone.

I think it would've been a good buy if it was somewhere in the range of $24-$36, but this was just under $50.

This came to me with a broken hinge. It could not have possibly been packaged better, it was wrapped up tightly in bubble wrap inside of a snug box. There was no reason for it to be broken other than cheap plastic.

The whole thing felt kind of cheap. The phone holder was difficult to open and close. Much of the body of the keyboard felt like it was going to snap under the pressure it took to use the product.

On the plus side, the Amazon return process is a breeze. I was very happy with how that went, and also happy to have the keyboard out of my hands.

Definitely would not recommend.

Person reading this: "Hi marks, but it doesn't work for you?"
Me: "Yes, but it is Apple's fault."

Besides, I did buy the keyboard for my SO who uses a newer iPod Touch.

Here's the deal. Bluetooth works on several generations of iPod Touch devices. But (from what I understand) bluetooth HID keyboards only work starting with the 3rd generation iPod Touch. Note, this (probably) applies to not only this bluetooth keyboard we are reviewing but to all bluetooth keyboards. Those in the know are probably thinking that does not make any sense. Using different bluetooth protocols (i.e. A2DP (which does work on my 2nd generation iPod Touch) and HID (which, apparently does not work on my 2nd generation iPod Touch) are just a matter of changing the software. Think of it this way, a phone works no matter if you are speaking Spanish or French.

As for this keyboard. I find it a bit cramp compared to a full size keyboard. But realizing the size trade off (i.e. small size equals easy to carry around) I would have to say it has been nicely put together. It is definitely made for touch typing but you might need a few minutes to get used to the feel. I would say the keyboard is well made. The, what would you call this part, stand? easel? looks a bit cheep and it was confusing how it attached. In the end we figured out it slides into the keyboard and, if slid to the center when the keyboard is unfolded, adds to the rigidity of the keyboard. Regardless, I would recommend you place everything on a solid surface and use the keyboard there.

In my opinion, the best portable keyboards were made by ThinkOutSide mostly for the PalmPilot. That company has stopped making keyboards and has changed their name to "igo" something. If I gave those key boards 10/10 then I would give this one about an 8/10.

Bought two at once, and found out that one of them has problems. Several keys on the right hand side does not work at all. Asked for service, but didn't recieve reply for one week.