These keyboard reviews have a very limited value because they’re all so unnecessarily subjective. For example, the distance between the center of adjacent keys is never mentioned, even though this particular measurement is what determines whether or not a keyboard will provide maximum typing agility as provided by the standard size keyboard. This distance is 19.5 mm on the standard keyboard. The term “mini keyboard” has been introduced to connote “portability,” where the numeric keypad has been removed, AND where – in some cases but not all – the keys are also smaller. Removing the numeric keypad, and the keys to the immediate right of the letter keys, significantly reduces the size of the keyboard, but taking the extra step of making the keys smaller seems to offer little more advantage in portability while at the same time creating a big DIS-advantage: a cramped, compromised typing experience. I would expect “mini” keyboard to exclusively describe this inferior, cramped experience, but unfortunately “mini” is also used to describe keyboards having keys that are the full size and distance apart, 19.5 mm. This makes shopping for a keyboard almost impossible, if one is to realize their expectations of typing nirvana, without any buying and returning. It would make more sense if the industry simply described keyboards with full-sized keys but without the numeric keypads as portable, in which case “mini portable” would have the additional meaning of the keys being reduced and therefore cramped, which would be useful to those whose priority was extreme lightness, where one simply can not afford the extra baggage. In which case a portable keyboard would be useful to anyone who simply wanted to reclaim some desk space without sacrificing typing agility – which is a lot of us – while at the same time being compact enough to pack in a small bag. In fact it seems that such a portable keyboard would be small and lightweight enough even where extreme portability is essential – in which case the “mini portable” keyboard would be relegated as useless to literally anyone. Because no matter how big or small the keyboard is generally, I need full-size keys. And it’s amazing just how small the keyboard can be while maintaining full-size keys! But without a standardized way to indicate these properties of a keyboard, what should be a simple thing becomes a journey, in which one needs to buy several keyboards to try for oneself.
Along this journey I discovered that I might actually prefer a keyboard with keys as close as 17 mm apart (measured from the center of adjacent keys), as found on the Logitech Keys-to-go. This is still much further apart than on all of the “mini portables.” But it makes me think that even the standard keyboard should come in different sizes, since the size of our hands plays a big part in keyboard ergonomics. This is ironic because I was the fastest typist ever in my high school, including my typing class and all previous years. So you would think that the IBM Selectric was designed for someone with exactly my hands, but now I discover that 17mm is just as good or better? Note that I wear a large size glove, and my hands are 19.2 cm, exactly average for an adult man (measured from the tip of the middle finger, across the palm, to the right side of the wrist).
Now that keyboards come in different sizes, with no standard key size or spacing, other factors determine success with any one model: size of hands, Typing skill, the keyboard one is already accustomed to, and the extent to which a keyboard would be in the way when it’s not actually being used.
With that in mind I’d like to compare 3 keyboards that I recently bought to use with my new iPad mini 4. They all worked for the few days I was testing them side by side. I kept the Logitech Keys-To-Go and returned the other two, mainly because the “keys-to-go” offers a full-size typing experience but is also whisper quiet. It’s also practically weightless but that was not a factor in my decision to keep it, since my priority was whatever keyboard provides the best typing experience with my iPad mini 4.
1. The Logitech Keys-To-Go Ultra-Portable Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad, Black (920-006701). The keys are 17mm apart and is WHISPER quiet. If you’re typing in bed and your spouse is already asleep this wouldn’t wake them. This offers a “full-size” keyboard experience and also EXTREME portability. Only if you have thick fingers might this not be a good choice, unless extreme portability is the priority. The keys move downward about 1mm, but with no clickity-clack, more like a click as it might be heard through a layer of thin rubber, which is the case, so there is both a tactile and an auditory feedback, just much less than with a regular keyboard. Due to its unibody construction it’s quite durable and can be casually put on a bookshelf or in a backpack or suitcase, ready to grab when you need to do some real typing. Note that it’s not intended to replace the full-size keyboard you already use with your desktop computer.
2. Logitech K810 – 19.5 mm between the center of adjacent keys, which lends itself to the FULL typing experience. This is as noisy as, and possibly more than, a regular keyboard. Nothing special, but it does look nice, so if noise isn’t an issue this would look very nice on your desk. I would consider this to be a full-size, regular keyboard but that uses Bluetooth. Could be a desktop replacement.
3. Anker Ultra Compact Slim Profile Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac. 19.5 mm between the center of adjacent keys, so calling it “ultra compact slim” is outrageously misleading, hence my call for a less subjective and more standardized nomenclature among keyboard manufacturers. This is twice as noisy as the Logitech K810. This is a noisy keyboard. It made a thumping sound on the kitchen countertop. If someone is typing on this in the next room you will hear them. You can’t use this if someone in the house is trying to fall asleep or is sleeping. Even the Logitech K810 makes above average noise for all keyboards but the Anker is twice as loud as this!
The biggest difference among these three keyboards is the clickity-clack noise they make. The Anker is just plain noisy.
Of the three I kept the Logitech Keys-To-Go and returned the other two. I would even consider getting a second Keys-To-Go, for the sake of being future-proof. At $49, this seems like a very good price, considering it retails for $69 and higher elsewhere. It seems like a “very good” keyboard for anyone who wants the full-size keyboard experience in a reduced form factor, and a “must have” if you travel a lot or only use a keyboard infrequently and prefer a really clean desktop.
Hopefully this will make your keyboard buying decisions easier.
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
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