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Kensington Bluetooth Keyboard and Case for the iPad
By
Published: Feb 07, 2011
Category:
Gifts and Gadgets
I asked the child: “What’s the best present you got for Christmas?”
Just so you know: The kid had a rocking holiday. Got just enough of the stuff she wanted to be thrilled, not so much to be spoiled. And there was a surprise present that made her year: a Minion from “Despicable Me” that now has pride of place on her pillow.
But this was her answer: “The iPad we gave Mommy.”
And so it is. For mother and daughter, the iPad is the event of the season. Indeed, we now refer to it, with heavy sarcasm, as the “myPad.”
I’m delighted. Not by “Angry Birds,” the most frequently played game — but that’s a fad, it will pass. I’m thrilled our daughter uses the same painting app as David Hockney, that she runs a bakery and has to figure out how to make her resources last. I’m delighted that, late at night, my wife can read deep into the message boards of Palingates and Politicalgates and take a Boggle breather when she overdoses without cutting off the blood flow to her legs.
But now we’ve had the thing for a few months, I’ve found — well, not a flaw, but a gap in perfection.
It’s the keyboard.
Punching letters on a screen — it’s not natural.
So as soon as I heard about the Kensington KeyFolio Bluetooth Keyboard and Case for the iPad, I bought the $99 answer to a prayer for $66. (To buy it from Amazon, click here. To buy it with a laptop-style keyboard for $87, click here.)
What’s the thrill?
The leatherette case — pretty, functional, definitely not leather — is the least of it.
It’s all about the keyboard.
Because what if you bought an iPad … and discovered you no longer needed a laptop?
What if you could have a notebook computer with a touch screen?
(Okay, the iPad has no word processing program. You can only write e-mail. No loss, says our kid.)
The Kensington keyboard, iPad and case weigh a grand total of 2.5 pounds — a feather. But a powerful one. The battery can run for as long as 90 hours between charges. It takes 4.5 hours to recharge; do it while you sleep.
And the keyboard? Swoon. Smallish keys, to be sure, but responsive. Rubberized, in case baby — or you — spills. Designed not to scratch the iPad screen when closed.
I have read about some complaints. No SHIFT key on the right side of the keyboard. Some of the commands are more for iPads than for laptops. Big whoop — you can adjust.
If our iPad could speak, it would say of the Kensington KeyFolio Bluetooth Keyboard and Case for the iPad, “You complete me.”
