obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth® Keyboard
Summary
A great thin and light foldable keyboard that combines a touchpad with a near-full-size typing experience. It takes a pounding for around 40 hours before requiring a charge. Connects up to three devices.
obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth® Keyboard
There are many styles of mobile keyboards. I have looked at several over the years, from flat slates with membranes stretched over the keys to folding versions that either fold simply, like this Targus Ergonomic Folding keyboard or expand their older Stowaway model. Palm even made a folding keyboard for the Pilot.
The latest mobile keyboard to catch my eye comes via the obVus Solutions minder Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad. The compact aluminum folding keyboard expands to mimic a classic MacBook keyboard that offers a good typing experience, though a little cramped, as is expected in a keyboard meant to support mobility. obVus goes beyond the keyboard, however, to include a touchpad.
Now that the iPad fully supports external navigation devices, the obVus minder keyboard eliminates the need to carry a keyboard and mouse, making it a complete solution for typing on the go.
What we like
obVus packs a lot into its tiny $49.99 keyboard that starts at just 4.2 x 7.2 inches and then expands to 4.2 x 13.5 inches when unfolded. Although it feels a bit cramped, it mimics the footprint on the current MacBook Pro 14. With the bezel, the keys are a bit smaller though, and closer together.
Typing, however, doesn’t require relearning. They keys align with MacBook typing memory, making the obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard an immediate productivity partner. A little rattle can be heard when typing, and the keys don’t feel anywhere near as solidly mounted as Apple’s keyboard, but with hours of use, it treks on. The deep enough key travel keeps my typewriter-trained fingers in the right place, and not overly fatigued.
With up to 40 hours of use on a single charge, the obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard doesn’t just offer a day’s worth of work on a charge but a week’s worth.
The touchpad is small, but accurate. I had no issue navigating my iPad with the touchpad. The obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding fully supports the necessary inputs to transform the iPad into a content creation device.
Yes, the obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard works very well with an iPad, but it also proves just as adroit with Android, Windows, and other Apple devices, including iPhones. The keyboard can connect with up to three devices, switching between them with a simple keystroke.
The keyboard folds into thirds, with magnets securing the pieces. Opening it up also turns it on, though an off switch on the touchpad portion will turn it off, keeping the battery charged longer than in standby mode.
The keyboard arrives packed in a highly environmentally friendly brown cardboard box.
What could be improved
The biggest missing feature on the obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard is light, backlight. The delightful backlight on Apple’s keyboards creates the perfect ambiance for working in dim places. I have had to use a flashlight in my office to see the blue special functions printed on the function keys.
I am not sold on the ergonomic benefits of the obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard. It is flat, with no tilt, and its use relies on the surface upon which its placed. As I type this, my position is not ideal, with the keyboard hanging over the edge of a desk probably a little too high for typing. But it is what it is.
obVus Solutions minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard: The Bottom Line
At this point, the obVus minder Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard will be my companion. It earned its way away from Logitech and Targus solutions for now. The aluminum chassis offers better overall protection for the keyboard, and the touchpad seals the deal, reducing the number of devices to carry and to keep charged.
obVus Solutions provided the minder Portable Folding Bluetooth Keyboard for review. Images courtesy of obVus Solutions.
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