Excellent Keyboard For Pandorians

[rmm2131]

I bought this wonderful wired(also in Bluetooth version) keyboard.

Amazon is listing it for preorder, but I bought it in a local Apple store a couple weeks ago and it is available in stock many other places online. The keys themselves are fantastic with a shallow and quiet feedback, and I personally can get quite a bit of speed using it for long word documents under a Windows OS(most of the keys work except for the Apple media ones). It's also aluminum and has that expensive feel even though it costs around $50. Has two USB ports and is really light and solid with zero flexing. Might be an option for those who work on the go.

I measured it roughly at 11.0in x 4.5in x 0.5in(28cm x 11.4cm x 0.5cm/1.5cm). Very compact.

 

[hobbyman II]

hey, that IS nice, why didn't you go for the blue-tooth version though?, that could be handy, Pandora to tv, blue-tooth to keyboard, E220 3G modem to usb, (or WiFi to router) just cuddle up in the armchair with your Pandora and spend a night on the web together....

ummm! that sounds really geeky, I need to get out more

ummmm2 would that be an ARMchair?

hey!, are those USB ports on the ends?

 

[atomicthumbs]

You may need a USB On-The-Go adapter to use this, because it's probably USB 1.1. I don't remember what the deal was on that.

 

[Wolfsclaw]

ummmm2 would that be an ARMchair?

get out of here

hey!, are those USB ports on the ends?

I've been wondering if that means that you have to type with your hands aligned diagonally

 

[Awakening]

I bought this wonderful wired(also in Bluetooth version) keyboard.

Amazon is listing it for preorder, but I bought it in a local Apple store a couple weeks ago and it is available in stock many other places online. The keys themselves are fantastic with a shallow and quiet feedback, and I personally can get quite a bit of speed using it for long word documents under a Windows OS(most of the keys work except for the Apple media ones). It's also aluminum and has that expensive feel even though it costs around $50. Has two USB ports and is really light and solid with zero flexing. Might be an option for those who work on the go.

I measured it roughly at 11.0in x 4.5in x 0.5in(280cm x 114cm x 0.5cm/1.5cm). Very compact.

I wonder if the special keys could somehow be programmable on the Pandora, this is a Mac keyboard after all.

Hobby:
Yes, the USB version has 2.0 ports on both sides. Perfect if you want to hook up both this and a mouse to your Pandora and do some real work. While BT can be nice it probably drains more battery and have no USB ports.

 

[stustaff]

Which reminds me will I be able too just use the apple bluetooth keyboard out of the box?

 

[hobbyman II]

just guessing here, but I think it will just show as a Blue-tooth HID and work ootb

edit:

seems to be possible
bluetooth setup

 

[yannv]

You may need a USB On-The-Go adapter to use this, because it's probably USB 1.1. I don't remember what the deal was on that.

That will probably be no problem - it has a built in USB hub, and Apple wouldn't sell you a hub that can't handle high speed nowadays. The product page explicitly mentions high-speed support.

 

[Paradox]

this is pretty cool. stick the bluetooth adapter (is it small I hope?) on the pandora and use this and stick other usb things into it D:

 

[Xenu]

(280cm x 114cm x 0.5cm/1.5cm). Very compact.

I wouldn't really say that 280cm x 114 cm is very compact, I would think it was rather inconvenient. I therefore asume that you meant 28,0cm X 11,4 cm...

 

[rmm2131]

I wouldn't really say that 280cm x 114 cm is very compact, I would think it was rather inconvenient. I therefore asume that you meant 28,0cm X 11,4 cm...

Thanks for seeing my hasty mistake. I edited the measurements.


Hobbyman, I wanted wired because i'm used to it. No need for calibrating. Besides if i'm in public I don't have to worry about BT jacking with wired.

Atomic, good question, it's a USB 2.0 keyboard with USB 2.0 ports so should work fine with the Pandora without another hub(besides itself being a hub).

I love it. :wub:

 

[hobbyman II]

@ Paradox

Pandora already HAS blue-tooth

bluetooth

5th bullet point B)

 

[marshal]

It look like it's a nice keyboard. The usb 2.0 hub is definitely a big plus. You should be able to plug it directly into the Pandora

The price is a bit steep though.

 

[geckojsc]

I would go for something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Stowaway-Ultra-Slim-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Handhelds/dp/B0002OKCXE
It uses bluetooth, it can fold and it has a vice-like thing that will clip onto the Pandora.

 

[Nintendo]

I'm happy with using Pandora's keys, thank you.

 

[Nova]

I'm happy with using Pandora's keys, thank you.

Well a lot of people will have different uses to you. I myself am planning on buying a roll up keyboard and taking notes in seminars.

 

[Tom`]

I guess it falls to me to present another side of this story

I'm assuming that this is functionally identical to the original aluminum Apple keyboard, except smaller (no numpad, etc.). I've never owned one of these but I've spent a good deal of time using them in university computing labs, libraries etc.

First, the good: it's durable, it's small, it's quiet, it's good-looking (if you like the Apple aesthetic). It has USB ports. That's about all it has to recommend it, though.

My issues: first, it's EXTREMELY difficult and uncomfortable to type on. The key travel is very, very short (more so than most laptops!), and uncomfortable as far as the feedback it provides. (Since I normally use a Model M, which is exactly the opposite of this keyboard in every respect [except durability, of course], I may be overly sensitive to this kind of thing. YMMV and so on.) The keys are completely flat and I find that it's harder to hit them accurately than on almost any other keyboard I've used. In short, I would not want to do any substantial amount of typing on this thing (and I'm far from what you'd consider an "experienced" typist, I average not more than 60 wpm or so - I imagine it would be even worse for many people).

If I were to buy an external keyboard of any sort for the Pandora, I would make comfort a priority, since you'd only be using it for reasonably large amounts of typing - small amounts can use the Pandora keyboard itself.

Of course, this is just my opinion. Lots of people seem to like this keyboard, and a few of them aren't even the usual Apple drones. So there must be something in it. It's just not something I would ever buy. :rolleyes:

 

[zhasha]

@Tom`
I hear what you're saying but I don't exactly agree with you. My experiences with Apple keyboards have been purely on the awesome side with the exception of 1 thing, which pertains directly to the layout of this keyboard: there's no delete, page up/down, home or end keys. That's all I have to complain about. The spacing feels completely natural to me and frankly the feedback seems amazingly well adjusted. The keys being flat, I've never given it much thought but you can easily feel the creases between keys. I'm going to buy this keyboard in en_US once I can find someone in Yurop selling them.

EDIT: I do wish I had a Mac but I don't. I'm not an Apple fanboi, and I really do think after having been through so god damn many keyboards that this is about as good as it's gonna get.

 

[Tom`]

Well, of course it's just my opinion

I had forgotten about the lack of delete, home, end, etc. - that alone would probably be a deal-breaker for me when buying a keyboard. Anyway, I do think a big part of it is being used to a keyboard with such a different feeling. Particularly if you were used to typing a lot on laptops it would feel okay as well - it really is a lot like a laptop keyboard (IMO, of course, this is not a recommendation, but I guess it is for some people).

 

[GPJosh]

I looked both into that Apple Keyboard and the bluetooth Stowaway, but can't seem to find a definitive answer on which would use the least power.

1. Wired keyboard plugged into USB 2.0 port
2. Wired keyboard plugged into the OTG port
3. Bluetooth keyboard

Since battery life is one of Pandora's strong suits, I would hate to cripple it with a power sucking device, imo.