It’s easier to type on a tablet with a keyboard, but it’s so much easier to carry a tablet without a keyboard.
The accessory manufacturer Belkin has sought a compromise with its new Ultimate Keyboard Case, which it calls the thinnest iPad keyboard available.
The keyboard, at about a quarter-inch thickness, is about half as thick as the iPad itself when snapped into the case’s plastic shell, which holds it to the cover. The keys have a definitive motion, so you can tell when you’ve hit them, although the keyboard, which is backed with iPad-style matte aluminum, is a bit cramped.
The iPad can be set at three angles, using magnets on top of the keyboard to hold it in place. The magnets could stand to be a little stronger, because the iPad occasionally flopped loose when I used my knees as the typing surface. That is partly because the hinge is made of a kind of flexible faux hide.
The magnet that holds the case closed, however, seemed to do the job.
The case also can be folded so that its pad alone can be used when you only want to use the touch screen.
The top row of buttons has shortcut keys, like video controls; access is made by hitting the Fn key on the lower left. A key in the upper left marked only with a square can summon Siri. The keyboard’s Bluetooth paired easily with the tablet, although it occasionally seemed to lose the connection.
The company said the battery would last 160 hours under constant use, and six months in standby mode.
The $100 keyboard case becomes available online through Belkin in April.
