ChineseGadgets.net

A small Bluetooth keyboard for $24.73/€17.70, that’s quite a steal. But is it any good? Read on the find out.

There aren’t a lot of cheap pocked sized Bluetooth keyboards out there. There is one for $25.44/€18.21, but most of the time they cost more than a complete wireless desktop set. I decided to get the Mini Palm Size Wireless Bluetooth Media Keyboard for PDA/PC/PS3/Cellphone (yup, that’s what they call it on DealExtreme), which costs $24.73/€17.70 with free worldwide shipping.

Inside the box, you’ll find besides the keyboard, a useless pouch and a CD with the manuals and drivers. It’s a regular Bluetooth Human Interface Device (HID), so it works with any device that supports the HID protocol. The keyboard was recognized by Windows Vista, so it wasn’t needed to install the drivers.

As expected, the plastic keyboard looks and feels quite cheap, but it’s really light, small and is sturdy enough to carry around in your pocket. The rubber keys require a firmer press to get registrated than those found on modern QWERTY phones, so it’s a bit harder to type on if you’re used to those devices. The keyboard layout is quite awkward too: there aren’t any dedicated keys for numbers or punctuation marks, which require two key presses. The weirdest thing is the spacebar though, which consists of two regular sized keys. Other than that, the keyboard lacks function keys, but does have media keys for those who want to use it with their media pc.

Overall, it’s a decent little keyboard for it’s money. It’s not a Logitech diNovo Mini, but it’s five times cheaper. The keyboard worked fine with all devices I tried, including the SmartQ MIDs. You don’t want to write your paper on this thing, but it’s still a lot faster than tapping the keys of a on screen keyboard.

Pros

• Very cheap
• Very small and light
• Media keys
• Standard Bluetooth HID support, works with most devices

Cons

• Rubber keys
• No dedicated keys for numbers or punctuation marks.
• No function keys
• Strange double key spacebar

Rating

3/5

SKU.32011

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.