iPad Bluetooth Keyboards

For the serious road warrior that want to use the iPad as a complete replacement for the usual laptop when traveling, the addition of a portable keyboard is the perfect solution for serious email and other text generation. We offer several practical keyboard solutions.

Freedom Pro Bluetooth Keyboard

This is an extremely lightweight and nicely designed portable Bluetooth keyboard that supports both the HID and SPP protocols for portable devicess, so it will be compatible with virtually any mobile device with integrated Bluetooth.

Features:

• HID Profile - Used for connecting to Symbian and Windows Mobile Smartphones. Can also be connected to many HID compatible devices which have keyboard support such as Playstations 3's, Netbooks, Laptop's and PC's.
• SPP Profile - Used for connecting to BlackBerry's and Android based phones. (Note: Android drivers are currently under development).
• Full 5 row keyboard with 75 keys.
• 6 Dedicated keys to: Answer Call, End/Reject call, Open Messages/email, Open Address book, Open task and Open Calendar.
• 12 user defined quick launch keys.
• Control and function keys allow complete control of your mobile device from the keyboard.
• Separate LED indicators to show power and connection status.
• Pull out, folding, device stand.
• Uses two AAA batteries for long life (Over 90 hours use and 3000 hours standby) and ease of replacement.
• Comes with elegant storage case.
  
  The Freedom Pro™ Keyboard is compatible with a large range of mobile devices running the following operating systems:
  
  
  • iPad and iPhone - OS 3.2 and above have been tested
  • BlackBerry – running Versions 4.0 and upwards.
  • Windows Mobile Pocket PC 5, 6, 6.1 and 6.5.
  • Windows Mobile Smartphone 5, 6, 6.1 and 6.5
  • Symbian Series 60 (most N and E series Nokia’s)
  • Symbian UIQ3 (Sony Ericsson Smartphones such as the P900)

For more information, visit the Freedom Pro website

Comments: We love the size of this keyboard when folded. It also hosts a lot of functionality in terms of key functions. We do, however, find that some of the keys along the periphery (particularly the right shift key and backspace key) have been made too small and are sometimes missed when typing. When using this with the iPad of iPhone you should set it to the"HID" mode (a simple slide switch on the left side allows this choice). Also, the key positions are adjusted - shifted - slightly to allow it fold in the center and the alignment is slightly different than a standard keyboard. This could lead to an occasional error until you get used to it. It pairs very easily and works great with the iPad. How does this compare with Apple Bluetooth keyboard? In terms of functionality we consider it very similar. The keys are a bit smaller but have a bit more traditional touch and feel. It folds to be far smaller than the apple keyboard and we consider this to be the key advantage.

Freedom Pro Bluetooth Keyboard

MSRP: $119
Our Price: $ 89.99

Freedom i-connex Bluetooth Keyboard

This keyboard is similar to the Freedom Pro keyboard but is tailored to the iPad, iPhone and other device using only the HID Bluetooth protocol.

Features:

• HID Profile - Used for connecting to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch running OS 4.0 and above as well as Symbian and Windows Mobile Smartphones with built in HID keyboard support. Can also be connected to many HID compatible devices which have keyboard support such as Playstations 3's, Netbooks, Laptop's and PC's.
• 6 Dedicated keys for media controls.
• Control and function keys allow control of your mobile device from the keyboard.
• Separate LED indicators to show power and connection status.
• Pull out, folding, device stand.
• Uses two AAA batteries for long life (Over 90 hours use and 3000 hours standby) and ease of replacement.
• Comes with elegant storage case

Compatible Devices:

• Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch running the 4.0 OS
• Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 (with built in HID support).
• Playstation 3
• Windows, Mac and linux based laptops, PC's, tablets and
  netbooks.
• All other devices that have built in support for HID Bluetooth
  keyboards.

Comments: this device is similar to the Freedom Pro, but uses only the HID protocol (the one that the iPad and iPhone use) and is somewhat less expensive. Functionally it is extremely similar and includes the same high quality case.

Freedom i-connex Bluetooth keyboard (currently in production; expect arrival in mid-late June)

MSRP: $
Our Price: $ 79.99

Matias Folding Bluetooth Keyboard

This unique Bluetooth keyboard is full size (even including a dedicated numeric keyboard) and yet folds to be fully portable. When folded, this keyboard is only about a half an inch longer than the iPad itself. But when opened up, it is a full sized keyboard with all the usual functionality, including a dedicated numeric keyboard.

Comments: Although the folded size of this keyboard is significantly larger than the "Freedom Pro" and "Freedom i-connex" keyboards shown above, we like the fact that this is a full-sized keyboard with an entirely standard key layout. When typing with this bluetooth keyboard, we found ourselved much less likely to make an error. The tradeoff, of course, is the larger transport size - it is larger in all dimensions. In terms of pairing, the process is simple.

MSRP: $99.95
Our Price: $ 89.99