[GooseberryFool]

Hi

I'm considering getting a keyboard for my Playbook but looking around for one is proving difficult, for various reasons. Also, I'm in UK and prefer a UK keyboard.

Questions

1 - How does the cover affect the swiping from the bevel edge when most of it, apart from the corners, look as if they are covered by the case?

2 - If/when I wanted to use it as tablet only, can the keyboard be easily removed from the case? - I'm not sure how they are fixed. Certainly, I wouldn't want to be removing the tablet from the cover each time

3 - With keyboard attached/bluetoothed, can you still use the touch screen? I seem to recall reading that you have to disconnect/disable to use touch screen features

4 - Is there a keyboard with mouse pad? If so, is it beneficial or a niusance (ie keeps sending curser all over if accidentally touched)

Sorry for all the questions but so many of you have experience with keyboards so are a valuable resource

Thanks very much

3 -

[dave_h_946]

1) Well, depends on what keyboard you are going for. If it is the genuine PB mini keyboard then swiping is not affected. If you buy from ebay like this one then with the time the bottom holders will hang due to the PB's weight and swiping from the bottom bezel will be affected. Also, my experience with the ebay keyboards is a bad one (constant connection drops and double characters)

2)Again, the one in the link cannot be detached. The PB mini keyboard can.

3) That's not correct. You can use the touch screen and even the virtual keyborad by swiping from the bottom left corner to the centre. In general, you can do everything with your PB with the the keyboard connected. Btw, you can have both keyboard and bridge at the same time. I say that because some older threads people were saying that this is not possible. Again I am talking about the PB mini keyboard.

4) The PB mini keyboard has a touch pad (I guess this is what you meant by mouse pad). The ebay one does not. I personally do not use the that touchpad. The touchpad is inactive when typing to avoid having the cursor jumping here and there.

[GooseberryFool]

Hi

Thanks Dave. That's really useful information and pretty well answers my questions

Depending on price, I think I'd like to go for the genuine PB mini keyboard. However, don't seem to be able to find anywhere to buy it from. Every time I go to the Blackberry store (UK) it says it's closed!

So, has anyone got any ideas as to where I could buy one?

Thanks

[Wongsky]

Hi

Thanks Dave. That's really useful information and pretty well answers my questions

Depending on price, I think I'd like to go for the genuine PB mini keyboard. However, don't seem to be able to find anywhere to buy it from. Every time I go to the Blackberry store (UK) it says it's closed!

So, has anyone got any ideas as to where I could buy one?

Thanks

Pretty sure it's available on amazon.co.uk.:- here.

It's a lot more expensive than any other keyboard / case combo ('cept for the Kensington keyfoilio types - although I'm not sure I've seen one of those for 7" size tablets). Whether it's worth that �80-�90 pricetage compared with the �18-�30 that some of the aftermarkets ones - I mean, sure, some of the very cheapest are probably not very good - but would an official one be 3 x better than the top end of the "no name" brands, I'm not sure...

That said, when I first bought a Kindle 3 / keyboard, I bought the official lighted case for it (�50) and although it was truly leather, it was nearly half the cost of my then Kindle 3 / keyboard (at �109 when I bought it).

I have got 2 Kensington keyfolio universal keyboard cases for my 10" Android tablets - although I paid (new) around the �40 mark, their retail price was �100. Personally, I wouldn't have paid �100 for one, and �40 is the upper range of what I would have paid for one, anyways - but they're OK for what I use them for, although they do make a tablet in a case, almost laptop sized. That said, when I'm away from home, I get the benefit of them and think they're worthwhile, but for general / light use, I just have my larger tablets in cheapo, faux-leather, folio-type cases.