1. castoridae's Avatar
    whoo hooo just got mine!
    - how long do they go before they need a recharge?
    - should you turn it off when you're not using it to save the charge,
    - or is it bad to keep turning it on and off;
    - or maybe it powers down on its own like the playbook?
    thanks for any help
    12-16-12 12:29 AM
  2. rotorwrench's Avatar
    Had mine almost a month now haven't found out how long it will go without a charge yet, but I've gone two weeks before the second charge. That's with me turning it off when not in use. L-ion batteries take a few charges to get up to their full capcity, so frequent top offs won't hurt. I've been told by other posters that it will go a month between charges when left on all the time.

    Turning it on and off won't hurt it, that being my practice at least once a day. That being said, I wouldn't leave it paired to the PB constantly as that would shorten your battery life of the PB. If that's not an issue, leave them paired. To my knowledge and experience with mine, it doesn't power down when left on and not used. I leave mine on most all day and it's always been ready when I started typing or used the trackpad.

    I love mine and now couldn't imagine being without it. Good luck with it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.
    castoridae likes this.
    12-16-12 03:21 AM
  3. FF22's Avatar
    I think I recall a few threads that leaving it ON, actually leads to longer battery life - which may not make any sense!
    12-16-12 09:32 AM
  4. rmpb's Avatar
    It lasts a loooonnnnggg time between charges but that's about as precise as I can get . I rarely turn mine off (strap from the case partially covers the switch so it's a pain to do anyway). While it doesn't turn OFF on its own, it does go into sleep mode if you're not using it, so I find you need to hit a key and wait a second or two for it to re-connect to the PB BT if you haven't used it for a while. I leave the BT on my PB on and I don't think it hurts the battery life that much, but I haven't really tested it.
    castoridae likes this.
    12-16-12 11:57 AM
  5. castoridae's Avatar
    Had mine almost a month now haven't found out how long it will go without a charge yet, but I've gone two weeks before the second charge. That's with me turning it off when not in use. L-ion batteries take a few charges to get up to their full capcity, so frequent top offs won't hurt. I've been told by other posters that it will go a month between charges when left on all the time.

    Turning it on and off won't hurt it, that being my practice at least once a day. That being said, I wouldn't leave it paired to the PB constantly as that would shorten your battery life of the PB. If that's not an issue, leave them paired. To my knowledge and experience with mine, it doesn't power down when left on and not used. I leave mine on most all day and it's always been ready when I started typing or used the trackpad.

    I love mine and now couldn't imagine being without it. Good luck with it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.
    ok, so 'unpairing' it would be just turning off the bluetooth on the playbook by clicking the bluetooth icon that's beside the wiifi icon?
    also, since I just charged it for the fist time, how much useage would you do before you top it off?
    thx
    12-16-12 12:28 PM
  6. castoridae's Avatar
    one more question: does having the bluetooth on use up internet, or is it a battery drain? thx
    12-16-12 03:57 PM
  7. rotorwrench's Avatar
    Right, if you leave the keyboard on but turn off the PB BT they will no longer be paired. Some say that leaving BT on does make a noticable battery drain but I work all day with my PB and phone bridged most of that time (which is using BT) and haven't noticed that much difference in drain. I usually turn my keyboard on first of the day and usually don't turn it off until evening. I see no problem with leaving it on as some suggest. Like I said, I still have no idea how long it will last without charging as I top mine off every few days out of convenience.

    No, BT has no effect on data or internet. You can use the keyboard with wifi on or off. As for topping off, I would do a full charge and then recharge in a few days acouple of times and then let it go. The problem with the keyboard is you have no idea the status of its charge until its too late, hence my top offs when convenient.
    12-16-12 04:27 PM
  8. rotorwrench's Avatar
    I think I recall a few threads that leaving it ON, actually leads to longer battery life - which may not make any sense!
    I've seen that too, but as you say doesn't make much sense, as a known fact of L-ion batteries is that the practice of deep discharging does in fact shorten battery life.
    12-16-12 05:07 PM
  9. castoridae's Avatar
    right so I'll turn off BT only, and it sounds like that should do it and maybe give it a good charge in a week or so. The trouble is the keyboard doesn't have any way to tell you how low is and I'm not sure how long it takes to charge it.
    12-16-12 05:17 PM
  10. rotorwrench's Avatar
    right so I'll turn off BT only, and it sounds like that should do it and maybe give it a good charge in a week or so. The trouble is the keyboard doesn't have any way to tell you how low is and I'm not sure how long it takes to charge it.
    I would experiment with leaving the BT on and see if it appreaciably affects your PB battery drain. Like I said, I haven't noticed much difference with it on or off. I just turn my keyboard off at night and back on in the morning but many never turn it off. As to the keyboard charging, with the keyboard off and on the PB charger, the LED flashes green. When fully charged I believe it goes to solid green, but don't remember. Someone will have to verify or deny this.
    12-16-12 05:46 PM
  11. FF22's Avatar
    You can also just use the keyboard's switch to power it OFF and then ON.
    12-16-12 05:53 PM
  12. PowderJockey's Avatar
    I've had mine since May and have charged it twice. I guess it will depend on what you use it for and for how long. It seems to have very good stand by time.

    I just wish it had arrow keys for moving around the text field.
    12-16-12 06:32 PM
  13. hpjrt's Avatar
    I've had mine since May and have charged it twice. I guess it will depend on what you use it for and for how long. It seems to have very good stand by time.

    I just wish it had arrow keys for moving around the text field.
    I'm confused. What text fields are you trying to navigate? I generally use the trackpad for precise placement.

    Also I've had mine since June and try to remember to charge it once a month, but sometimes forget. Recharging takes very little time - maybe an hour tops. I leave my keyboard on all the time - always paired.
    12-16-12 07:41 PM
  14. kdeckels's Avatar
    You guys are making me wish it was Tuesday - that's when mine should be here.
    12-16-12 08:48 PM
  15. axllebeer's Avatar
    God I really want one of these, but they are so darn expensive I just can't justify it yet. I frequently look online to deals but to no avail just yet.
    12-16-12 09:56 PM
  16. kwelamnp's Avatar
    God I really want one of these, but they are so darn expensive I just can't justify it yet. I frequently look online to deals but to no avail just yet.
    My keyboard/case just arrived from Staples ($68).

    Nice unit but.....
    It appears that the PB has to either be removed from the keyboard case or laid flat and the standard wall charger used to charge the PB. . Bit of a bummer because I have a fast charging stand and use it exclusively.
    Not that easy to get PB out of the case either.

    Considering the fire sales on both the charging stand and the keyboard/case, perhaps RIM is redesigning them. Hopefully not abandoning us....
    12-17-12 01:27 PM
  17. kdeckels's Avatar
    Oh my my my, Fed X came a day early. I got in on the $45 deal & I'm loving the heck out of this thing. Gonna take me a little time to get used to it being a mini keyboard. Was using my HP Touchpad keyboard typing in evernote, got ready to leave for lunch when a co-worker said "hey, this package came for you".
    12-17-12 01:43 PM
  18. Techno-Emigre's Avatar
    There goes getting anything for lunch Ha! Ha! What a great day! So be sure and check back & let us know what you think, your learning curve, etc.
    12-17-12 02:03 PM
  19. rotorwrench's Avatar
    My keyboard/case just arrived from Staples ($68).

    Nice unit but.....
    It appears that the PB has to either be removed from the keyboard case or laid flat and the standard wall charger used to charge the PB. . Bit of a bummer because I have a fast charging stand and use it exclusively.
    Not that easy to get PB out of the case either.

    Considering the fire sales on both the charging stand and the keyboard/case, perhaps RIM is redesigning them. Hopefully not abandoning us....
    Actually I think it comes out rather easily. I bring my personal PB to work and every morning pop it out of the keyboard case and put it in the charging dock on my desk, comes time to go home, pop it back in and off I go. I still use the keyboard while the PB is in the dock. Pretty cool. If I was the type to make videos I would make one for you showing it takes all of 2 seconds (yes, I timed it ) to pop the PB out of case. At home I just plug my usb or rapid charger into it.
    12-17-12 04:44 PM
  20. kdeckels's Avatar
    There goes getting anything for lunch Ha! Ha! What a great day! So be sure and check back & let us know what you think, your learning curve, etc.
    First off, wife didn't know I ordered it, and drat, she was home sick today. *I was downstairs on the couch and I had to hold my anxiety inside, as she was telling me about her morning . *I got back to work and decided to record a customer call from last week in Evernote. *For notes of any length, I prefer it to on screen typing - hmm, maybe that's why I like my Bold. *After that I proceeded to have an IM session with my CFO buddy (who also has a PB) & my wife simultaneously (no, I didn't say 3 way), while listening to Pandora through Bridge. * If I was writing a book, I would prefer the HP Touchpad keyboard (that's not planned - wouldn't sell).*

    What really sets this apart for me is the keyboard combined with the touchpad - and mobility to boot. *I use a rapid charger, & it really doesn't hinder it's use - just lay it flat open. *I can see myself using the PB more productively now (personally & professionally) & not just as a media consumption device. *I think I paid $18 for the HP touchpad keyboard, & I'm sure I would have had to spend more than that for a Bluetooth mouse, and then I would have had to buy an attache case to carry everything around in, and in that case I might as well carry a laptop- so, in one sense I can say I have probably the smallest, most powerful, little laptop in town. *Dang, prices may go back up when BB10 hits this thing.
    12-17-12 10:02 PM
  21. rtergdvasdfg's Avatar
    God I really want one of these, but they are so darn expensive I just can't justify it yet. I frequently look online to deals but to no avail just yet.
    What constitutes as a deal for you? I have one that I'm looking to sell (in like new, perfectly functioning condition). I've tried selling it three different times to no avail, so I'm open to offers just to get it off my hands.

    PM me if you're interested!
    12-18-12 12:55 AM
  22. kwelamnp's Avatar
    Actually I think it comes out rather easily.
    The case holds the PB in quite well and although sure you can get it out, it seems to defeat the purpose to be prying it out once/day just to use the charger stand. On the charger stand, I can still use the PB. Not so easy when lying flat on desk using wall charger.

    Too bad the base lies flat. If the book end and the bottom (that the KB sits on) formed a 90deg angle, and the flip out support were longer, then the charging and HDMI ports would be more usable when the PB is in the case.

    So I suppose I need to find someone who has too many travel chargers and would like to swap for an almost unused charger stand!! Or wait for the next fire sale.

    To be honest, I wish I hadn't bought the keyboard. The touch pad is just as sensitive as the touch screen, so still get unwanted links opening up when moving cursor across screen. No ability to scroll web pages making arrow keys the most useful thing. But the case is nice!
    Last edited by kwelamnp; 12-18-12 at 08:59 AM.
    12-18-12 08:48 AM
  23. rotorwrench's Avatar
    The case holds the PB in quite well and although sure you can get it out, it seems to defeat the purpose to be prying it out once/day just to use the charger stand. On the charger stand, I can still use the PB. Not so easy when lying flat on desk using wall charger.

    Too bad the base lies flat. If the book end and the bottom (that the KB sits on) formed a 90deg angle, and the flip out support were longer, then the charging and HDMI ports would be more usable when the PB is in the case.

    So I suppose I need to find someone who has too many travel chargers and would like to swap for an almost unused charger stand!! Or wait for the next fire sale.

    To be honest, I wish I hadn't bought the keyboard. The touch pad is just as sensitive as the touch screen, so still get unwanted links opening up when moving cursor across screen. No ability to scroll web pages making arrow keys the most useful thing. But the case is nice!

    I understand your preferences and to each his own, but it doesn't defeat the purpose to literally take two seconds for me to pop the PB out of the case and put it in my charger dock. I've yet to see any keyboard case that would fit in a dock, so this one is no different than any other in that regard. I'm just glad that the PB comes out as easily as it does, which allows it to be more versatile for ME. There are always compromises and you choose which ones you want. I like using the dock, and this keyboard case in no way prevents me from using it. Actually it works nicely when in the dock on my desk and using the keyboard as a remote. I do understand you prefer not to take it out of the case to use the dock, but no keyboard case will allow that, so any dock is out for you with any keyboard/case combo. That being said, I agree you shouldn't have purchased it.

    As to the rapid charger use while in the keyboard case, mine works fine by putting a book under the prop stand. I saw on another forum where the poster velcroed an extension on his stand, which allowed the use of the rapid charger also. I understand these are work-arounds, but to me and others the keyboard is worth the workarounds. On the scrolling, I find the two fingered scrolling works better than the arrows on web and documents and is much faster, but thats me.

    I know its frustrating to purchase an accessory that doesn't fit your needs or preferences. I'll be glad to buy yours for the right price
    Last edited by rotorwrench; 12-18-12 at 10:56 AM.
    12-18-12 10:37 AM
  24. axllebeer's Avatar
    My keyboard/case just arrived from Staples ($68).

    Nice unit but.....
    It appears that the PB has to either be removed from the keyboard case or laid flat and the standard wall charger used to charge the PB. . Bit of a bummer because I have a fast charging stand and use it exclusively.
    Not that easy to get PB out of the case either.

    Considering the fire sales on both the charging stand and the keyboard/case, perhaps RIM is redesigning them. Hopefully not abandoning us....
    Are you in Canada, I'm unable to find any online on the Staples website. And I'm about 100 miles from the nearest Staples.
    12-18-12 11:20 AM
  25. axllebeer's Avatar
    What constitutes as a deal for you? I have one that I'm looking to sell (in like new, perfectly functioning condition). I've tried selling it three different times to no avail, so I'm open to offers just to get it off my hands.

    PM me if you're interested!
    What Is there a reason you are selling it? I very well might be interested
    12-18-12 11:21 AM
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