The IT Nerd

I have to admit, when I received the Belkin FastFit Keyboard Case For iPad Mini, I was impressed from the moment I unpacked it. It felt like a quality product. The back cover is made of aluminum that matches the iPad mini’s silver back. The hinge is a single piece of aluminum The top case is finished in a black matte. Inside, the black, slightly textured chiclet keys sit in an almost edge-to-edge layout. So right off the top, you should be impressed with what you have in your hands. It’s thin so it doesn’t take up any more space than required and a built-in stand accommodates the iPad mini in both portrait and landscape mode. It’s solid so that it will protect your iPad Mini from bumps when it’s in your bag. Though I will note that it does not protect the edges of the iPad Mini.

So, the next question is how does it work? It uses Bluetooth to pair to your iPad Mini and the process of pairing is dead easy. As for typing, given the size has to match the iPad Mini, you give up some space which might affect touch typists or those with big hands in terms of the occasional mistyped word. The reason is that it’s not a full sized keyboard. However, I adapted to it the more I used it and I got reasonably good at typing on this keyboard. The keys feel close to what you would find on a MacBook so that helps with adapting to it. One thing that I did like were the function-specific keys for copying and pasting text, moderating volume, using Siri and controlling music. Belkin says that the battery should last up to three months. I only used it for a few days so I can’t tell you if that’s true or not. But it never warned me about the battery being low (the light on the side of the keyboard will flash amber when that’s the case) the entire time I used it. So I have no reason to doubt them. It charges via a micro USB cable (which is included by the way).

My verdict? I’d recommend the Belkin FastFit Keyboard Case For iPad Mini for someone who needs a keyboard for their iPad Mini. It is on the small side, but once you adapt to it I think you’ll find it to be very useful. It’s $79.99 at Belkin.com and at your local retailer.

This entry was posted on May 14, 2014 at 6:35 am and is filed under Products with tags Belkin. 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.