Check out the Brydge 10.2 iPad keyboard on Amazon!
For a long time, the Dell XPS keyboard has been the cream of the crop in terms of keyboards. And that had a good long run, but now, I’m absolutely in love with my Brydge 10.2 keyboard that goes with my 7th generation iPad not-pro. This keyboard is simply wonderful. The pitch between the keys, the travel, the responsiveness/clickiness of the keys are all really good. I was nervous about using such a small keyboard - it’s only the size of an iPad after all, but I honestly don’t care at all, because this keyboard is so very good. In fact most of my scripts for the podcast over the last three weeks have been written with this keyboard on my iPad. I have two 13-inch laptops to write on. I just did a review of a full sized Logitech keyboard that I could have used to write. But week after week, I crouched over this tiny 10.2" laptop to write 7-10 page long scripts. This keyboard, folks, is that good.
I got the space grey version to go with my space grey iPad. The keyboard sits in the middle of the frame, with equal empty space top and bottom. I did not get the version of the Brydge keyboard with a trackpad, and now, i regret that. The keyboard is about as thick as the iPad itself, so therefore this keyboard doubles the thickness, and also the weight of the iPad. The battery lasts a long time. In the three weeks I’ve had this device, I’ve only had to charge it once, and by the way that was fresh out of the box - who knows what level the battery was at when i first connected it.
The keys are laid out in a standard qwerty layout including a number row with typical control, option, command keys, etc at the bottom. There’s also a Siri button in the bottom left corner. Across the top of the keyboard are brightness controls, and media controls. This keyboard also is backlit, by the way.
But it’s not perfect, and one of the major downsides isn’t even Brydge’s fault. Notably iOS autocorrect is a dumpster fire. It’s almost as if Apple is actively trying to keep those autocorrect memes alive with how bad autocorrect is. It’s simply terrible. But again, that’s not brydge’s fault.
The keyboard attaches to the iPad with two rubber coated clamps on either end of the keyboard, allowing the iPad to close like a clamshell. The hinge is great and it works at all angles between zero and just short of 180 degrees. But I would absolutely love it if somehow Brydge could make this go all the way around at least to a tent stand, so i could watch movies. As it is, I have to have the keyboard open like a laptop to watch movies. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s a little annoying.
The only other thing that i don’t like about the keyboard is that it basically leaves you no way to use the tablet in portrait mode You can pull the tablet off the keyboard, which leaves the iPad unprotected This wouldn’t normally be a big deal except the Smart Keyboard which I originally got with the iPad does allow you to use the ipad in portrait. Also, Bluetooth connectivity can take a little bit to kick in as well. When I first open the keyboard and start a movie, the volume buttons don’t always work right away.
None of these are big deals. Even if they were, ignore them because the keyboard is that good. It’s wonderful for carrying around with you. Sit down on a couch, or at a coffee shop to bang out a script, or an email, or a 350 page novel; you'll love it too. The link at the top of this review will take you to Amazon to pick this up and you won't regret it at all.
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