Logitech had a definite winner
on its hands with the Ultrathin Keyboard Case for iPad, a Bluetooth keyboard
that attaches via magnets built into the iPad, protecting the screen and adding
only minimal thickness. Now, there’s a successor designed for the iPad mini that
comes in an appropriately shrunken down package. Of course, making a keyboard
smaller doesn’t always produce the best results, but in this case, Logitech
strikes a good balance.
Three months of battery life (based on two hours daily usage)
Availability: Preorder now, with availability sometime later this month
7.33mm thin, weighs 220 grams
Available in black and white (and red in select markets)
design
The Logitech Ultrathin is a
good-looking device that matches up really well with the iPad mini’s design. My
review unit is black, and the case’s matte finish pretty much perfectly mirrors
that of the iPad’s rear case. Side-by-side and face down, the symmetry is such
that you could easily pick up one thinking it was the other if you aren’t paying
close enough attention. The two surfaces also feel the same, which speaks
volumes about Logitech’s attention to quality with the Ultrathin’s
construction.
The magnet spine that attaches
to the iPad itself snaps into place with a satisfying click, and lines up well
when closed. The face of the keyboard features a shiny black plastic, which,
while not as classy as the iPad’s glass surface, does a good job of mimicking
its black bezel visually, to keep the whole design symmetry experience
consistent.
Keyboard-Tyoing
The Ultrathin’s keyboard is
the part upon which everything hinges, and Logitech has pulled out all the stops
to try to provide a typing experience that doesn’t feel compromised, despite the
extremely limited real estate available given the iPad mini’s small footprint.
To make it work, Logitech has combined a number of function buttons, reduced key
size and cut down on the space between them.
The keys themselves feel
great, and offer a nice response when typing despite how thin the cover is. But
the experience isn’t without compromises. Typing on the keyboard will prove a
frustrating experience at first for anyone used to using a full-sized keyboard.
But the good news is that the number of errors you make starts to taper off
pretty quickly, and in very little time, you can even feel mostly at home on the
Ultrathin keyboard, though placement of some elements like the Shift keys never
quite feels perfectly natural.
While the typing experience
isn’t perfect on the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard, it’s about as close as you can
get without adding a lot more bulk to a Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad mini. It
still dramatically increases your ability to enter text, and beats using the
software keyboard by a very wide margin. If you’re looking for an iPad mini
keyboard that maintains the smaller tablet’s considerable size advantage over
its big brother and still greatly improves the experience of typing anything
longer than a tweet.
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