▶▶▶ Apple iPad Keyboard Dock (MC533LL/A)

Friday, November 5, 2010

Apple iPad Keyboard Dock (MC533LL/A)

Apple iPad Keyboard Dock (MC533LL/A) Review

For two months now I've been eying this keyboard and finally broke down and picked it up for my iPad (as well as iWork's Pages app). I've always struggled with the iPad onscreen keyboard and wanted to start using this for more than simple typing.

And I love it!

The keys are very responsive and has a very nice feel to them. In fact, I'm finding that I prefer it over my Microsoft ergonomic keyboard I usually use (so I'm tempted to get an Apple keyboard sometime...).

I also love all the button options at the top, including one that locks the iPad, adjusts the brightness without having to go into the setting, adjusts the volume, and even turns it on from an off state. I didn't know these were on there when I picked it up and it has been a nice surprise and addition.

I do have a few complaints, but the pro's of this keyboard far outweigh the cons.

1) This is heavier than I thought it would be. I was surprised when I first took it out especially since this was meant to be portable. Along with that, it is odd shaped and does not fit in my tote very easily. But the pro that goes along with this is that it is VERY sturdy. You don't need to treat it like you are carrying glass.

2) Does not work with the cover on. I've got the thin cover from Apple but I have to take this out of there whenever I use the keyboard. Talk about an inconvenience!! I wish Apple, in all their ingenuity and ingeniousness, would have thought up some sort of solution for this... like an adjustable receiver or something.

3) No number keypad. I haven't bought the iWork spreadsheet program but if I did I would really be missing this. It would help with the sign-in process as well. I understand they wanted to keep this small and portable, but why didn't they do like all of my laptops and netbooks and make it so you can hold down a key and have a make-shift ten-keypad. It would not have been difficult (a little extra silk screening on the keys), it would not have added bulk, and it would have proven very useful.

4) No sync cable. I was surprised by this and for bucks I thought it would supply a sync cable to go with the dock. No, all you get is the keyboard and dock and then some instructions nobody will bother to read. What a disappointment!

5) Pricey. Like most Apple products they are flawed but still overly priced. If this were twenty bucks cheaper I probably would not have hesitated so long in picking this up. I love it, but I still think seventy bucks is too much.