Apple Wireless Keyboard - GBR

First of all, this is a very stylish keyboard, and as a (mostly) laptop user, I do like the short travel button keys.

I find connectivity is immediate, and so far so good on battery life ... at least as good as other bluetooth keyboards I have owned.

There are one or two very minor niggles, the @ is located above the 2 (american keyboard) style, and I do seem to hit caps lock quite a lot.

That probably brings me round to my biggest quibble, and something I have not really marked the keyboard down on ... its size!!! it is very small, the keyboard on my 15.6 inch HP laptop is bigger! That is probably not a problem for the vast majority of people, but for an 18 stone ex rugby player (who can type reasonably well 2 handed, I found that I was mis-keying a lot, and my shoulders ached after a while.

I do bemoan the fact that you cannot get a full sized wireless keyboard, but this review is not the place for that.

The wireless keyboard is a slick, solidly built and nice to use bit of kit (see note above). It slides away nicely under my 27 inch iMac and I would recommend it. (esp alongside the trackpad or magic mouse)

At just about an inch longer, this laptop sytle keyboard is an ideal bluetooth companion for the iPad, which is why I bought it. If you prefer, there's a keyboard with a built-in dock available, but that assumes you want the iPad at the angle the dock insists, which isn't necessarily the case. This one also makes a great extension keyboard for a laptop, for example if you close your laptop and plug it into a big monitor, or for a presentation. However, you might be better off purchasing the older, full sized Apple Wireless Keyboard - Keyboard - wireless - Bluetooth - English, which has the numeric keypad, full set of navigation keys and the delete button, if it's mainly for laptop use.

I didn't much like the look of the keys on this board until I actually tried it. They looked more like Scrabble tiles, and I preferred the typewriter style keys with curved tops found on MacBook Pros and full sized keyboards. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent feel -- as good as the legendary old Northgate keyboards -- and find myself rattling away at my usual pace without any adjustment necessary.

On the first generation of this style of keyboard, battery life was appalling. Apple has addressed this, and, with fewer batteries required, we now get the kind of extensive life the old big white bluetooth keyboards gave us.

If you want a keyboard for the iPad (or iPhone, I understand) which you also want to use with a laptop, then this is the best one to go for. Otherwise, you might consider the dedicated iPad keyboard, as this more general model has functions such as CD eject which you won't be needing.

By the way, this review was typed on the keyboard, on an iPad, just so you know it works.

I've had my Apple Wireless Aluminium keyboard for about 18 months. It was love at first sight when I got it out of the box because it's small and sleek. I type very fast, and the keys on this are fabulous; not too sensitive, but they are thin and much easier to type with, although for some people used to chunky keys it might take a day or so to acclimatise. Well worth the effort, though. Much less taxing on the hands.

Although I really like the iPad's own virtual keyboard, I do type a lot so I like to use this keyboard with that, too. Mostly I use it with my iMac, though, and switching between that and the iPad is very quick and easy. Incidentally, you CAN pair this keyboard to your iPhone, but only if you've got a 3GS or later).

I also have the wired version of this keyboard with the number pad. After using the wireless keyboard, I find the number pad feels 'odd' and in the way. Of course, if you're an accountant you might disagree. :-)

Bear in mind though, that this wireless version has no USB ports. The wired version has two. That might make your decision easier. However, having said that, some things like scanners, digital cameras etc. will NOT work if you plug them into an Apple keyboard's USB ports anyway. Me, I prefer to be wire free - after all, it IS a wireless keyboard - and use a hub for my kit.

For those who have either small desks, or a keyboard shelf and have struggled to get a keyboard and mouse side by side, this keyboard is the answer. It sits nicely in both those scenarios with plenty of room to spare. And of course, if you have the Magic Mouse too, you won't need to try to squeeze a mouse pad on because you don't need one.

Unlike previous Apple keyboards that tended to get dust and crumbs inside that fall to the bottom (which then show), that just doesn't happen with this keyboard. So if you're fussy about those things (like me) that's another plus.

Battery life was a big issue with this keyboard at the beginning. Apple soon released a firmware update to deal with it and now it's a different story. Batteries last ages.

I know it's a very positive review, but really, in 18 months I've had absolutely no issues with this keyboard. It's the best keyboard I've ever had and I've been using Macs for over 20 years (as well as the odd PC). I really wouldn't be without it now. Typing on anything else just seems so 'yesterday'.