Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio Case for iPad 2 and iPad 3

Swiss company Logitech makes a lot of iPad accessories. Out of the three iPad Keyboard Cases they currently sell, the Solar Keyboard Folio is their top-of-the-range model and consequently the most expensive. It gets its name from the fact that it charges via built-in solar cells, gives you a physical keyboard to type on, and closes like a book.

Taking the Folio out of its magnetically closed packaging, it's certainly an interesting-looking product. The dark grey and red colour scheme gives it a smart, business-like aesthetic, and the black polyurethane used on the exterior is very similar to an iPad Smart Cover. When the Folio is closed, it provides complete protection for your iPad, from any angle. The only problem is that you have to remember to hold it closed, otherwise it'll just swing open leaving your iPad dangling!

Your iPad (either an iPad 2 or iPad 3) attaches to the Folio via the iPad tray; a stretchy rubber frame similar to an Apple iPhone 4 Bumper case. All you have to do is place your iPad in the iPad tray and then stretch it around the edges of your iPad to properly seal it in. From there you can move the iPad tray up into one of two positions: typing position or media position. More on those later.

Pairing your iPad with the Folio is surprisingly simple. All you have to do is tap on Settings on your iPad's Home Screen, tap on General, tap on Bluetooth, and then switch Bluetooth on (if it's currently off). Under "Devices" your iPad will say "Searching..." and then eventually "Logitech Solar KB Folio, Not Paired" will appear. To pair the two, simply tap on "Logitech Solar KB Folio, Not Paired" and it will change to "Connected". That's it!

At 23cm wide with 65 keys, the Folio's UK English keyboard isn't full-size, but it does have a very similar feel to an Apple Wireless Keyboard, with its crisp responsive action. I was curious to see how fast I could type on it, so I did an online typing test in Safari. I averaged about 66 wpm (words per minute), but sometimes got up to 82 wpm. If you need to do a lot of typing on your iPad, but struggle with the accuracy of a virtual keyboard, you can immediately see the benefit of owning a Folio. However, something to be aware of is that there's no way of using the keyboard with the iPad in portrait orientation; the design of the Folio prevents it.

Small support legs on the bottom of the iPad tray magnetically attach to notches in the keyboard, allowing you to rest your iPad in one of two positions. The first position (Typing position) turns your iPad into a kind of laptop; ideal for firing away replies to emails, taking notes, or writing reports and essays. The top row of keys can be used to perform 14 iPad specific functions: home screen, spotlight, switch keyboard language, show/hide virtual keyboard, select text left, select text right, cut, copy, paste, play/pause, mute, volume down, volume up, and lock screen. The only problem with Typing position is the fixed angle (110˚) it holds your iPad at, which seems very steep compared to a laptop. The second position (Media position) brings your iPad forward to cover all but the bottom row of keys, which automatically assume media playback functions: start slideshow, show/hide virtual keyboard, previous track, play/pause, next track, mute, volume down, volume up. This more reclined angle (135˚) is great for watching videos, listening to music, and playing games.

The Folio's Bluetooth connection and physical keyboard clearly use electricity, so how is it powered? By light! The silver "spine" actually contains two rechargeable NiMh batteries which are automatically charged by the dye-sensitised solar cells on the bottom of the Folio. You can't charge the Folio while you're using it, because the solar cells are underneath the keyboard! But if you leave it out in the daytime, with the solar cells facing up, they'll charge the battery in about six hours. According to Logitech, "when the Folio is fully charged, the battery lasts for up to 2 years" on a single charge! While I don't have the patience to test their claim, I think it's safe to assume that you'll never ever run out of power. That said, if you want to quickly check the remaining charge, all you have to do is press the Battery check button and look at the the Status light next to it. Green means the battery is charged, red means the battery power is low, and no light means the battery is empty and needs recharging.

With all this technology on board, is the Folio heavy? I weighed an iPad with three different accessories and came to the conclusion that, yes, the Folio is the heaviest option. So you might want to consider using an iPad Smart Cover with a separate Apple Wireless Keyboard; a combination that's surprisingly lighter, cheaper and more versatile than the Folio!

- iPad 2 with Wi-Fi 64GB + Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio = 1074g
- iPad 2 with Wi-Fi 64GB + Apple Wireless Keyboard + iPad Smart Cover = 1068g
- iPad 2 with Wi-Fi 64GB + Apple Wireless Keyboard = 930g
- iPad 2 with Wi-Fi 64GB + iPad Smart Cover = 742g
- iPad 2 with Wi-Fi 64GB = 603g

Overall, I think the Solar Keyboard Folio is a good product, and definitely useful for anyone that does a lot of typing and travelling. The Bluetooth connection is fast and reliable, and Logitech's "powered-by-light" technology means you never have to worry about battery life. I think the main drawback is, in leaving it permanently attached, you lose the original lightweight streamlined feel of your iPad. Plus you lose the ability to use your iPad in portrait orientation, which seems a shame.

Being the good son I am, I gave my Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad 2 and iPad 3 to my dad who had just got an ipad. I still had the first keyboard case that I bought, an unbranded £20 keyboard which worked but intermittently.

Because I use my ipad a lot for making notes, I knew I needed to get a decent keyboard and so I got this one.

I kinda wish I had given this one to my dad! But let's start with the positives of this keyboard:

a. It charges via sun or domestic light. Sounds very eco, but the ultrathin keyboard is stated to last 6 months for every 12 hour charge. So you aren't really going to save that much money or that many trees by purchasing this solar keyboard.
b. It was very easy to connect to the ipad. This is always a bonus.
c. It works really well
d. The keys feels nice and responsive and arent too loud, so you don't feel too inconspicuous working on a flight if everyone else is trying to sleep.
e. The keyboard has the same useful shortcuts as the ultrathin one e.g. Fn + 4 highlights the word to the left, Fn+5 does the same for the right.
f. The main feature above the ultrathin keyboard (other than the solar panel) is that it quite protective of the ipad.

But now for the limitations

a. the first thing you will notice is that it is rather heavy. This is because the solar panel charges a battery, which lies in the middle of the cover (you will see the silver bar in the pictures). So it adds quite a large amount of weight to the ipad.
b. Also it isn't easy to pull out once you have put it in.
c. You can't use the keyboard with the ipad in portrait mode, which you can with the ultrathin keyboard.
d. at £120 a pop, that's crazy expensive!

So although the list of limitations isn't that long. I would definitely recommend the logitech ultrathin keyboard, unless you really really want a protective case. That is the one thing that the ultrathin keyboard doesn't do very well. But other than that, the ultrathin keyboard is much more suitable and much cheaper.

Hope that helps.

If you're going to splash out on an ipad cover it might as well be one which has extra functionality.

The product comes with brief 11 page written instructions/diagrams in English, French, Dutch, Turkish, Greek and Arabic.

Quality is subjective. I'd describe this similar to other Logitech products I own and as `fit for purpose', `ok', but not `wow ` if that's the reaction you have to an Apple product. The external case is a dark grey plastic `looks not very like leather' pattern and the keys a grey plastic that require a touch like a keyboard.

The ipad snaps into the cover in a similar way to gel covers although, the Logitech cover is made from more rigid plastic.

The hinge is flexible plastic which allows the screen to be positioned just in front of the keyboard. (About half the width of the ipad or at a shallower angle about 2cm from the front of the keyboard. ) This latter position is recommended for watching videos. There are gaps in the case to allow connection of the Apple power/computer connector cable and head phone socket. There's a hole for the camera and small holes to help the speaker function. (In a room with no back ground noise video was audible with out the need for head phones.)

The keyboard is powered by a solar panel on the rear of the cover which is the width of the device and ~3cm deep. The solar panel does not charge the ipad. The initial charge takes ~6 hours with the solar cell in good ambient light. The battery is encased in a metal cyclinder with a diameter slightly larger than on old 1/2p placed along the hinge line. The keyboard connects to the ipad via Blue tooth. This connected very easily on initial set up. The battery status/blue tooth connection is indicated by blinking lights at the side of the keyboard. The light is red when only 10-20% charge remains.

The keyboard is Mac standard although the function keys are not identical. ( Sorry Windows fans, or Twitter fans no `# `key have to use alt 3) There are some functions such as volume which can be controlled by the key pad and a home button to close an app, but the keyboard is not a mouse so does not replace in many ways touching the ipad to select apps or items. Think of it only as a replacement for the screen keyboard to not be disappointed with its functionality.

They less good bits........

The cover is only fixed to the ipad for about 1/3 of its length to allow the ipad to be propped up as a screen. This means that unlike other covers which encase the whole back when you open it up you need to fully support the iPad, its easy to fumble the device and drop the ipad until you get used to this.

The solar panel is on the part of the cover which becomes the base whilst in use as either a stand to watch a movie or as a keyboard, hence it's not charging in use! There are instructions for taking the battery case apart to dispose of the batteries but no indication if they can be replaced. Product packaging suggests 2 years battery life based on two hours typing a day. I calculate that's ~720 hours. There is no possibility to connect to a pc or external power supply to charge the device only the solar panel.

Some ipad accessories which say ipad2/3 will work with the original ipad, not so in this case (no pun intended) as the original ipad is thicker than ipad2/3 and wont fit into the snap part of the case. They keyboard only works with the stand in the correct position, you can lean the original ipad on the case and it will connect and work but its not ideal. I would not recommend to buy this product if you have an original ipad.

Being only the width of the ipad keyboard is very narrow hence is as not good as a full size external keyboard.

The product is currently priced at £119- Ipads, covers and Apple keyboards are all highly priced products in my opinion. If I'd been asked to guess the price based on finish and functionality I'd have though £30-40 reasonable. I've dropped a star rating because of this.