TYPO KEYBOARD

Design

If you have seen a BlackBerry, you recognize what the Typo's keyboard appears like. From its 3 silver, horizontal frets running the length of the keyboard to the colour and form of the keys, the Typo's keyboard could be a image for one in all BlackBerry's units.

The mistake Keyboard Case comes in 2 items that slide along round the iPhone. the highest [*fr1] appears like the other iPhone five or 5s case, covering the handset's edges and back whereas giving openings for the rear camera, power button and volume buttons. The star of the show, the Typo's keyboard, sits on rock bottom 1/2 the case below the iPhone's screen.

Unfortunately, the mistake case blocks the iPhone's Home button. that is notably a difficulty for iPhone 5s users, because the case blocks the handset's bit ID device. mistake additional a zealous Home button to rock bottom left corner of the keyboard, however bit ID remains obscured. On the keyboard's left edge could be a small USB port for recharging the case. below the mistake could be a giant gap for the iPhone's speakers, and channels for the Lighting connexion and earphone cable.

The mistake measures five.6 x 2.4 x 0.52 inches and weighs one.4 ounces, delivery the three.95-ounce iPhone 5s' total weight to five.35 ounces. fortuitously, the burden does not feel targeted close to the keyboard; rather, it's distributed across the telephone set. in contrast to the BlackBerry keyboards that it emulates, the Typo's keyboard is comparatively slender, which suggests your hands might feel incommodious whereas typewriting.

Setup

Installing the mistake keyboard is straightforward enough. merely slide your iPhone into the highest section of the case, then slip rock bottom portion on. Push the 2 ends along to form certain they're properly connected and secure. To try the mistake together with your iPhone, open the Settings app and switch on Bluetooth.

Enable Bluetooth discovery on the mistake by holding down the Bluetooth button on the keyboard till the blue light-weight on the key flashes. faucet the mistake keyboard once it seems in your list of paired Bluetooth devices, and therefore the 2 devices are paired. to show off the keyboard, you'll be able to either un-pair it from your iPhone or simply close up your Bluetooth association.

Features

Typo uses all of the prevailing iPhone keyboard shortcuts, together with double sound the area button to enter a amount, further as capitalizing the primary word when the tip of a sentence. In terms of special buttons, you get a Bluetooth key for pairing the device together with your telephone, further as a button to activate the keyboard's backlight. A keyboard button permits you to pull up or hide the iPhone's on-screen keyboard.

Performance

Unlike the broader BlackBerry handsets, the Typo's slender style created typewriting for long periods uncomfortable. we tend to found ourselves perpetually readjusting the case in our hands to search out a better, easier thanks to hold it. The keyboard's keys are so much smaller than the iPhone's on-screen keys, that meant we tend to had to be additional correct with our typewriting. It conjointly does not facilitate that the keys feel cheaper and stickier than what you will find on a BlackBerry layout.

To test the keyboard's performance, we tend to downloaded the TapTyping app. As we tend to became additional acclimated with the keyboard, we tend to saw our accuracy increase from ninety six % to ninety nine % and our speed increase from twenty words per minute to twenty-eight words per minute. we tend to were less correct on the iPhone's keyboard, with our accuracy starting from simply ninety five % initially, to ninety six % when apply.

That said, our words per minute were still higher once we used the iPhone's on-screen keyboard, increasing from twenty words per minute to thirty four words per minute over a handful of days. that is doubtless a results of however straightforward it's to succeed in the iPhone's delete key compared to the Typo's. we tend to conjointly detected that the Typo's typewrite and L keys were too shut, that resulted in many typos throughout use.

Further issues

Beyond its style and performance, there ar 2 extra issues to require into consideration if you are thinking of buying the mistake case. First off, once paired, the keyboard turns off the iPhone's auto-correct feature, which may be a significant issue for users UN agency build frequent typos. Secondly, there's no lock for the Typo's keyboard, which implies if you mistakenly faucet a key whereas it's in your pocket, your iPhone's screen are activated, exhausting each your telephone and therefore the keyboard's batteries.

Verdict

The Typo's style offers current and former BlackBerry users a well-known look, however that is regarding it. typewriting on the $100 case's keyboard is slower and fewer comfy than exploitation the iPhone's on-screen keyboard. Plus, the actual fact that the mistake lacks a lock means that you will be activating your iPhone's screen whenever you mistakenly faucet a key, that might quickly zap your phone's battery. If you are looking for AN iPhone-compatible replacement for your BlackBerry's physical keyboard, the mistake is value a glance, however the typewriting expertise is not quite ok for North American country.