Review: SMALLElectric Universal Bluetooth Keyboard

Apple’s tiny Bluetooth-based Wireless Keyboard was something of a revelation when it was released back in 2007 (with multiple revisions since). Despite the compact form factor, it was still highly usable, making it great for either desktop or travel use. Unfortunately, as with most Apple products, the price was quite a bit higher than it could have been. Fortunately, that’s where companies like SMALLElectric have filled in the market gap, offering similar performance for a small fraction of the price.

The box.

The SMALLElectric Universal Bluetooth Keyboard, which is available in black (which I’m reviewing) and silver, uses Bluetooth 3.0 technology to work with most modern devices, be it PC, Android, Apple, or anything in-between. Because of the newer Bluetooth technology, however, there are a few older devices this is not compatible with:

Asus Tablets
HP TouchPad
IDEAtab A2107A
Mac Mini
Moto RAZR
Nook HD
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4
Windows Mobile 8/8.1

Although the keys are labeled to the Apple/Macintosh standard, it still reflects a layout that’s easily usable with any other format. SMALLElectric does note, however, that there is no Escape key for the MacBook and the auto-correct feature on iPads is disabled when this keyboard is in use.

What you get.

Despite the keyboard’s overall thickness of less than a quarter of an inch, the scissor-switch key technology is suitably responsive, with good travel and satisfying audible clicking (I prefer this, although some may want a silent key response, which this doesn’t have). The required two AAA batteries are not included, but a typical pair is rated to last around 700 hours of continuous use, which works out to about a half year between battery changes. Naturally, there’s an automatic sleep mode when the keyboard is not in use for 10 minutes.