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The 'Book Mystique Review - Two Laptop-Style Freestanding Keyboards, One With Backlit Keys

by Charles W. Moore

If you like laptop keyboards, as I do, but want to use an external keyboard in conjunction with a laptop stand or in order to have a full complement of navigation keys and a numerical keypad, the range of choice available is not expansive.

Most external keyboards have a relatively long key travel and too much "over-center" tactile feedback for my tastes, and many have a stiff key-action and a "hard landing." I struggle with chronic peripheral neuritis, and my preference (indeed, non-negotiable requirement) is for very light, smooth action, very short travel, and a soft landing, and the benchmark for these qualities in my experience has been the wonderful scissors-action keyboard that shipped with the WallStreet PowerBooks back in 1998. The keyboards in the G4 PowerBooks and MacBook Pros are pretty good too, but I prefer to use a full keyboard when in desktop substitute mode, and my quest has been for a freestanding 'board that approximated the laptop keyboards referred to. One keyboard I found reasonably tolerable is the MacAlly iceKey, which utilizes PowerBook keyboard style scissors-action key technology, but sadly, the IceKey's key resistance was a lot stiffer than with my benchmark WallStreet keyboard.

The closest to the mark I've come so far are two 'boards marketed by different vendors, but very similar in design, and I'm guessing manufactured by the same OEM supplier in China, the Kensington SlimType Keyboard for Mac and the i-Rocks Mac X-Slim Backlit USB Keyboard.

As you can see, these keyboards share an identical basic form factor, with the respective distinctions being a set of multimedia hotkeys in the Slimtype, and backlit illuminated keys in the i-Rocks. They both have a short-travel, quite laptop keyboard-like key action, and while it's still just a tad stiffer than I prefer, I find them the most comfortable non-laptop keyboards I've encountered yet.

Kensington SlimType Keyboard for Mac

The Kensington SlimType is, as its name implies, a slim and compact desktop USB keyboard, just 3/4" thick by 16 1/2" wide by 6 5/16" deep (just a bit wider and deeper than the old original Apple USB keyboard that shipped with the original iMacs).

It features a full complement of standard keys, including a numerical keypad, plus eight programmable multimedia hotkeys arrayed across the top of the 'board behind the function key row. Here's a closeup of the Slimtype keys:

Compared with more conventional desktop keyboard keys:

The hotkeys allow you to launch and navigate iTunes, adjust sound volume, mute the sound, eject optical disks, or put the computer to sleep right from the keyboard. While the main keyboard functions are supported by drivers built into the Mac OS, the multimedia hotkey features require Kensington proprietary drivers which can be installed from the CD bundled with the unit, or upgrades downloaded from Kensington Website. I found that the version 1.3 Kensington Keyboard Driver on the CD was the latest version currently available, and installation took only a few seconds, although it required a restart in order to take effect.

The default hotkey functions are:

Play: pressing Play will launch iTunes and begin playing the first available track in the Library. If there is no Library selected or no track available, iTunes will launch but not play.

Forward: move to the beginning of the next track

Back: move to the beginning of the current track. "Double - pressing" will move to the beginning of the previous track.

Volume Down: decreases the sound volume.

Volume Up: increases the sound volume

Mute: Stop/Start the sound volume.

Eject: ejects the optical disk.

Sleep: displays the Sleep/Shutdown dialog.

Kensington its Chinese partners have done a good job of of engineering PowerBook-like keyboard feel into a freestanding keyboard. As noted above, the key action is still just a bit stiffer than I would prefer, although it's lighter than the MacAlly iceKey in that department. If you're familiar with PowerBook keyboards, in feel and response, the SlimType is most like the aluminum PowerBook/MacBook Pro 'boards, which some consider the best keyboard Apple ever shipped in a laptop.

Styling-wise, the SlimType and i-Rocks are uniquely interesting and distinctly different from any other computer keyboards. They come in Macintosh white that harmonizes perfectly with iBooks and white MacBooks, but also has a chrome-plated ridge circumscribing the key panel, with the multimedia hotkeys and the Kensington logo also finished in chrome, creating, at least to my eyes, a 1950s - '60s retro look. That's perfectly fine with me. I lived through those decades and remember the industrial design of the era with nostalgic fondness. Whoever designed these 'boards gets a thumbs-up from me.

The SlimType keyboard layout is fairly conventional, with a few distinctive elements. The function key row has a very welcome Forward Delete key to the right of the F-15 key, and at the top of a vertical row of navigation keys (Home, Page Up, Page Down, End). There is a pad of inverted-T arrow keys where you would expect them. On the bottom row, left to right, there are two side by side left Control keys, a left Alt/Option key, a left Command key, the Space Bar, a right Command key, a right Alt/Option key, a right Control key, and finally an Insert/Help key.

This is all quite functional, although the Command keys are a bit small (the same size as the letter keys), and the Return key is labeled "Enter." There are also a pair of fold-down feet at the back of the 'board which facilitates the ergonomically incorrect angled orientation that some people prefer. There are three lights above the numerical keypad to indicate when Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock are activated.

As for criticisms, I already noted that ideally I would like the key action to be lighter, although I hasten to stress again that this is the best that I've encountered in a desktop keyboard in that department. I'm delighted that there are a full 15 function keys, although on a 'board of this size they are necessarily quite small. It's also very easy to hit the "Home" key when you're going for "Delete" due to the unorthodox placement of the key.

However, my main gripe with this 'board is that it has no USB repeater port or ports, which is more than a little inconvenient, and a seemingly odd omission for a company that specializes in pointing devices, requiring you to plug the mouse or other pointing device into the computer itself or a USB hub. I expect USB ports were left out in order to help keep dimensions compact, but I really miss them.

Aside from that, I really love this keyboard, and the longer I use it the more I'm smitten with it.

The Kensington SlimType (which is made in China) has a very high standard of finish and appears to be well-constructed. The keys have a precision-positive action and operate with a muted but satisfying "click." Despite its svelte dimensions, this 'board is surprisingly heavy - much heavier than several other larger keyboards I have, which probably augers well for it's ruggedness, and it's backed by Kensington's impressive 5-year warranty and free technical support. A class piece of equipment.

SlimType Keyboard - Mac System Requirements USB port

Price: $39.99

For more information, visit:
http://us.kensington.com/html/5463.html

i-Rocks Mac X-Slim Backlit USB Keyboard

Pretty much everything I've noted about the Kensington SlimType also pertains to the i-Rocks Mac X-Slim Backlit USB Keyboard, since in terms of basic form factor and keyboard engineering, the two 'boards are identical, with the main distinction being the i-Rocks 'board's backlit keys.

One of the cooler deluxe factors of Apple's recent larger 'Books is their backlit keyboard feature, originally introduced on the 17-inch model in January, 2003, and later standard on both the 15 inch and 17-inch PowerBooks, and carried over to the MacBook Pros. The one in my 17" PowerBook is very cool. The keyboard is internally illuminated, a tremendous convenience if you are using the laptop in a low-light environment. Indeed, if you, like me, are not be touch-typist, keyboard illumination makes the difference as to whether you can keep working when the lights go down, or not. I'm sunk unless I can read the key labels, although I don't watch them closely.

While the most obvious advantage of an illuminated keyboard is using a laptop in dimly lit or on late locations, there are instances when keyboard lighting could be handy with a desktop machine or a laptop used in desktop substitute mode. Power outages are one that comes to mind, provided you have an alternative power source to run the computer, or are on laptop battery power.

The i-Rocks Mac X-Slim keyboard backlighting is less subtle than the PowerBook's in that the entire keypad lights up rather than just the key labels, and I would prefer that there were a dimming function as the backlighting is pretty bright, but you can turn it off when you don't need it, and when you do, it's a wonderful feature to have that could mean the difference between continuing your work or waiting for better lighting conditions.

In addition to the few complaints noted about the Kensington SlimType above, perhaps the biggest annoyance with the iRocks 'board, at least for a silent computing freak like me, is that the keyboard emits a very irritating "humming" sound when the backlight is illuminated, sounding a bit like a hungry mosquito. Fortunately, the sound goes away when you turn the backlight off, and it's something I can live with when keyboard illumination is required, but it's also something the engineers should work on.

Aside from that, I'm as happy with this keyboard as I am with the SlimType. It feels just as solid, has a claimed more then 10 million keystroke life, and if you want an illuminated desktop keyboard, there aren't many other choices (I'm not aware of any)

Specifications:
• compatible with:
Mac OS 10.1 ~ later, and
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.
• Interface: PS/2, USB.
• Cable length: 1.5 meters.
• Dimensions (mm): 436x187x30.
• Weight(g): 810.
• Key operation force(g): 55+/- 20.
• Key number: 104 keys.

The i-Rocks X-Slim Illuminated Keyboard sells for $65.00.

For more information, visit:
http://www.i-rocksusa.com/products/ir6810.html
or
http://www.i-rocksusa.com/mac.html

Which should you buy? Well, if you're looking for a laptop-style comfortable keyboard, either one will serve handsomely. Functionally, as basic keyboards, they are essentially identical. The major choice is whether you think the i-Rocks' illumination feature is worth the extra $26, or whether you would prefer the SlimType's multimedia hotkey features.

CM