Micro Mart - 10 March 2016_

Issue 1404 47

ON

TEST

Reviews

BrydgeMini

Aluminium Bluetooth

Keyboard for iPad Mini

S

ince Apple launched the

iPad Pro, more people

have been considering

using their iPad for more

thanCandy Crush.

Specifically for those with an

iPad Mini, Brydge has createda

Bluetooth 3.0 keyboard accessory

that effectively turn their tablet

into a tiny PC, of sorts.

What’s nice about this

hardware is that it's shaped to

exactly mirror the shape of the

tablet, so when you push the two

together, the iPad actually looks

like it was always meant to bea

single solution.

The metallic construction helps

support this impression, and the

keyboard comes in three colours,

to match whatever scheme your

iPad Mini sports.

To get it operational, you need

to power it on and then pair it in

the settings. Once done,

powering up the keyboard near

the iPad will join the two

functionality wise.

And given how behind the

technology curve Apple’s touch

keyboard is, it’s a very welcome

input device for anyone who

needs to type more than the

odd message.

While the keyboard is small,

it's backlit, and the key action has

enough feedback to help you

type quickly. Brydge statesa

battery life of three months, and

a USB cable is included for you to

recharge it.

DETAILS

• Price: £99.99


• Manufacturer: Brydge


• Website: http://www.
  brydgekeyboards.co.uk


• Requirements: iPad
  Mini 1, 2 and 3

All good so far, but after using

this device for just a few hoursI

found a few niggles, and the

majority are firmly Apple’s fault.

The biggest is that unlike

Android orWindows 10, iOS just

isn’t designed to work witha

keyboard at all.You can’t cursor

around the icons or highlight up

and down menus, at all.

Unless the iPad is specifically

expecting text or number input,

it will ignore the keyboard asa

means of control and selection.

That’s annoying, as you have to

continually touch the screen to

do things that you should be

able to more quickly directly on

the keyboard.

The fine irony is that if you pair

this device to an Android tablet

or phone, you discover that all

these things work perfectly, even

if the BrydgeMini was specifically

designed for Apple hardware.

Another software glitch is

that you can become stuck if

you either activate a feature

(like alerts) thatrequires a swipe

from the bottom edge of the

screen upwards. Unfortunately,

that’s a place you can’treach on

the screen when it's attached to

the keyboard.

These aspects take some of

the shine off what is a nicely

engineered and constructed

device that by Apple standards is

relatively inexpensive.

It comes down to what you

think you can achieve on such a

small screen with arelatively

small keyboard, even if it's as

well made as this one. Also,

Those wanting to be productive with their iPad get a boost

having access to the iOS

versions of Microsoft Office

might help too, if you have an

Office 365 subscription.

I do hope for Brydge’s sake

that with the next iOSrelease the

iPad will become more accepting

of third-party peripherals than it is

at this present time.

mmMark Pickavance

Elegant Bluetooth

keyboard for the iPad

Mini

8

7

Quality

Value

77

Overall