Hey everyone, Mason here, with a tech review for you. Today we're going to be taking a look at the Verbatim mobile bluetooth keyboard, model number 97537. I purchased mine of Amazon for around 40 dollars, in early 2012. And it's been a great product.
The first thing I want to mention about this keyboard, is it's device compatibility. Right out of the box, Verbatim claims thing will work with any Apple device, any Android device, some Blackberry devices, basically anything with HID support and bluetooth connectivity, which is just about any device in use today. I've personally got it working on the Nokia N900, running Maemo Linux, as well as a netbook with Linux Mint. I've used it on an assortment of Windows XP machines,... windows 7 laptops, desktops, and so forth. So, this thing has a huge compatibility list.
Anyway, taking a look at the device, it comes with a pretty well-made leather case. It has a magnet that holds it closed, good strong magnet, no worries of the keyboard falling out. The case is also a good snug fit. The keyboard is folded up, you can see 2 rubber feet on either side. To open it up, we just press the button here on the end. And to lock it open, slide the latch at the top to the right. Just make sure when you're ready to pack it away, you unlock it. So taking a look at the keyboard here, you can see the individual buttons are a good size, not too small, not too big. If you compare it to any standard PC keyboard, you can see that the buttons are actually slightly wider, which I think is nice. You have 6 buttons here to the left, for changing device volume and music. If you're the type of person that likes to modify and play around with things, you can easily turn these into macro keys, by making some tweaks to the keyboard layout.
To the left of that is where our batteries go, it takes 2 AAAs. Just slide this up here, and our batteries drop right in there. As for battery life, this thing does great. Verbatim claims 80 hours of usage, and I would definitely vouch for that. There's a little indicator here for when the battery level gets low too, as well as one for bluetooth connectivity.
Something really neat I want to show you, is this keyboard comes with a kick-stand, for phones and small tablets. The plastic is a little cheap, but this thing doesn't need to hold up much weight, so I personally don't mind.
So let's go ahead and turn this guy on, flip this switch here. Then just press the pairing button, make sure your device's bluetooth is on, then just click on it, enter the code here and hit enter, and we're connected. I'll open up a message here and you can see the keyboard is good to go.
My favorite thing about this keyboard is the ability to use keyboard commands. I've always had trouble copying and pasting and highlighting text using the touchscreen, but with this keyboard, it's a piece of cake.
Also worth mentioning, the device has 1 year of warranty, should anything happen to it, or you receive a DOA.
So there you have it folks, the Verbatim Mobile Bluetooth Keyboard. Great device for the price, definitely a better choice than some of the more costly bluetooth keyboards out there.
Thanks for checking out my review, and don't forget to watch the accompanying video review here:
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=NcxwiRphhZ8
The first thing I want to mention about this keyboard, is it's device compatibility. Right out of the box, Verbatim claims thing will work with any Apple device, any Android device, some Blackberry devices, basically anything with HID support and bluetooth connectivity, which is just about any device in use today. I've personally got it working on the Nokia N900, running Maemo Linux, as well as a netbook with Linux Mint. I've used it on an assortment of Windows XP machines,... windows 7 laptops, desktops, and so forth. So, this thing has a huge compatibility list.
Anyway, taking a look at the device, it comes with a pretty well-made leather case. It has a magnet that holds it closed, good strong magnet, no worries of the keyboard falling out. The case is also a good snug fit. The keyboard is folded up, you can see 2 rubber feet on either side. To open it up, we just press the button here on the end. And to lock it open, slide the latch at the top to the right. Just make sure when you're ready to pack it away, you unlock it. So taking a look at the keyboard here, you can see the individual buttons are a good size, not too small, not too big. If you compare it to any standard PC keyboard, you can see that the buttons are actually slightly wider, which I think is nice. You have 6 buttons here to the left, for changing device volume and music. If you're the type of person that likes to modify and play around with things, you can easily turn these into macro keys, by making some tweaks to the keyboard layout.
To the left of that is where our batteries go, it takes 2 AAAs. Just slide this up here, and our batteries drop right in there. As for battery life, this thing does great. Verbatim claims 80 hours of usage, and I would definitely vouch for that. There's a little indicator here for when the battery level gets low too, as well as one for bluetooth connectivity.
Something really neat I want to show you, is this keyboard comes with a kick-stand, for phones and small tablets. The plastic is a little cheap, but this thing doesn't need to hold up much weight, so I personally don't mind.
So let's go ahead and turn this guy on, flip this switch here. Then just press the pairing button, make sure your device's bluetooth is on, then just click on it, enter the code here and hit enter, and we're connected. I'll open up a message here and you can see the keyboard is good to go.
My favorite thing about this keyboard is the ability to use keyboard commands. I've always had trouble copying and pasting and highlighting text using the touchscreen, but with this keyboard, it's a piece of cake.
Also worth mentioning, the device has 1 year of warranty, should anything happen to it, or you receive a DOA.
So there you have it folks, the Verbatim Mobile Bluetooth Keyboard. Great device for the price, definitely a better choice than some of the more costly bluetooth keyboards out there.
Thanks for checking out my review, and don't forget to watch the accompanying video review here:
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=NcxwiRphhZ8