I mentioned in a few posts before about Razer making wireless keyboard specifically for the iPad product line and other tablets. I also mentioned that there are some Bluetooth
wireless mechanical keyboards as well if someone rather use a more classical
keyboard device. That piqued some
interests
So, there are basically two options. One is to purchase a USB to Bluetooth
wireless converter. At one end is USB port
that the keyboard of choice is plugged in.
And, there is no other end, because it is wireless. It converts whatever keyboard that is
attached to a Bluetooth one. Pretty cool
tech, but it’s a bit bulky and power source can often be an issue. Some keyboards draw a lot of power provided
by USB port. Thus, even at measly 2.5W
max clip, it can drain most portable batteries dry quickly. One can browse around eBay and find such
device to purchase if the use scenario makes sense.
The other option is to buy a wireless mechanical
keyboard. Here, the options are more
limited. One of the bigger player in
this space is good ol’ Filco. So, if you
are Cherry MX keyboard switch fan, you are in luck. Filco is one of the most respected mechanical
keyboard brands out there as it’s basically DIATEC Corporation, based in
Japan. They offer quite a few wireless
keyboards configuration using Bluetooth protocol as well. Besides
the standard 104 keys Majestouch Convertible 2 and the 87 keys TKL variants,
they also offer one called Minila, stands for minimum layout. The Minila Air is the one with wireless
connectivity. Minila is a 67 custom
keyboard layout design, much like a non-standard laptop layout. However, like Leopold’s FC660 series, it uses
full size keys. So, no strange
half-height stuff. That’s a big plus in
my book…. These keyboards are also
designed to run wired if needed. So, it
is a much more versatile keyboard than what meets the eye. The only drawback? Price and availability. Filco’s products are not easy to find and the
stock comes and go. Because of the added
complexity, it doesn’t come cheap either.
So, expect some price premium over regular boards as well. However, one
can search mechanicalkeyboards.com and amazon.com in US to see if anything of
interest is in stock.
Now, if someone would come up with a Topre switch wireless
keyboard…..
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