I honestly can say that I never thought I would be anxiously anticipating the arrival of a keyboard in the mail, but this is Apple we're talking about and a keyboard that is anything but ordinary. I'm talking of course about Apple's new aluminum bluetooth keyboard which first made its debut at the Apple event on August 7th along with the redesigned black and silver iMacs. A healthy segment of the tech population was skeptical about Apple's new thin keyboards, but as people started to get their hands on the wired version that skepticism started to wane.
After all, the keys have an almost identical feel to the keys on the Macbooks, which having owned one myself I can safely say is a good thing. I have always been a longtime proponent of laptop keyboards over desktop keyboards. The keys on laptops have a much lower profile, and depressing them takes much less effort. Moreover, it's easier to slide your fingers from one key to the next as you don't have to lift your finger out of a deep chasm in order to do so.
The keyboard on the Macbook Pro is, in my humble opinion, one of the best keyboards ever made if not the best. In fact, I think Apple really could have hit the nail on the head if they had modeled this new bluetooth keyboard after the Macbook Pro's offering rather than the Macbooks. The way the keys are curved on Macbook Pros, in addition to the fact that they barely make a sound when pressed and feel extremely soft against the fingers make it a far superior keyboard as opposed to the plastic and almost cheap feel of the Macbook keys, not to mention the white keys will most likely need cleaning. I also noticed that some of the keys squeak ever so slightly when pressed, and it detracts from the overall polish. This is me splitting hairs, however.
Unboxing the keyboard was typical of any Apple product experience - 
wrapped like a special gift from Apple to you which compels you to deftly pry open the plastic without damaging it in any way. I resell a lot of my old Apple stuff too, so this goes beyond just being insane. The first thing that struck me as I removed it from the box was, of course, its size. This thing is REALLY small, and you have to hold it to truly understand. It has such a futuristic and clean polish to it that I half expected a holographic screen to materialize in front of me upon powering it up.
Setup was a breeze. I assume the reason the lip on the top/back of the keyboard is round is to accommodate the three (yes three) AA batteries needed to power it. The auto-powering up and down of the keyboard worked as advertised, although time will tell just how long these batteries will last. Your mac will ask you to enter in a personalized key as it does with any bluetooth device, after which you will be rocking and rolling with your new keyboard. I couldn't get the media and special function keys that were a feature-point of this new keyboard to work, not realizing that I needed to download the keyboard software which can be found in the latest software update. Once downloaded and after an irritating mandatory restart, the media keys started working as advertised.
Because this keyboard is so small, some people may find it irritating that they need to keep their legs together in order to place it on their lap. I see this as a minor issue but that along with the lack of ten-key may be a deal breaker for some. For my purposes, however, it is the perfect size. Bluetooth keyboards when working at the desktop are a luxury purchase. The cutting of one tiny little cord isn't going to make you more productive, but it will certainly clean up your work space. Therefore, my reasons for purchasing this keyboard had to go beyond aesthetics. My excuse? Using this keyboard instead of the one my Macbook Pro (as much as I love it) will ultimately protect it and extend its life. Anyone who has had a powerbook or Macbook Pro for more than a year will tell you how badly the keyboard area can get scuffed up, dirty, and scratched from use.
Aside from protecting my laptop, this keyboard will also serve nicely as a media center keyboard. Because I have a projector in my living room to which I often hook up my Macbook Pro, having a wireless keyboard and mouse is extremely handy. In fact, finances allowing, I hope to have a mac mini hooked up to it permanently as my complete media center solution at some point. Additionally, I have an airport express extending my network to the living room as well, which is hooked up to audio system there. Because of the handy-dandy media keys Apple included on the new keyboards, I can carry this little guy around with me all over the apartment and switch or pause songs as needed with the touch of a key.
Typing on this keyboard while it rests on a flat surface is surprisingly comfortable. Because it's profile is so low to the ground (I dare say, the lowest on any keyboard to date), your wrists are forced to hover over the keyboard as they're supposed to according to keyboard ergonomics. The result is an effortless typing experience with lower chance of fatigue or stress associated with resting your wrists on a flat surface. I'm sure this was an unintended feature, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
For you garageband/logic users out there, I discovered a neat little hidden advantage to this new bluetooth keyboard. I own an m-audio keyboard, and in the past my biggest problem was trying to situate the computer keyboard on or around the music keyboard for easy access. With this new bluetooth keyboard, I can rest it on top of my m-audio keyboard so that it just hangs over the keys, providing me with easy access to garage band at any time. In fact, it is almost as though Apple intended this paring. All I can say is that it has been a long time since I've been so impressed with a peripheral as mundane as a computer keyboard.
I plan to take this keyboard with me everywhere I go. Having received it a full 4 days in advance was the icing on the cake, although I'm not sure if I have Apple or Fedex to thank for that.
Pros:
- Fantastic industrial design
- Extremely small and lightweight
- Media/Control keys built in
- Auto power-on/off
- Low profile improves ergonomics
Cons:
- Plastic keys squeak, feel a bit cheap
- No 10-key
- Requires 3 AA batteries
- White keys may stain
