Decent inexpensive Bluetooth keyboard?

[sheh]

Can anyone suggest a decent, inexpensive, Bluetooth keyboard? Something with standard size and layout, not one of those thin/small/compact/odd. Hopefully also secure; maybe proper Bluetooth 2.1 support is all that's needed to assure decent security.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Do you need the numpad or would you prefer tenkeyless? Must it be Bluetooth or can it be a proprietary type of wireless? Is this for a stationary computer or a tablet/other portable thing?

As a preliminary answer, check out this Amazon search: standard sized (but often without numpad) wireless keyboards, sorted from least to most expensive.

 

[sheh]

Thanks. Did you filter by Bluetooth somehow? It seems so, though I can't see the filter.

Most results are of the thin/notebookesque keys type, which I want to avoid. I'm looking for something with keypad. Bluetooth and not proprietary wireless because I'd rather not have a dongle, I might want to mix and match keyboard and mouse, and with Bluetooth I can in theory gauge how secure it is.

Currently it's mainly for a laptop, but why do you ask?

 

[TY-1]

I use a Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 myself and I really like it. I got it in a combo deal with a Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse 5000 and both have worked incredibly well. While the keyboard is a thin notebook key style I have found it to have very good response. The keys are kind of small and take some getting use to though. Battery life is pretty good; I use mine daily (pretty heavy use and full typing) and when I have to do presentations on the road and find that I only have to switch the 2 AAA batteries out every other month (though I use rechargeables to cut down on waste). The only complaint I would make about it is that it does take 1-3 seconds to wake-up when coming out of sleep mode, but I have gotten pretty used to that. It does not use a dongle or proprietary transceiver so you can pair it up to just about any Bluetooth enabled computer (I've used it with my laptop, several colleagues computers, and nearly a dozen other computers across the country that happened to have Bluetooth transceivers in them).

If you really need a full keyboard with a numberpad the only two I could find were a Macally BTKey Bluetooth Keyboard and an Apple Wireless Keyboard. I don't really know anything about the Macally, but a former colleague of mine had the Apple Keyboard paired with his Macbook. He didn't seem to have any issues with it, but I don't know if you could pair it with a non-Apple device.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Thanks. Did you filter by Bluetooth somehow? It seems so, though I can't see the filter.

Most results are of the thin/notebookesque keys type, which I want to avoid. I'm looking for something with keypad. Bluetooth and not proprietary wireless because I'd rather not have a dongle, I might want to mix and match keyboard and mouse, and with Bluetooth I can in theory gauge how secure it is.

Currently it's mainly for a laptop, but why do you ask?

I ask mostly because there's a size difference between a tablet keyboard (7-10 inches) and the real thing.

Anyway, if it's for a laptop, why do you need wireless? A USB keyboard will be much more reliable and easy (no need to swap batteries, no fussing with settings--just plug it in and go) as well as cheaper. If you find that what you need is primarily the numpad, you can get those as a standalone unit.

Otherwise, I concur with TY-1. The Mac keyboard is Bluetooth, so it should work fine with a Bluetooth compatible computer.

 

[mfenn]

Yep, the Apple keyboard is just a normal BT keyboard, it will pair fine anywhere. Some stuff will be a little weird because the apple layout is different from the standard one (control, alt, command instead of ctrl, windows, alt).

 

[sheh]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Thin keys or any unusual layout aren't for me. Beides the wireless part I want good productivity, which for me means a certain layout and standard feel keys. My ideal keyboard would have a layout like this (just without the slant on the bottom row keys, and hopefully without the extra padding at the top):

The above with a BT transceiver and a similar price would be just about ideal. 🙂

Sleepingforest: I'm looking for wireless because I also want to use it from a distance. But even in proximity it's easier and less messy than wired for carrying it around the house.

 

[Sleepingforest]

I see. In that case, your best bet is one of the two keyboards TY-1 mentions at the end of his post. I don't think you'll find any Bluetooth keyboards that are "full-sized" simply because of the movement towards thinner devices. Scissor keys often feel better than rubber domes anyway, simply because it feels less mushy.