I am now test driving the Logitech keyboard for iPad 2 by Zagg. I had read a rave review about it and wanted to test drive it first hand.

Well, first thing is that the borders are annoying when typing. But even if they are a hassle, typing on the keyboard is fine and much faster than typing on the iPad’s on-screen keyboard.

The space to type is cramped. I don’t know if I’ll be able to type long stuff on that either. But for reporting on trade shows, making a quick letter and so on, it is a good thing to have. It coples as a protection for the device and as such it is great.

It is pretty cool to have access to the media control keys while working. I like to listen to music while working and this is a plus indeed.

Of course, the keyboard is a national keyboard, so do not expect accelerators like on the virtual keyboard. But you are then able to use all keys and accented characters directly.

The positioning of the iPad 2 on the keyboard feels solid. As I type this, I am adapting my position and it goes faster.

While typing on my lap, I had to switch the device to landscape mode and the it is easier and making more sense. Compared to a laptop, this runs cool. Some think that using a hot PC on one’s lap is bad for fertility. One problem solved then.

And while we are on that, the iPad can be placed on either side, no problem at all.My power cable is on the left of my desk and if this wasn’t possible, I would have to do a convoluted setup to be able to continue working as the device is about depleted (hey, it’s been several days since I made the last charge).

Using the keyboard arrows and shift key helps when selecting text and generally moving it around. All usual OSX shortcuts (Cmd-C, Cmd-X, Cmd-V, Cmd-Arrows) do work and help in restructuring the content.

Adding pictures right away is a big plus, it makes a lot of sense if one is attending a presentation and wants to make a report of it.

When there is a small space available, using a mouse or a trackpad is awkward and here, just reaching for the screen with one’s finger is really helpful.

I’ve been writing this on Pages and there has been no issue with all possibilities.

Switching to full screen to type would be great but is apparently not possible. Too bad. But that is a general limitation of Pages.

While we are on the subject of screen, there is a key on the top left of the keyboard which is equivalent to the home button. So, double type to get the multitask bar, triple type for (in my case) reverse display (comes handy in a dark room).

The keyboard has no backlight, so you’d have to learn key locations before being able to type without errors. I am trying this out in a dark place and it is working nicely after two lines of text.

I am very pleased with this acquisition and highly recommend it to reduce your backpack burden when on the move.