Review of Brando's Bluetooth Smart Keyboard

I recently had the opportunity to try out Brando's Bluetooth Smart Keyboard. Thanks so much Brando for allowing me to review one of your many fabulous, quality products!!!!!

I've been wanting to try out the Bluetooth function on my LifeDrive but haven't done much at all with it since I got the device months ago. Previously, I had only sent a couple of photos via Bluetooth and I played some fun games of Sea War against another PDA player via Bluetooth. I thought that using a Bluetooth keyboard would be the perfect way to utilize my LifeDrive's Bluetooth function.

Enter the Brando Bluetooth Smart Keyboard! This keyboard is very compact and so easy to carry anywhere! It conveniently fits into my gadget bag along with my PDA and other gadget accessories!
The Bluetooth Smart Keyboard can be used with the Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Smart Phones. There are many different devices that this keyboard is compatible with! Among the Palm devices are the Zire 72, Tungsten T / T2 / T3 / T5 /, E2, Treo 650, and of course the one I'm using; the LifeDrive.

Package Contents

Smart Keyboard
2 AAA Batteries
Zippered vinyl carrying case
CD with drivers
Quick Install Guide

The Bluetooth Smart Keyboard comes with a CD which installs the application on your device. The process is really simple! After I installed the application, I hotsynced it to my LifeDrive. The Bluetooth Smart Keyboard icon showed up on my LifeDrive's home list. Then I turned on the keyboard and waited for the LED to flash orange for 1 second, then it flashed green once every other second, which means that the BTkeybd was in Discovery mode. Then it was really easy to configure my LifeDrive! The BTkeybd has this neat function for your device called the Bluetooth keyboard Reconnection. When you turn this "ON", this function allows the Bluetooth keyboard to memorize the last connected device, and they will pair automatically the next time you use your BTkeybd and turn "Active Keyboard" option to "On".

I love the design of the Bluethooth Smart Keyboard!!! As I mentioned, it's very compact, therefore extremely portable! It's a cool looking silver color and has the name in blue in the center, along with a Bluetooth graphic! The name on mine is XEMA BlueKeyboard but it's the same as the Bluetooth Smart Keyboard. The edges to the left are a black rubberized material which has a good grip to it. The hinge is a hard, black plastic and feels very secure. The keyboard comes with a nice, soft, black vinyl case.

On the right is a small black latch that you slide downward which opens the keyboard. Once opened, there is a latch at the top that locks the keyboard open. It locks open for laptop stability. There is also a slider button at the bottom left of the keyboard. When you slide this button all the way to the right, the left half of the keyboard slides over to meet the right half! As you can see in the first photo above, the keyboard halves haven't been pushed together. Also in the same picture, notice that my LifeDrive is sitting on the detachable, foldout cradle that comes with the keyboard! In the photo below, the foldout cradle is emerging plus notice the keyboard halves have been pushed together.

In this next photo, the foldout cradle is most of the way out and just has to be snapped into a small hole. To fold the cradle away, there is a button which releases the cradle and it pops back out and slides back into it's little hiding place! It's soooooo cute!

This keyboard works great and I love it!!!! The keys respond very smoothly and it's a lot of fun to type on it! If you're used to touch typing, it might take a little longer to get used to the small keys. I'm a touch typist and it didn't take me long at all! The keyboard has 63 full size keys with a QWERTY layout with dedicated number keys. There is a Power on/off Switch, plus a bi-color LED for Bluetooth connection and power status.

This keyboard is really a great addition to my LifeDrive because I tend to do a lot of typing. Imagine having to type out long documents tapping away with the stylus. Well, it's now a breeze with the Bluetooth Smart Keyboard! I use it with Documents To Go and it's so much easier typing on the keyboard now! With the keyboard, my device is even more like a small laptop!

The Bluetooth Smart Keyboard also features Shortcuts and programmable keys for specific tasks.
It has 90 hours of continuous operation time with 168 hours of standby time.

This keyboard will be a great addition to my gadget accessories! I love the way it looks, feels and works! It's nice to know that I can pull it out of my gadget bag and set it up in seconds and start typing away! Plus it's great to know that it has such a long battery life! I would definately recommend the Brando Bluetooth Smart Keyboard to anyone needing a great, compact and portable keyboard with the Bluetooth technology! Brando was very quick to respond to any questions that I had about the keyboard. The keyboard arrived pretty quick considering Brando is based in Hong Kong.

You can get the Brando Bluetooth Smart Keyboard for US$85.00 at shopbrando.com.

- Jennifer Chappell, Deputy Executive Editor & Technology Editor, (NC, US)