Accessory maker Moshi today debuted a new origami-style keyboard case designed for Apple's iPad Air. The VersaKeyboard is a slim folding stand case that comes equipped with an ultrathin detachable Bluetooth keyboard.
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The case is designed to add full protection and minimal bulk to Apple's thin and light iPad Air, weighing just 12.5 ounces and measuring 0.6 inches thick. It features a polycarbonate shell that includes a keyboard storage slot and a VersaCover that can be folded into several different viewing positions for both landscape and portrait use.
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Don't bother bringing your laptop — VersaKeyboard combines an ultra-thin keyboard with our popular VersaCover to give you the ultimate in iPad productivity. The detachable Bluetooth keyboard can be positioned anywhere within 30 feet of your iPad for maximum typing flexibility. Optimized scissor keys ensure tactile responsiveness and swift iOS keyboard shortcuts. When not in use, the keyboard slides snugly into the rear polycarbonate case for easy storage.
Like most cases, the VersaKeyboard supports automatic sleep/wake functionality, and the included Bluetooth keyboard offers 130 hours of battery life between charges. The keyboard is approximately 80 percent of the size of a standard keyboard.
The VersaKeyboard will be available beginning in January of 2014 for $99.
Moshi also has a standard VersaCover case for the iPad Air, which is priced at $60 and available immediately.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Laptops don't have touch screens or detachable keyboards or, ironically, full support from so many companies that provide apps, and they're less portable. But I still wouldn't buy a tablet, and although they can be useful, they're overrated. LAUSD buying iPads for every student... ridiculous.
I disagree. One lightweight iPad can replace several pounds worth of conventional textbooks. We've all been through that pain. Why continue to subject our children to it?
If I needed a keyboard, wouldn't I have gotten a laptop?
Different people have different needs. I've gone keyboardless on iPad for years, but my next iPad will have a keyboard. Sometimes I'll use it, sometimes I'll leave it home.An iPad + keyboard does some things better than an iPad without one.
An iPad + keyboard (much like an iPad alone) does some things better than a laptop.
An iPad + keyboard is far smaller and lighter than a laptop with any kind of useful performance. It gets far better battery life. The keyboard is detachable so you aren't stuck with it when you only need it 20% of the time. An iPad is more secure and reliable than a laptop. It's easier to maintain, easier to install software on, and more fun. And for a growing number of tasks, more productive.
There's nothing about an iPad that says entering words is never done. People DO enter words. So some will appreciate a keyboard.
Pick the tool for the task. For a LOT of people--maybe most?--an iPad with removable keyboard is the ideal tool for all or most of their computing needs. For the rest of their needs, they can grab that old laptop/tower off of their dusty shelf once in a while.
If I needed a keyboard, wouldn't I have gotten a laptop?
Only you can answer that, Staveb.
I absolutely adore my Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for my iPad Air. Also had one for my mini. They are awesome. I had the Air with keyboard at a meeting today, made it super trivial to jot down notes. The overall form-factor, when both folded up and in use, is super-duper slick. Weighs so little, is a great-feeling keyboard, and extends the overall functionality of my iPad dramatically. Don't always want to lug around my 15" Retina MBP, or bust it out at meetings.
I've done the same thing with my iPad during grad school. It was less expensive for me to use the iPad with my Logitech keyboard to take notes using Evernote than it would have been for me to buy the least expensive MacBook Air. As you know Evernote syncs with everything, so my notes were waiting on me when I got home to work on my iMac. Great combo IMO.
my thoughts exactly! everyone is buying keyboards for their $500 ipads and getting less functionality than an actual laptop....
ipad + keyboard case is $600 before taxes.... throw in a little more and get a macbook air! seriously........... i dont know why people are sacrificing usability by getting an ipad and keyboard....
the folks i know with ipads all have "other machines" (mac and pc) to do "real work" according to them... it makes no sense to me...
I got an iPad because for 95% of my needs in a portable device, the iPad works the same or better than a laptop. I stopped using a laptop within 3 months of getting an iPad.
I got a keyboard for my iPad because, while it may *WORK* without a keyboard, there are enough times that the keyboard is better to make it worth the $100. Not worth the $300 more to get a full laptop, though, or to give up for the laptop the things the iPad is better at. Getting a keyboard makes that 95% jump to 99%. In the past three years, I have only gone "man, I wish I had a laptop instead of this iPad" once - and that one instance would have been solved by having a newer iPad!