A product review for a keyboard in a case with a USB connection for a 7 inch tablet, but I also tested with an Android mobile phone and a Windows 10 PC!
I don’t know who the manufacturer is, but I found the device or similar mentioned here and here. Online I saw a description mention ‘leather effect’ and another description mention ‘PU’. I believe there are similar models that have a micro USB cable already attached.
Please note: I wrote the draft for this blog post in February 2020. This blog post has been written for people who think they’ve identified the same device that I’m blogging about. I don’t know the manufacturer details, so please keep in mind that this blog post might not be relevant to a device you’ve found or are thinking about buying.
Introduction
I was looking in a bargain bin at a local charity shop and saw this USB keyboard and as I’m now getting back into using more of my tablet computers again, I thought I would buy it. It should have cost me 50p (GBP), but I actually got it cheaper bundled with some other items.
I know this case was made in other colours, but the one I found at the charity shop was purple and for the cheap price I purchased the mini keyboard for, I don’t mind the colour.
I purchased this device second-hand and the stylus wasn’t present, but I don’t use a stylus anyway!
What devices and operating systems worked:
- Connected to a Windows 10 PC
- Connected to an old Google Nexus 7 tablet computer
- Connected to Samsung Galaxy SM-G900T running Android Lineage 16
I also connected the keyboard to an Amazon Kindle HDX running Fire OS 4.5.5.3, but the keyboard didn’t work with the tablet. So as my testing shows, not all android operating systems support this external keyboard.
How do you connect the mini keyboard to a tablet or computer?
On my Windows 10 PC I connected the mini keyboard to the computer using the attached cable and it automatically was recognised and a driver installed. I quickly typed a few sentences into a document, but that was the end of my testing on a Windows 10 PC.
On my ancient Google Nexus 7 tablet and my Samsung S5 mobile phone, I had to attached a micro USB OTG cable to the attached USB cable and then plugged that into my tablet before I powered on the tablet. Having to use a second cable isn’t ideal.
This micro USB OTG cable wasn’t included with my purchase of the keyboard.
As with the tablet, I was able to easily connect the keyboard to my G900T mobile phone using an OTG cable. I lay the mobile phone on its side and using the ColorNote application and started typing without an issue.
This case is for a 7” tablet, so using a phone isn’t ideal as it’s not securely held, but it did work and with the added benefit of the case propping the phone at a good angle for viewing.
First impressions
Fitting the tablet into the case is quite easy as the single top holder moves up and down. It holds my tablet quite securely and the case closes with a magnet. I wish the case had the option to close a bit more than it does with my old Nexus 7.
The stand which simply swings out from the case is okay and I’m happy with the viewing angle. I wish there was a way to store the OTG cable I’m using, but the attached USB cable does easily fold.
I wish the apostrophe key was further up the keyboard and not at the bottom and I do have to press the keys slightly more that I would like, but it’s not too bad to use. I would have thought many people, especially the younger generations might prefer to just use their tablet’s virtual keyboard.
I’m a skilled and fast typist, but if I was concerned about flow and speed, I wouldn’t use this keyboard and instead would opt for a larger and better keyboard.
Conclusion
From my perspective, a bargain bin purchase at a charity shop with the device working as intended, means I’m quite happy with the purchase.
The device was sold elsewhere for £10 in the past, which for that money, I would have perhaps looked at other options. As I have a model that doesn’t have a micro USB cable directly attached to the keyboard, it means I can easily use the keyboard with my PC if required.