whs37

Can anybody recommend a decent halfway compact bluetooth keyboard to be used with a Nexus 7. We want to use it on trips when we do our mail.

lucky013

With the BT problems right now I would be careful with what you decide to buy. It seems kind of random. Some folks have no problems and some can't get paired. I have been going nuts with a BT speaker for weeks now.

whs37

lucky you lost me. What are the BT problems.

John Bean

Yes, I just bought one for similar purposes and it arrived this morning :-)

I had made queries as well and got no meaningful information so I went ahead and bought one. I bought it from this UK ebay seller for speed but the same keyboard is available cheaper from source, or of course from other ebay sellers in other countries.

It's far better quality than I expected - even the packaging shouts "quality" - and more importantly it "just works" with the Nexus 7, absolutely no issues at all. The mouse pad works too, it's as good as those found on many notebooks. And it has proper cursor keys! Wonderful :-)

whs37

John, this looks really interesting. I watched a few demo videos on the web. Unfortunately they did not show how the typing is. Since it is very small, can you actually do 10 finger typing ?? My wife was a secretary and types very fast. Since she has to deal with about 100 mails each day, I wonder how swift the typing can be. Else I think the device is superb. I especially like the backlit keyboard (that's all I use on my PCs) because I have a very bad eyesight - only 40%.

John Bean

I very much doubt anyone could touch-type on it, no matter how small their fingers. It lends itself to hand-held use a bit like the slide-out hardware keyboards some phones use but it's both bigger and far more tactile than the one on my Milestone.

I used it to make this reply on my Nexus 7; works well enough for me - and in the dark too!

Edit: it's worth pointing out that I bought it primarily for its size (tiny!) and functionality - the cursor keys and mousepad - and I don't need to do a lot of fast typing. The onscreen keyboard drives me nuts and takes up too much real estate anyway, I just wanted a small external replacement.

If you want a proper sized keyboard for use by a typist I suggest you look elsewhere; I doubt you'll have any technical problems with any of them on the Nexus 7 and can confirm that it will pair perfectly with a normal Bluetooth mouse (I have a Microsoft 5000) if you want a traditional "desktop" keyboard and mouse.

There's no "one size fits all" when it comes to keyboards.

Last edited by John Bean; November 29th, 2012 at 01:00 PM. Reason: Additional information

whs37

Thanks for the additional inputs. At Newegg it is only $32, so I might as well get it.

lucky013

Many Bluetooth issues right now. Including.. skipping of audio while connected to wifi. Pairing of a lot of BT devices has become a nightmare etc..joysticks..speakers ,keyboards, earpieces hit or miss

whs37

Maybe I should opt for a keyboard that attaches via OTG. Still deciding.

Covart

I have had two Nexus 7's. A first Gen 16gb version running the CM10 ROM and now a 32gb version running Task's AOKP ROM. I use BT for mouse, keyboard, speakers and a PS3 controller. I haven't had a single issue.

As for small keyboards, there is the flexible iKross on Amazon for about $20 and of course any BT hard keyboard will work, even a Apple iMac keyboard.

John Bean

I know of no BT problems on the Nexus 7 with "simple" devices like keyboards/mice where no third-party software is involved, they "just work". Ignore the FUD :-)