Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am suffering from ALS, and my DVA-issued iPad is my constant companion, my only efficient means of communication. However, I don't want to drag both it and the computer around, this so I can work on writing articles while stuck at the hospital for an appointment. So, I went shopping for a keyboard, ideally one that would mate with the iPad as a cover. I tried out four different ones, but settled on this one for several reasons: * The weight. This little wonder is a featherweight compared to all of the others. Thin as an after dinner mint, it fits well in the Case Logic Case that I tote the whole affair in. Not as convenient as a hinged case cover keyboard, but easily half as light. * The operation. Like most other keyboards, it is charged through a USB to mini-USB cord. One control, an on-off slide switch. (The switch is well recessed in the edge of the 'rubberized fabric covered" case.) * The comprehensiveness of the thing. In addition to the classic 'QWERTY" arrangement, there is also a row of "function-like" keys above the number row, enabling one touch access to such iPad operations as pulling up the cameras, going to the home screen, search and God alone knows what for several of them. As there is virtually no documentation with your purchase, you have to figure those out by hit and miss. Also, you get an arrow key cluster, command, option and control keys, and a function key, although I have yet to test that out. The one thing missing here is a way to lock the keys into a numeric keypad configuration, something perhaps not in great demand with an iPad but still nice to have if it's available. * The key throw!!! On a keyboard of ¼" thickness, Logitech has managed to provide keys tha actually have "throw". While not up to IBM Selectric standards, you still get positive feedback that you have hit the "G" key when you intended to. * The battery life. I've bee using it pretty heavily for five day, and the indicator light still shows a full charge. Now for the (very few) 'negatives": *The covering, while excellent as far as a protectice cover is concerned, does not have enough 'tack' to hold it stationary under the impact of your piston-like fingers. On any surface other than a dead-flat surface, it will move and shift. Small patches of 'tacky' material would overcome this easily. * Size. The keys at the margins have been scaled back, but you are still operating on a surface the size of the ancient Apple Newton system keyboard. But, it's unavoidable if you're going to scale a keyboard to the size of an iPad. Your hands enter the keyboard in a very tight arrangement, one that you need to learn to maintain. This too works against using the keyboard on a lap or anything other than a flat, stable table. * No carrying sleeve. However, the keyboard's surface takes storage in a carrying bag well. * The 'heat sealed' edges of the keyboard. While efficient and done well, it give the board a 'cheaper' feel. * The friggin' Caps Lock key. On a tight keyboard like this, providing a Caps Lock key without some means of disablement or locking it out altogether is a recipe for typing frustration for a touch typist. I have hated the Caps Lock key ever since the early 1950s, and I was sorry to see it here in classic form. Logitech, give us a way to null this key out! Would I buy it again? In a New York minute, without a doubt. But, if you take the plunge, make sure of your typing surface, or you will find yourself slip slidin' away...