Available in a selection of colors that perfectly match Apple's iPad line up, the Brydge Bluetooth keyboard ($129.99–149.99) melds seamlessly with whatever color iPad you happen to own. Its high-quality aluminum frame blends perfectly with the premium metal shell of the iPad. The Brydge keyboard also offers the convenience of backlit keys, as well as built-in speakers in the larger models.
The iPad and keyboard come together with ease. Your iPad slips into the two padded hinges that attach the keyboard; and once attached, your iPad is securely held in place. Removing your iPad from the keyboard is certainly not difficult, but it does take an intentional effort. This means your iPad won't disengage accidentally from the keyboard if you forcefully jostle or shake it. And if the connection at the hinges becomes a little looser over time and with use, remedying the situation is as simple as squeezing the hinge clips ever so slightly with your fingers to increase their clamping pressure.
What sets the Brydge Bluetooth keyboard apart from the rest?
Aesthetically the Brydge keyboard is hard to beat. Its overall effect is one of minimalist refinement and symbiosis between iPad and keyboard. Your iPad is basically, for all intents and purposes, transformed into the iPad laptop.
Functionally the Brydge has everything you'd want in an iPad keyboard, and more. It's lightweight, holds a charge for three months, and has all of the keys a standard desktop or laptop would have, including command, function, caps lock and option keys. It also offers iPad-specific keys for easily accessing the Home button, quickly locking the screen, and accessing the iPad's Proactive search. An additional benefit is that it couldn't be any easier to physically attach or remove, for those times when you want to swap your iPad into a more protective case.
Pros
- Matching colors to go with the current iPad colors. The similar colors really do create the effect of having an iPad-sized MacBook.
- All of the convenience inherent in a conventional, attached laptop keyboard. The Brydge makes touch typing blazing fast; and if hunt and peck is more your style, the backlit keys make that a breeze, even if you're in a dark room or traveling on a red-eye flight.
Cons
- Until an iPad Bluetooth keyboard comes up with a way to interact with the iPad entirely from the keyboard (perhaps by implementing a touch pad feature on a keyboard?), I am going to remain a hard sell on any keyboard for regular use since I still really enjoy typing on the iPad's own touchscreen first and foremost.
Final Verdict
The Brydge gets my vote as the ideal keyboard solution for any iPad user who'd like to be able to easily convert their iPad into a MacBook look-alike. I'd consider the Brydge keyboard the best wireless keyboard of 2015 for the iPad. It definitely earns its five stars.
