To go along with their smartphones and tablets, Sony has released the BKB10 Bluetooth Keyboard. The BKB10 is clearly geared towards portability. It’s comfortably smaller in width and depth than a sheet of A4 paper, it’s just 5 mm thin (the actual dimensions are 260 x 135 x 5 mm), and it weighs in at 200 grams. This can easily be accommodated in a flight bag or briefcase, and it would probably slip into many handbag designs with ease.

What is missing from the keyboard is any contribution towards ergonomics. There are no legs or attachments that angle the keyboard’s rear end up to provide a comfortable typing angle, nor are there any options to prop up your tablet or smartphone to get a good viewing angle. The BKB10 will sit on a flat surface for you to type on, while your device will need to be accommodated close by, either also flat on the surface, or balanced at an angle. Sony does have a tablet cover that includes space for this keyboard, but it does add £40 to the UK list price.

Rubber pads are provided on the base of the keyboard to prevent it slipping on a flat surface, and small rubber pads are also on the top of the keyboard so if it is turned upside down, none of the main keys would be accidentally pressed.

Charging through a microUSB cable means your phone charger can pull double duty when travelling. Sony rates the keyboard life as ‘up to three months’, although that will be dependant on how long you use it for each day. There is a very small power switch, and a blue LED to show the connectivity and power status of the keyboard.

Thankfully Sony has not restricted the keyboard to pairing with just Sony devices, so the keyboard (which uses the standard Bluetooth profiles you would expect of a keyboard) will happily work with a wide range of smartphones, tablets, and even desk-bound computers. I’ve been happily using the BKB10 as a third-party keyboard for my Jolla smartphone, as well as numerous smartphones.

Of course Sony would prefer if you use this with an Android powered Sony device, such as the Xperia Z2 Tablet (reviewed previously here on Forbes), and the pairing process has been made as easy as possible through the use of NFC. Tap your tablet or smartphone’s NFC antenna to the NFC mark on the keyboard, and the pairing should take place automatically.

The Sony BKB10 Keyboard (photo: Ewan Spence)

In use the keyboard delivers a good mobile experience, but it’s not going to win any typing awards. The keyboard is a chicklet style pad, with each key being physically separate. As well as the usual QWERTY keys, the keyboard has an extra strip of function keys above the number keys, controlling the media player, dedicated cut/copy/paste yes, and buttons marked select left/right/all to help when editing text. There are also dedicated buttons to launch the default email client and web browser, lock your smartphone, and to start the pairing process (if you are not relying on NFC).

With a pitch of 17 mm, you are not going to get a lot of double-key presses –  they keys are large enough to present a good target, and the gaps between the keys provide enough separation so even big clumsy finger should not accidentally hit two keys by mistake.

What you don’t get is solid feedback while typing. There is a spongy feeling to the keys, both in terms of material and the bounce-back they have after registering a keypress. It’s not a showstopper for short periods of typing, but it gets quite wearing after a while – I was never able to ‘dance’ around the keyboard with my fingers. Neither was I able to get a fast typing speed because the keyboard is smaller compared to a regular laptop or desktop computer. It feels a little bit cramped.

That said I think Sony has managed to find a good compromise between designing a keyboard that allows you to type 1000 word blog posts without feeling too tired, and to provide a keyboard that is small and light enough that you will be happy carrying it with you so you have it when you need it.

At £60 in the UK (via Amazon) the BKB10 is not a cheap accessory. Comparing it with similar sized keyboards that also target the traveller, the price is not outside of expectations. While there are better bluetooth keyboards out there that will replicate a desktop based experience with far more accuracy, Sony’s keyboard prizes portability as the first design goal, every other issue is subservient to that.

The key to understanding the BKB10 is portability, and a bit of practicality has been sacrificed. This isn’t the keyboard to replace the keyboard in your office, but if you are looking for a solution that works well while you are on the move, then the BKB10 should be on your list for consideration. It’s large enough you can use all your fingers, but small enough to be easily transported and not left at home.

(Credit: web)