The Indian Marmalade Company

Gather round and prepare to hear a thrilling tale of ancient IT artifacts, a brief mention of a Viking king and the globally known software that bears his name.

Now once upon a time portable writing was once the preserve of the wealthy few, starting out with writing boxes equipped with an assortment of inks, parchment, quills and later dip pens followed by fountain pens. And fast forward even further and the box has become small portable typewriters and later laptops and tablets with detours into cell ‘phone and PDA territory.

In short portable writing has been in a continuously state of evolution from cuneiform tablets to the wax notepads of Rome and on to our modern equivalents; so to find out more I decided to dip my toes in the water, again.

Before I go any further I should explain that in the dim and distant past I owned a number of Palm PDA’s and from there I moved on to Dell Axim Windows PDA’s; my favourite being the Axim X50 and later the X51. And it was during this time I bought some ‘office’ software and a folding Bluetooth keyboard, which was only marginally more advanced than the Viking it was named after.

For anyone interested it was the 10^th Century king of Denmark and Norway, Harald Bluetooth.

So, anyway back to the keyboard; overall it was a nice keyboard but connexion wasn’t all that the marketing promised so eventually I stopped using it and it disappeared into the depths of the IT box at the back of the cupboard shortly to be followed by the Axim clip on keyboard, and there ended my forays into portable keyboards until now.

Many years later and I’m back at the water’s edge and ready to dip my toes back in and see what gives.

After some pretty sophisticated research via Google “Bluetooth iPhone keyboard?”; I took a trip to Amazon and once thoroughly confused I settled on the CACOE Bluetooth Keyboard with stand and intended for use with cell ‘phones, so I ordered one. The following day a slimline package arrived and I opened the box and inside, roughly the same size as a Travelers notebook, was my new keyboard which I plugged in to charge and waited. And while I waited I read the instructions leaflet which turned out to be so feint they were pretty much illegible so I followed those posted by Dr M on Amazon

Instructions are not that helpful and some symbols are hidden. This may help:-

Pair to iPhone:-
1. Go to Blue Tooth on iPhone
2. Switch keyboard on
3. Press Function and 1 for 3 seconds (->blinking light)
4. See flashing icon on Bluetooth iPhone and touch it
5. Pair

@ Sign: – shift and 2
# Sign: – option and 3

With my iPhone paired, the kickstand deployed to a suitable angle it was time to unleash the keyboard and find out if it lived up to its potential; and you know what for a keyboard that is literally pocket sized it really does.

The keys are firm and responsive and about two thirds of the size of the keys on my Apple keyboard and despite the size difference I didn’t find it difficult to use. I left the keyboard for a week just to see if I would experience any problems, it didn’t. It paired immediately and I was able to pick up exactly where I left off.

I tested it using Apple Notes and Better Notes & Lists and the results were flawless; if you haven’t tried Better Notes I would urge you to take it for a test run, I did some time ago and I haven’t looked back.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/better-notes-lists-and-todos/id980887055

If you have nimble fingers and type long messages in seconds you may not see the point in adding a keyboard to your ‘phone and you might be right but I found, with the right software I was able to take more productive and organised notes.

And because this keyboard works with a range of tablets and cell ‘phones it does offer greater flexibility than dedicated keyboards and whilst it won’t replace your laptop it does offer a space saving, affordable and lightweight option for those days when you want to travel light.

Would I recommend this keyboard? For £29.99/$39.13 yes.

It’s pocket sized, works with most tablets or cell ‘phones and with the right software it can let you take you office with you.

Disclaimer: This keyboard was purchased at retail price. The opinions expressed in this review are my own; and I am not connected with either the retailers or manufacturers in any way.