Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard MB110LL/A
by Apple Computer
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List Price: Our Price: $19.99 You Save: $30.00 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard MB110LL/A
Customer Review: looks great, but surprised by high power draw
Summary: 4 Stars
This keyboard is nice looking to be sure, and I agree with the positives given in other reviews. Thus I'll cover the surprising bits, particular in relationship to the older Apple Pro Keyboard.
The power draw is higher. Previous versions worked fine with various unpowered USB hubs. No longer. It now has to go directly into the computer's USB ports. Fortunately, the hub inside the keyboard is USB 2.0 and can source a good amount of current, so you can chain your hub off of the keyboard instead of the other way around.
The width and height is slightly less than a normal keyboard, mostly by making the delete, backslash, return, shift and space more narrow. It's done to match the laptop keyboard spacing. This takes some getting used to.
The left edge is sharp not curved, which suddenly becomes noticeable if you often have your pinky there while typing.
I find that Aluminum has a very unpleasant, draining energy to it when touched, similar to the edgy feeling you get when a wifi or cell phone transmitter is nearby.
If you switch the keys around for Dvorak layout, the home keys are attached using rotated hinges, so you end up with U, H, J, F all rotated. The keys are very slightly rectangular not square so this does lead to gaps on the sides of these keys. Be sure to follow the instructions for removal found by at skeltoac dot com when you google "apple aluminum keyboard dvorak" so you don't break your key hinges. You have to lift the back edge, not the front, and use a thin plastic shim to raise the back end up to get ahold of it. if you lift the rear right rather than direct rear of the key, it is a little easier to remove.
The function keys, as on laptops, have almost all been hijacked for system functions, which really sucks. There is a fn key where help used to be which can be held to generate the real function key signal, but it's in a pretty inconvenient location there.
The function key row is immediately above the top row rather than slightly above which makes it easier to hit the wrong key up there.
The flat surface, not being concave, is less ergonomic since there is less consistent finger travel distances, and if you have carpal tunnel problems you'll notice cramping right away.
The case is glued together and can not be opened. Cleaning it can be done by careful key removal, but the hinge mechanism is delicate enough that I suspect after a few cycles of this you'll have broken keys. Thus this may not last as long as older keyboards. On the other hand, cleaning is probably not needed as often. There is far less room for dust and lint to get under the keys -- in the old design dust just sloped down into the undercarriage and hair and such were always collecting there.
Customer Review: Great Keyboard with some sticking issues
Summary: 4 Stars
WANTED: A compact Windows compatible non-bluetooth keyboard with the essentials: no media buttons, no special software, and no 300 button gaming beast. Also it had to be quiet and stay quiet.
Surprisingly, I had to go to the Mac side of things to get what I wanted. And I am quite pleased with what I bought, except for a few nagging issues.
First, the good parts. Yes, instead of using standard sized keys the new Mac keyboard uses Macbook-styled "chicklet" keys. They are slightly raised flat buttons that face parallel to the rest of the keyboard. You will have to adjust to typing on this keyboard, but once you do every other keyboard feels foreign. The keys are spaced apart enough to clean really well with a dry towel.
All of the essential keys are here, laid out in QWERTY fashion. Since this is an Apple made keyboard, they have Mac specific buttons on them, like the command key (also called the clover key), an eject key, and F13-F19 function buttons that run over the insert, home, page up, and number pad. The command key is the windows key in XP and does what the windows key does. With the free keyboard key editor SharpKeys (http://www.randyrants.com/2006/07/sharpkeys_211.html) you can remap and button on this keyboard, save for the eject key. *Note* the "clear" button on the number pad is num lock in windows by default. Thought you should know that.
The Apple Keyboard also comes with 2 low powered USB ports. While a great many devices (ipods, heavy power consuming devices, some hubs) won't work when plugged in, they work wonderfully with mice and Bluetooth dongles. Eliminating the many cords and freeing up USB ports by connecting both into my keyboard was AWESOME.
The keyboard itself is actually pretty weighty from using a thick aluminum sheet to hold the keys. It isn't a heavy keyboard, but the weight of it will surprise you.
With all of this praise, how could it possibly not rate at all stars? Well, the sticking issue comes with certain keys needing a good jab to register. Namely my Caps Lock key. Sometimes it needs a good jab to wake up and stay lit (it does have a green LED to indicate on/off status). But since I don;t use it often, I wonder if it sticks because of that reason. And when typing a lengthy letter I still sometimes make errors, but I attribute the bulk of this to my inferior typing skills.
Don't read it wrong, I LOVE this keyboard. After mapping the Calc, print screen, and My Computer to some function keys I was set and ready. I wouldn't trade it in for anything, even for the wireless model. I recommend purchasing this keyboard. Even after the sticker shock wears off, you will find your purchase worth it.
Customer Review: Apple finally gets it right. (or at least good enough)
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a real hard-ass when it comes to keyboards. I think most keyboards available now are pretty terrible; spongy, vague key feel, too much force required, crappy feedback. That makes them hard to type on quickly, and tiring to use.
My favorite keyboard of all time is the original Apple Extended keyboard from 1989 or so, model M0115. It was this huge tank of a keyboard, weighed about 5 lbs., big, bulky, but had a fantastic key feel. It was easy to type fast on it. The pressure required was light, but definite, you *knew* when you'd hit the key by feel. But unfortunately they stopped making it, and they were ADB keyboards so an ADB to USB adapter is necessary to use them with a modern computer. Every keyboard they've made since then were worse, sometimes a *lot* worse.
Until now. This is a completely different keyboard, the keystroke is very short, the body thin, the dimensions smaller in all respects, while still being a full sized keyboard. I was skeptical that a keyboard with such a low profile design could possibly have a decent keyfeel, but it does. Pressure required is light, but there's a crisp, tactile "pop" or "bump" as the key falls into its "pressed" position. There's no doubt that I've pressed the key. Because of the lighter weight, I had to adjust my typing some (I was pressing too hard), but now that I have I really like this keyboard.
It has a few imperfections though:
- What used to be an "insert" key (just above "delete", to the left of "home") is now a "fn" key. This is annoying because if you run X-windows, "shift-insert" for "paste" doesn't work anymore, and the "fn" can't be remapped with xmodmap. Most people remap F13 to "insert" for this, which is ok, but not ideal. Obviously this doesn't matter at all if you're using a Mac.
- It seems to behave poorly with KVM switches. At least it behaves poorly with my cheap KVM switch. Sometimes the Mac won't recognize the keyboard, sometimes it will. The PC will usually recognize it, but not always. I never have that problem with other keyboards. It could be a
- The USB ports on the keyboard don't seem to be able to support very much power, which makes them only useful for a mouse. I haven't done much testing on that.
- No "power" key, but that's more of a problem with Apple hardware I believe, I think (but I'm not sure) the "power on from the keyboard" went away with ADB keyoards. If not, and it's still technically possible, Apple really should put it back and include a power key on the next generation of this keyboard.
Customer Review: I can't believe my keyboard survived!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this low-profile keyboard for nearly two years now, although I haven't felt compelled to write a review until today. In the past, I've gone through keyboards either by wearing the keys down with my fingernails or by spilling son it. Well, today I dropped a can of soda on mine, and I was sure that I'd blown it again. (Yeah, I know, I should learn from my mistakes!) Well, I quickly turned it face down and ran to get paper towels. Here I am, still typing on it. The keys are close enough together to keep most debris, even liquids, from entering the body. Of course, I may end up with sticking keys in a few days; however, the fact that it didn't instantly stop working says a lot about the superior construction of the keyboard.
After the liquid revelation, I decided to take a hard look at how this keyboard has survived over two years of daily work. Only two keys show signs of wear, the "s" and the "o." (I guess I have to stop typing "so"!) Everything else feels and responds as it did the day I bought it. The slender aluminum keyboard is only 1/4 inch, including the keys, at the bottom while the top where the USB ports are gets as wide as 5/8 inch. The top dimensions are 17" wide by 4.5" deep. The function keys are automatically set for calling up Dashboard, setting the volume and brightness, operating iTunes, and bringing up Exposé. In addition, there are two open function keys. Between the QWERTY and the numerical pads, there's an area for page, home, and cursor navigation, with three more open function keys. At the bottom/sides, you'll find two high-speed USB ports for wireless mouse transmitters, flash drives, and other devices. It connects to your computer or USB hub through a USB cable in the back/middle.
The edge of the keyboard is somewhat sharp, making it uncomfortable if you rest your wrists there. I recommend getting a wrist guard such as Textured Gel Wrist Wrest Black Lycra Material Feels Smooth. Typing is remarkably responsive and comfortable, although the nearly flat surface, without much tilt, may bother some people.
Although PC keyboards work with the Mac, the Apple keyboard works best simply because of keys such as the CD/DVD eject button and settings specifically programmed for Mac use. I've had other, less expensive (as well as more expensive) keyboards that don't integrate as well with the Mac.
-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann
Customer Review: Great for use on my PC
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm currently typing this review from my Apple keyboard connected to my PC and I couldn't be more satisfied with my purchase. This is easily the thinnest keyboard I have ever used, yet it has the best build quality. I'm used to thin plastic keyboards that ship with Dell, HP or Gateway computers that creek as you type and show wear patterns on your spacebar. No such luck with Apple. The keyboard is solid despite being thin. The keys are lightly textured, but don't quite have the rubbery feel of the Macbook keys.
Transitioning was a breeze and I was quickly typing at normal WPM speed with little hassle. Now I'm on a PC, so not all of the keys work out of the box, but if you have a Mac OSX boot disc, you can use bootcamp drivers to activate most of your keys in Windows. For example, F14 key becomes your Print Screen function and apple command becomes windows start key. If you don't own a Mac or don't have an OSX boot disc, I'm not sure how you would get around this. No matter what, as soon as you plugin your USB cable to your PC, Windows installs appropriate drivers that ensure your basic keyboard functions work without a hitch.
Cons:
- USB ports are recessed making them harder to reach when keyboard sits on flat surface
- Hard to carefully clean keys (be very careful not to get liquid or cleaner near the key recesses)
- White keys more likely to become dirty
Why you should buy a wired keyboard over the wireless keyboard:
- Numeric keypad
- No battery change required
- 2 USB ports located on each end of the wired keyboard
- USB connectivity means you don't need Bluetooth (for your PC especially)
- Wireless lacks center column buttons, ie home end fn page up page down
- Wireless shrinks the size of the arrow keys whereas wired keeps arrow keys full size
I regard this as an impulse buy as I was actually interested in the Magic Trackpad for my Macbook Pro. Along the way I stumbled over to the Apple Keyboard and checked to see if it was Windows compatible (and it is of course). After reading a few reviews, I picked up the keyboard after work at a local big box store with initials BB for full retail price (Amazon has a 3-5 day wait currently). It's a fantastic keyboard and I'm not sure why I waited so long to add it onto my Windows PC. Apple really has design and functionality nailed down to a science, PC manufacturers would do well to emulate their ergonomics and aesthetic design.