Hawke84's Tech Reviews: Inateck BK1002 Bluetooth Keyboard

Inateck BK1002 Bluetooth Keyboard

Overview

Hi all. So i’ve got my hands on another product from Inateck, one of the new up and coming tech firms that seem to do a little bit of everything. Im quite excited about this product, its something i’ve been in the market for a little while as im getting more USB3.0 gadgets and I couldnt wait to open it! My Review today is on one of the new products which is a 4 port USB3.0 hub with an additional 2A charging port for phones / tablets etc.

Unboxing

The keyboard arrived in a nondescript brown box with Inateck’s logo on. On the back there is a small bit of info, mainly the RoHS and other compliance labels. The model number is BK1002. Opening up the box there is a well protected keyboard in a white soft bag, making it feel very nice and premium.

Taking it out the box there is a small instruction manual walking you through the steps of putting batteries in and getting the keyboard connected and up and running. The manual is well written and steps you through the process nicely.

One line in the manual does read “Select Bluetooth 3.0 Keyboard” so suggesting that the chip uses bluetooth 3.0.

Its worth noting that batteries aren’t included in the box so make sure you have two AAA batteries ready. My previous experience with bluetooth keyboards is that they are pretty easy on batteries, ive had one for a while and its not run out yet including being left on by accident for days at an end. Also this uses bluetooth 3 which is lower energy so battery life generally isnt something to get worried about...

Hands on

Ok so removing the keyboard from its protective wrapper reveals a nice looking keyboard with white buttons and a silver chassis which is slightly reflective but has a matt quality so its not blinding. It looks nice and compared to my black keyboard it seems like this is a good colour as it wont be an obvious fingerprint magnet. The white buttons have grey lettering apart from the function keys which are a dark blue. The grey of the letter keys complements nicely the gray of the chassis.

The keyboard I received for review is a US model as the @ key is above the 2, which isnt standard on UK keyboards, after years of pressing shift and ‘ I can see myself keep hitting the wrong key to get the @ symbol… The key sizing seems to be fairly normal, this isnt a compact key version so thats a very big plus (i dont like very compact keys) the keys are as you would expect on a laptop, with good key spacing (about 3.2mm between each key) so plenty of space for fat fingers :)

There is a function key (blue) which on this keyboard is used to get the F1-12 & Del keys. There are smart features (including media controls) along the top which share the F keys but you dont need to use a Fn press to get to the. I like this, im more likely to user a media control or brightness key than i am an F key, so feels like a logical step forward.

There is an indicator for battery just above the F11 key which glows a nice deep blue for a few seconds when the keyboard is turned on to indicate everything is ok in the battery department!

On the back is a square block which houses the batteries and also serves to life the keyboard to a slight angle. The block is about 1.5cm high so gives the keyboard a nice bit of lift to angle it for comfortable typing. There are 4 round rubber feet, one in each corner. Also on the bottom is an on/ off switch and a connect button to perform the bluetooth pairing. One thought I did have was that it would be nice to have the on/off switch with a splash of colour that shows when the switch is moved e.g green when on and red when off just make it more visible when its on or off as its not always easy to ready the words “on / off” unless you really look, so this is something I plan on fixing with a dab of paint. Its a small thing but it makes life a little easier.

Testing

For testing ive tried it with 3 different bits of kit. My PC- a custom built Windows 7 Asus motherboard, my Samsung Galaxy S4 running stock touchwiz Android 4.4.2 and my Nexus 7 (2013 edition) running stock android 4.4.4.

Samsung Galaxy S4.

My Samsung found the keyboard fine, it called it QH-ZY-US-01 in the device menu but it paired with it fine and there is an option to rename the device to something more friendly.

Playing with some of the function keys, some work on the phone, some dont. the brightness keys dont have an effect but the media keys, play, pause, vol up and down and the screen lock key all work as expected as does the ‘Home’ key which takes my phone back to the home screen! You can actually navigate touchwiz using the arrow keys but its not fun!

Typing away in my email app was great fun. The keyboard makes a satisfying small clack when typing which I really like, there is enough resistance there to know when you have made a keypress and when you haven't. Typing didnt show any input lag at all, all words appeared instantly on the screen. When using a keyboard on android, the onscreen keyboard does pop up but using the back button minimised this for me easily to give me more screen real estate.

Turning the keyboard off and on again to check it reconnects showed no problems, it was reconnected instantly when it was switched on so I didnt have to go through the setup or anything like that every time the keyboard is switched off.

Nexus 7 (2013)

Testing on the nexus didnt really seem to be any different to testing on my Galaxy S4, both are android and both reacted the same so says to me that this should work fine with any android device.

I am a big fan of keyboards for android devices, especially tablets. Android tablets tend to me media output devices rather than media input i.e. you watch stuff but dont ever really create much. Typing on screen for long periods is a pain but using something as simple as a bluetooth keyboard suddenly means you can use your tablet more as a work laptop, you can comfortably pen a nice long email to people. I would urge anyone who isnt sure about getting a bluetooth keyboard to get one, you will use it more than you think. Most modern TVs now work with bluetooth (check the specs) meaning you can use the one keyboard on multiple devices. I find myself just grabbing the keyboard to write a text message or an email as its easier to grab that and type than to write anything long on the screen.

The pairing with Windows 7 was again fairly simple, soon as i made my PC discoverable and pressing connect on the keyboard it paired up fine. Typing on the keyboard was just the same as using it on android. No input lag, no disconnects or issues. Turning the keyboard on and off again and it reconnected to my PC fine and actually is nice and comfortable to use as a daily driver.

Pricing

Ths is on Amazon for £12.99 at the moment which honestly you cant get one of these for less than that. I paid £15 for my other one and its no where near as nice as this one, I havent seen them anywhere for anything less than £15 mark so this seems like quite a very good price. Currys / PC World these are generally £30. For £12.99 to get a good solid, name brand product I feel is a good investment!

Positive points

+I love this thing, Bluetooth keyboards are so so handy with android devices!

+Good keyspacing

+Responsive keys

+No input lag

+Easy bluetooth pairing

+Good looking, looks stylish on the desk and being wireless adds to the appeal

+Bluetooth 3.0, low energy so kind on batteries

+Not a fingerprint magnet :)

+Battery status / pairing status LED.

+Rubber non-slip feet (4)

+Simple to pair and pick up and use.