We recently had the opportunity to review the Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard. The keyboard appealed to us due to its unique fold design as well as its small footprint and aluminum construction.
Description
The Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard is a 58 key mini keyboard with an aluminum frame and ABS keys. What makes this foldable keyboard somewhat unique is the fold design of the device. Typically, foldable keyboards are divided vertically, so they fold the left half over with the right half of the keyboard, however in this case, the Geyes keyboard is divided horizontally, and as a result, the keyboards top and bottom halves fold over one another. We find that the folding mechanism is precise in nature and executed well.
When closed, the keyboard is a compact 9″ in length by 2 1/4″ wide with a depth of 1″ making this one of the smallest keyboards that we have tested to date. If you fully open the keyboard and extend its kickstand, the footprint of the device is 9″ in length by 6.75″ wide.
On the front of the kickstand is a 5 1/2″ long support shelf which can be used to hold a phone or tablet in place. We quickly discovered that this support shelf is able to easily hold a phone or a tablet when they are placed horizontally on the keyboard however any attempt to stand a phone or a tablet vertically results in instability.
On the kickstand facing the user and to the right, are a series of LED indicators related to Bluetooth activation, battery life and whether or not the ‘Caps Lock’ feature is engaged. To find out the current remaining life on the battery, you simply press ‘Fn + Alt’ and the LED indicator will flash once for each 25% increment of battery life remaining, with four flashes indicating a fully charged battery with 100% of the battery’s charge remaining.
We noticed a couple of small issues when the keyboard is fully open with the kickstand extended. First, there are no rubber footings to hold the keyboard in place and so on occasion the keyboard did slide slightly when in use and second, the keypad is slightly raised towards the top rather than laying perfectly flat on the surface where the keyboard is placed and this does have an impact on performance, which is discussed later.
Layout
It is not uncommon to find mini keyboards with differing layouts and key sizes. While there has been an attempt to maintain key sizes at a size on par with full sized keyboard, the Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard, inevitably makes several sacrifices in this regard. Take for instance the ‘Enter’ key which measures 0.5″ x 0.5″ and is about 1/3 the width of the ‘Enter’ key on Logitech’s MX Keys keyboard. Additionally, the ‘Esc’ key has also been downsized significantly. Nonetheless, the manufacturer has done a relatively good job cutting key real estate on keys that are typically used less than others, while letter and number keys measure 0.5″ x 0.5″. The keyboard also maintains the QWERTY layout so that switching from your current keyboard to the Geyes mini keyboard is as painless as possible.
If we have one point of contention with the layout of the keyboard, its the distance between keys which measures 3mm rather than 2mm which we find on full sized keyboards. It’s a mystery as to why the manufacturer has chosen to leave unused real estate on the keyboard.
The keys are made of ABS plastic and are perfectly smooth similar to that of a Microsoft keyboard with no texture or concavity to the face of the keys. We would have liked to have seen some concavity to the keys to help your fingers locate the appropriate keys. If you are used to flat keys then you will have little difficulty in utilizing this keyboard.
Typing Experience
The typing experience of the Geyes mini BT keyboard is designed to mimick your experience typing on a low profile laptop keyboard, and while this maybe what the manufacturer had hoped for, the reality is that using the Geyes mini keyboard, is a somewhat inconsistent experience at best.
To begin with, the keyboard doesn’t actually lay completely flat on a surface such as a desk or table top. In particular the upper half of the keyboard has a very small incline to it, which results in a slight movement when pressing on any of the the number keys in the top row. As you move lower down the keyboard, stability improves and so too does speed and accuracy. When you reach the final two rows of keys, you need to bottom out on the keys for them to register. When you combine all of these factors together you end up with a keyboard that offers an inconsistent typing experience and performance. In our typing tests we saw a large drop in terms of our speed and accuracy when compared to a full sized keyboard such as the Logitech MX Keys keyboard of Microsoft’s multimedia keyboard.
To address the incline at the upper part of the keyboard, the manufacturer should have added rubber footings to kickstand to give it more stability while increasing the angle of the stand. These two small fixes would eliminate the movement and incline issues. To see exactly what we mean, simply open the keyboard and extand the kickstand and then push the kickstand against a solid edge like a heavy book allowing for a steeper angle. This eliminates the incline of the keyboard near the top and improves the ability to use the top two rows of keys.
While this can eliminate the issues with the top keys, the bottom keys will still require an extra effort to make certain that they are fully depressed in order to register. While the incline in the top rows impacted our speed, most of our typing errors came from keys from the bottom row not registering.
Features
The mini keyboard utilizes Bluetooth 4.2 and has a range of up to 10 meters. Similar to our review of the Logitech MX Keys keyboard, the Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard can be used with multiple systems at once, however unlike the MX Keys, the Geyes keyboard can be used with just two devices rather than three. Once the two devices are connected, you only need to press “Fn + Z” or “Fn + M” to switch between each of the devices.
Additional features of the keyboard are dependent upon which operating system it is being used with. For example, in the Windows format, the ‘Fn’ keys remain as simple ‘Fn’ keys, however under iOS or Android, the ‘Fn’ keys can be used to adjust brightness and volume among other helpful shortcuts.
One aspect that has not been touched upon thus far, is how exactly to turn on and off the keyboard. There is no physical on/off switch for the keyboard. Instead, the manufacturer has designed the keyboard to automatically power on or off when the keyboard is opened or closed.
Battery
Whenever one chooses to purchase a product that uses a built in rechargeable battery, one of the first questions to be asked is how long will the product works between charges. According to the specifications for the Geyes Foldable Mini BT, the keyboard utilizes a 380 mAh Lithium Ion battery and has a use time of up to 64 hours with a standby time up to three months on a single charge. Furthermore, the time it takes to charge the keyboard to full power from zero is just over two hours.
The keyboard benefits from the fact that there is no backlighting, and while that may not be welcome when it comes to productivity in the evening, it certainly benefits the life of the battery.
What We Like
Portability: Both the design and 155 gram weight of the Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard make it an ideal peripheral to be taken with you on short or long trips. The keyboard comes with a travel pouch where you can store both the keyboard as well as the USB charging cable that comes with it.
Small Footprint: In addition to portability, the keyboard has a small footprint which allows you to use it while on a plane, train, or at the office. So if you have a cluttered workspace, we are confident that you can still find enough room on your workspace to use this keyboard.
Multiple Devices/Operating Systems: The growing trend for keyboards is the ability to use them with multiple devices and with multiple operating systems. The Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard is no different. Whether you need a keyboard for a tablet, phone or a desktop and if you are using iOS, Android or Windows, this keyboard has you covered. We find the ability to switch from one device to another without using a second keyboard adds significant productivity and value.
Construction: The aluminum body of the Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard, adds sturdiness and durability to a well made product. When transporting this keyboard from location to location, you want to have the confidence that when you reach your destination and pull the keyboard out for use, it will be undamaged.
Fold Design: We really like the horizontal fold design of the keyboard. The keys are situated level with the frame of the keyboard ensuring that the keys are not damaged when the keyboard is closed. We have seen and used keyboards that fold with the keys exposed adding to the risk that the keys may become physically damaged. For a keyboard that is designed to be taken on the road, this is a superior design concept in our opinion.
Good Battery Life: The Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard houses a 380 mAh battery which charges in just a couple of house and has a standby time of up to three months.
What We Don’t Like
Typing Experience: The Geyes mini keyboard has different registration points for different rows of keys. As noted in our review above, the bottom row of keys needs to be fully depressed to register whereas keys near the top work as expected. This inconsistency, is problematic and can result in more errors than would otherwise be the case.
Key Size and Spacing: The keys of the Geyes mini keyboard could have been made slightly larger. There is a larger than necessary gap between keys and with a mini keyboard every millimeter counts.
No Backlighting: While the keyboard can be used when travelling, one thing to consider is the fact that there is no backlighting and as a result, if you are on a plane or working in a dark environment, you will need to have an alternative lighting source.
Final Thoughts
The Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard offers an innovative approach to folding keyboards by folding vertically rather than horizontally. Although this is not the first keyboard to fold in this manner, the keyboard does a very good job in protecting keys so that there are no issues when it comes time to use the device.
Although the keyboard is ideally meant to be used with tablets or phones, it is equally capable of being coupled with a desktop PC in circumstances where warranted.
The keyboard makes an ideal companion when travelling thanks to the small form factor and light weight and is easily transported thanks to the travel pouch that it comes packaged with.
We were impressed with the battery life and the ability to use the Geyes mini keyboard with multiple operating systems and devices. We were less impressed with the overall typing experience which left us wanting greater stability and sturdiness. Despite some of these shortcomings, the keyboard will be appreciated by those that prefer the tactile feel of an actual keyboard over a virtual keyboard.
As our phones and tablets are used more and more for productivity purposes, the Geyes Foldable Mini BT keyboard may be a peripheral worth considering.
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