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[Personal] Review of ZAGGmate (Bluetooth Keyboard/Case)

tdmsu

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Matt,

I don't think it's excessive... If I got the zaggmate, I was thinking that I would get the football sports skin on both sides! If you can afford it, it would be cool.
 

MattIM

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Thanks for the confirmation, TDMSU!

Matt,

I don't think it's excessive... If I got the zaggmate, I was thinking that I would get the football sports skin on both sides! If you can afford it, it would be cool.

I got a gift card from Zagg so I have one skin paid for. I was thinking the baseball leather was good too.
 

USBill

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My workstation is a Lenovo ThinkPad, it takes me 10 minutes to shut it down, stow its cables, and put it in my back pack. It takes less than a minute to stow the entire iPad.
You should get IT to order you a docking station. I deployed a ThinkPad earlier this year and all you have to do is close the lid and press the eject lever. It automatically switches from dual monitor mode to single screen mode when you open it back up undocked on the bus ride home.
 
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Mickey330

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I've put the leather Zaggskin on the back of my iPad - mostly because I want to protect the back from scratches. One big benefit is that it does make it much nicer to hold, 'cause dang (!) that metal is COLD!!! Especially in this current western New York weather!

I've ordered a regular Zaggskin for the back of the Zaggmate. Again, mainly to protect from scratches. But, I'm telling you now, if that skin doesn't help hold back the cold of THAT metal ... I'm buying another leather skin.

Yes, I am a wimp. But, it's cold!

Marilyn
 

AlunReynolds

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When oh WHEN???

I work at ZAGG and appreciate your comments. To help with your function keys, here are some basics:
Copy: Command C
Cut: Command X
Paste: Command V
Undo: Command Z
End: Command right arrow
Beginning: Command Left Arrow
Page UP: Command Up Arrow
Page Down: Command Down Arrow
Select All: Command A
Select Left: Shift Left
Select Right: Shift Right
Select Down: Shift Down
Select Up: Shift Up

Play around with them a bit. You'll really like the select functions rather than needing to touch the screen all the time. Enjoy.

If you work at Zagg, can you ask them when this product will hit the shores of Britain and whether or not they can speed it up. After all, we do have a special relationship don't we? Brothers in arms and all that :)
 
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Mickey330

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ArtemisBlossom: Yes, I don't even notice the lip, to be honest. I touch-type anyway, so I hold my hands up (as if I were playing the piano). There's no contact with that metal lip. This is with the keyboard flat on a desk.

BTW, that lip is cut lower than the other three sides, so although it does stick up a bit, it's way lower than the other sides.

When I rest my hands, I touch the sides in the front (the higher parts on the side of the dip-down opening). But, its not uncomfortable ... and it's not really noticeable. And, I raise my hands [again] when I start typing, so again, its moot - I'm not touching it.

Now, I may just be glossing over it, because I am so thrilled with this keyboard, but IMNSHO, this is a very comfortable keyboard to use. Nothing close to my desktop's ergonomic keyboard (that I absolutely adore!) but for a portable, convenient, handy keyboard? This is great to type on...!

Any other new owners notice anything different?

Hope this helps.

Marilyn
 

billpool

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Got my email from Zagg and UPS Tracking info. Should be here RSN.:D

Take Care
 

ZAGG

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When oh When - Reply

RE: If you work at Zagg, can you ask them when this product will hit the shores of Britain and whether or not they can speed it up. After all, we do have a special relationship don't we? Brothers in arms and all that :)

We are doing all we can to get this out to our European partners. The demand has been fantastic so I can't make any promises, but we are working on it.

Thanks for your patience.
 

kc2ped

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Marilyn,
Thanks for your great review.
I first became aware of the ZAGGmate last week when I saw an add for it on the wheresgeorge website. I had many of the same qualms as you. The primary concern was what would be contacting my screen which is already protected with an anti-glare screen protector so I emailed ZAGG to ask about that. I checked online inventories for all of the NYC dealers and couldn't find it and a search of the local BestBuy didn't turn one up. I really wanted to see it before plinking down a C note.
I heard back from ZAGG on Saturday that my fears were unfounded so decided to take a chance on it even though I had never heard of the company before. Your review validates my gut reaction to this product.
I got an email on Wednesday afternoon saying my keyboard was shipping but so far UPS isn't able to tell me where it is or when it will be here.
I am as anxious for that package to arrive as I was for the iPad itself to get here.
 

futujiang

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Tell me when ZAGGmate works with discount codes!

You can possibly see ZAGGmate work with discount codes in the future. But, right now the discount codes for ZAGG do NOT work

Keep an eye on this article for updates:
codes4discount.com/2010/zaggmates-coming-a-docking-mate-for-your-ipad

I am guessing it will start working in January.
 

sim

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Just picked one of these up on the way home. Early Christmas present to myself. It helped that I had a $35 store credit at Bestbuy burning a hole in my pocket. Took me a few times to get it paired because I am apparently an illiterate moron. Wasn't getting that I needed to enter the code on the Zaggmate keyboard....long week.

So far seems like a great piece of equipment.

Steve
 

jtiggidy

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I just go mine.. My thoughts

I am typing this on my new ZaggMate.. which is a kudos in itself as I really would never have gotten myself involved in anything so verbose in the past without it.

This thing is really sweet, plain and simple. This really makes the iPad a laptop killer for folks that really only need their laptops for email/web and light content creation.

The keyboard is quality and very responsive for such a little guy. Fit and finish is excellent; everything is safe and sound when in the case or in the keyboard stand.

The lip is not a concern at all as it really isnt a lip and there is rubber that is higher than the lip itself. The corners of the keyboard opening did bother me a bit; particularily when using the unit from a odd surface like my lap or something because of the natural need to sort of hold it in place with your palms. This is far less of a problem when typing on a flat surface like a desk or airplane tray where you can rest your palms on the destkop. That said, I always feel the urge to mod things so I filed the corners down a bit as they seem to curve outward toward your palms instead of inward. It did make a difference on the comfort factor. This was really easy and didnt have any impact on how well the unit stays "put away". In my personal opinon Zagg should change these corners slightly in their manufacturing process.

Besides that, there are only two things I dont like about it; neither being Zaggs fault so to speak.

First; I keep reaching for my mouse now! It's so much like having my laptop I just cant stop the urge. PLEASE APPLE GIVE US NATIVE MOUSE SUPPORT. Sure the ol jailbreak works, but I got one of these for my mom for christmas and I dont want her to have to remember to use the btstack app every time.

iPad + VNC + ZaggMate + Mouse support = bye laptop.


>> Thanks for the respone. It does do this already :D >> Second, I wish the keyboard had a inactivity standby option and that a key press or momentary swith would take it out of standby vs a hard switch. This way you wouldnt have to remember to turn it off.. and on. For all I know it does go into power save mode and a key press takes it out; I dont know because I havent had it long enought to know. Could someone from Zagg comment on this please?

Anyways, that my 2 cents. This thing kicks major arse. I checked out some of the portolio keyboards just after I had ordered my ZaggMate and I must say; when it arrived I was very pleased with the decision I made. The others were crap!

>fixed 1 typo.. not bad!
 
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ZAGG

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Response to jtiggidy

The mouse support sure would be fun. It also wouldn't be difficult for Apple to integrate. I think this is where the fact that they sell laptops is getting in the way. Oh well. Ironically, you will adapt very quickly. In fact, I gave one to my daughter in college and she quit taking her MacBook to class. All she takes is the iPad ZAGGmate combo. After having for less than 3 days, she emailed me that she felt like an idiot when she was in her dorm messing with iTunes on her laptop and reached up to touch the screen. That made me laugh.

In regards to the sleep mode, yes, the ZAGGmate goes into sleep after a couple minutes of inactivity to save the battery. The battery really does last a long time. You can tell this feature works when you stop typing for a few minutes and then need to press a button once to wake it up and then again to get the iPad to respond to it. The sleep works so well, I don't ever turn mine off myself. If you won't be using it for several days, you should probably turn it off, because that completely cuts all power to the circuitry. When in sleep, it is using a VERY small amount of energy waiting for a key press. This is why we chose a power switch over a power button. Power buttons typically use juice waiting for someone to touch the button. Sorry, TMI. Anyway, I'm glad you love your ZAGGmate.

Ps We will consider your suggestion about the keyboard opening. Most people don't notice it because your hands naturally arc right over that spot, but I can see your point on your lap. We were reluctant to take too much away as we need something to hold the iPad in place, but a fraction here or there may be toyed with on future generations. Thanks for the comments.
 

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