Another “Ultra-Mini” Keyboard Alternative for the Samsung Q1

A few days ago I read about an alternative mini-keyboard for the Samsung Q1 available from the Brando online store. It’s nice because it’s only about $25, including shipping, compared to the official Samsung Q1 keyboard (that was bundled with newer Q1 purchases…Samsung should’ve retroactively sent these keyboards to previous Q1 purchasers ) that is $99 + shipping. The Samsung keyboard has a much shorter USB cable to make it fit into a carrying case with the Q1 a lot better, as well as a pointing stick. But are these features worth the $70-some price difference? Perhaps not.

At any rate, I went searching at my favorite tech warehouse, Tigerdirect, and found a similarly-sized keyboard by Solidtek. It’s a bit more expensive than the Brando keyboard at $27.99 + shipping (or in my case, $27.99 + tax, since there’s a local Tigerdirect store near me), and it has a silver and black color scheme, which may or may not appeal to you better than an all-black color scheme. But if you’re looking for an alternative to the Brando keyboard, I recommend checking it out.

Right now I’m at work, so I probably won’t be able to play around with this keyboard until I get home tonight. Keep your eyes peeled for a quick review later. My first impression is that this keyboard is really small and cute. Even if I don’t own the Q1 that I’m testing out, I’m sure I can find another use for this mini-keyboard, probably for the UMPC that I will eventually buy for myself.

I feel that even if someone were to use the Q1 plus this ultra-mini keyboard (and a mouse, if he/she just couldn’t live without it) as a sort of laptop replacement, I doubt that he/she would be able to find a similarly portable notebook computer for around $1100 or $1200. Those really small Vaio notebooks are definitely not that cheap, unless you find some really good deal on a used one, or something. And you don’t get the option to leave the keyboard behind if you want an even more portable device when you’re away from your desk.

Whenever I read someone’s complaint about how buying an external keyboard for a UMPC defeats the ultra-portability, I just have to shake my head in disbelief at that person’s ignorance (and get a little angry). *sigh*