Zagg Autofit keyboard

2014-04-19 23:06:20 -0400

I saw this go by on The Gadgeteer - the Zagg "Autofit" Keyboard which is a basic bluetooth keyboard and integrated hinged tablet-dock, with enough spring-loaded adjustable plastic bits that you can just drop a tablet in and use it as a laptop (including closing the case with the tablet inside.)

Looks like only the 7"-ish model is shipping, with 8" and 10" on the way... but what I'd rather see is a 6" model that would fit the Galaxy Note 3 :-) The Autofit lacks an eraser-mouse, so it's still inferior to the Motorola KZ450 but the stability when used on a lap or carried around (rather than tied to a table) would probably compensate enough.

It's tempting to get the 7" anyway and kludge up some extra plastic around the Note 3 to get it to fit, but if I'm going to go down that path I should just 3D-print a shell that fits it and clips on to the Moto keyboard...

Followup

In October 2014 I'd picked up a very cheap Nexus 7 on woot, and so finally had the excuse to get one of these. I'm quite pleased with it, enough that I got side-tracked attempting to come up with a useful emacs + ssh + git environment on the N7. In any case, it works; the N7 needs to be in a specific orientation to expose the power switch, but that's ok. Long battery life. Just large enough for in-lap use, but the N7 is heavy enough to tip it over without the rear foot extended; still, it's good enough that it's a decent replacement for a full sized "work" laptop (TouchDown and other office-ish tools, plus some VPN support, mean it's a decent match for corporate writing-but-not-coding work, especially for travel where work isn't the primary goal.)

I do of course still miss the eraser-mouse, but being one integrated piece is a pretty big benefit.