Day 8 - Surface Pro: Touch Cover or Type Cover Keyboard?
Teaching and Learning with a Windows 8 Tablet3/19/2013
Welcome to Day 8 of working with a Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet for educators. Today the subject is keyboards.
When you decide to purchase the Surface Pro you need to consider if you would also like to buy the “snap” style keyboard designed to work with the Surface Pro. The keyboard is sold in two different styles, the touch cover and the type cover. I have used both so here are my thoughts, but remember the feel of a keyboard is a personal preference so your opinion may vary from mine.
After my experience with the Samsung Ativ 500 where I did not initially buy the keyboard, a choice I later regretted, we elected to purchase both keyboard styles designed for the Surface Pro.
The Surface Pro keyboards have been designed with cutting edge technology just like the rest of the Surface Pro. You may have seen the Microsoft commercials that prominently feature the Surface Keyboards and the “magnetic latch” that allows you to snap the keyboard on and off with a solid sounding click. This magnetic latch system works very well and I have had no problems connecting or disconnecting the keyboard to the Surface Pro.
Both the touch and the type covers can be folded over the back of the Surface Pro when the keyboard is not needed. When the keyboard is flipped over to the back the keys are disabled so you cannot accidently press the keys when you are using the Surface Pro in tablet mode.
The touch covers come in a variety of colors including blue, black, pink, and white. Touch covers retail for $119.99
http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/accessories/home
The touch cover is a very thin keyboard that serves as both a cover and a keyboard. The thinness really is amazing. The touch cover is essentially a printed keyboard on a cloth-like material and the keys have no give. It is like typing on a table-top, not having any feedback to your fingers is kind of a weird experience when you first try it out.
Because the touch cover has no physical keys to push it does take a while to get used to. Some people adjust better than others so I highly suggest you go to a store and try it yourself to see if you think it would work for you. One peculiar thing about the touch cover is that the top row of keys do NOT include Function Keys F1 – F12 so if you use function keys a lot the touch cover may disappoint.
I much prefer the type cover as it is similar to a laptop keyboard. The type cover has individual physical keys that do have some give so you do get feedback as you type. The type cover does include the Function Keys F1 – F12 although they are secondary keys and you will have to use the Fn Key in combination with the Function keys to select.
There are also other keyboard options for the Surface Pro besides the snap-on covers. Because the Surface Pro has Bluetooth you could use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with the Surface. Also, the Surface Pro has a full-size USB port so you could use one of the many radio frequency keyboards or mice that use a USB transmitter. If a wireless keyboard works with Windows 7 there is a good chance it will also work with Windows 8 on the Surface Pro. Of course, you could also just plug in a full-size USB keyboard or mouse (both if you use a USB hub – the Surface Pro has only 1 USB port).
There are also docking stations that are designed to work with the Surface Pro that allow you to plug in a keyboard, mouse, ethernet cable, and large screen monitor. Choice is good.
Until next time...
Keep on Learning,
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, PhD
Follow me on Twitter @tomgrissom
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