Microsoft’s new Bluetooth keyboard is designed for iOS and Android too
It’ll work with your Windows tablet, but you can pair competitors as well
Microsoft has its own portable hardware to mind, but it’s clear that the company still wants to play nice with the competition. Case in point: its new Bluetooth wireless keyboard, which is designed for Android and iOS devices.
Surprising, right? The Universal Mobile Keyboard is built to work with Windows tablets, Android devices, iPhones, and iPads, and you can pair a device from all three platforms at once, with a physical switch letting you swap between them on the fly.
The keyboard has a home key that works for every platform, and the device doesn’t appear to have significant Windows branding, aside from the tiny icon by the switch. It’s a true multiplatform peripheral, and Microsoft’s promo clip below makes that quite clear.
The build is attractively minimal and designed for portability. In use, it looks like a lot of existing iPad keyboard options, but it folds in half for storage, plus you can detach the stand half of the contraption to give yourself space between the keys and your device.
Opening the cover triggers the Bluetooth connectivity, while closing it powers down the keyboard. It promises up to six months of battery life when filled to capacity and can get eight hours of battery life with just a 10-minute charge.
Microsoft’s Universal Mobile Keyboard is due out in October for US$79.95 (about £49). No word yet on international pricing.
[Sources: Microsoft, The Verge]
READ MORE: Microsoft will end Windows Phone and Nokia branding
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
