Grandma Reviews the iClever Portable Keyboard

Published September 13, 2020

My fingertips are dancing across yet another keyboard. Yes, I’m still testing portable keyboards and I think this one, made by iClever, is a keeper. I returned the last one because it just didn’t work for me. This one, however, seems to have everything the other keyboard was missing (with 2 small exceptions).

What You Get

When you purchase the iClever portable keyboard (Amazon affiliate link), you get a keyboard, carrying case, USB charging cable, User Manual, and Warranty Card. The carrying case is not a cheap plastic case. It’s made of a felt-type cloth with a drawstring. It fits the keyboard and charging cable adequately. I even squeeze in the extra silicone cover that I like to use to improve the tactile feel of the keyboard.

How Big is it?

When folded, its 6” x 3.5” size is slightly smaller than the iPhone 6S Plus. Fully extended the keyboard itself is about 8.5” long, but add an additional 2.5” for the mousepad section. Therefore the entire keyboard extends to 11” by 3.5”. iClever’s length is a full 6 inches shorter than my full-sized Redragon mechanical keyboard (Amazon affiliate link) that I use every day and an inch and a half shorter in width.

One would think going from my monster Redragon to the iClever keyboard would be a difficult transition, but it’s not.

Typing on the iClever

Typing on the portable keyboard is comfortable. However, as I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I prefer the feel of a silicone key to the hard plastic. As such, I still use my silicone cover (Amazon affiliate link) to place atop of the keyboard for better “traction” for lack of a better word. Don’t get me wrong. Typing without the silicone is fine, but typing with it is better in my opinion.

Having a fully functional keyboard including all of the top-row function keys is important to me. In addition to the F keys, iClever includes useful keys such as media, volume, brightness/dimmer, search, and more. The Fn key makes all of those features possible. With the Fn feature, I can utilize page directions such as Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End.

It takes 30 minutes of inactivity before the keyboard goes into sleep mode. I like that feature because having to awaken a keyboard every few seconds is annoying. With a 30-minute inactivity window, I can get things done without having to wake the keyboard up.

If for some reason I’m idle for longer than 30 minutes, there’s a 3-second delay between waking it up and it being ready to type. Not bad in my opinion.

Using the iClever Mouse Pad

The mouse pad is located on the right side of the keyboard. Being right-handed this is good for me. I’m not so sure how left-handed folks would like that.

At the bottom of the mousepad are two buttons representing the left and right mouse keys. I like this feature because it makes right mouse clicking much easier than if I had to use the mouse pad alone. Using two fingers scrolls up and down the page, while pinching or reverse pinching (is that proper terminology?) zooms the page in or out.

You can also turn the mousepad functionality off by pressing Fn and the right Alt key.

Bluetooth Connectivity

Above the actual mousepad are three numbered Bluetooth buttons. Each number corresponds with a paired Bluetooth device. What I liked off the bat is the ability to connect to three Bluetooth devices at one time.

Pairing with a device is simple. Just decide which device to connect with each of the three channels. I paired my computer with cannel 1, iPhone with channel 2, and tablet with channel 3. To switch devices all I have to do is depress the corresponding number at the top of the mouse pad and iClever quickly connects to the appropriate device.

Other iClever Keyboard Features

On/Off. No need to remember to turn the keyboard on or off. Folding it turns it off and opening it turns it back on. Once it’s open it locks in place. In other words, you can place it on a soft surface or on your lap without fear of it closing on you.

In addition to locking open, the keyboard has two little latches at each end. Once opened, there are rubber stops on the bottom of the latches to prevent the keyboard from sliding around on the desk or table surface.

What’s nice about the keyboard is when it’s open, your fingers cannot tell where the folds are. I’ve tested other keyboards where my fingers kept hitting the folding mechanism thus causing typo after typo. With the iClever keyboard, once it’s open, there are no hinges or sections for fingers to trip over.

Longevity

According to the manual, the keyboard has 60 hours of continuous work time and 90 days of standby time. The key life is purported to be good for 3,000,000 clicks.

What I Don’t Like the Keyboard

My dislikes are few. I don’t like the fact that the apostrophe and question mark keys are above the Enter key. On traditional keyboards, the apostrophe is next to the Enter key and the question mark below it. Additionally, both keys are slightly smaller than the other keys. The size isn’t the issue in my case. The location is.

In spite of two ill-placed keys, I like this iClever (Amazon affiliate link) keyboard. I used it to do this review and will use it for future reviews. It’s convenient, comfortable, and efficient. Just what I want in a portable keyboard.

Update: Although I still have the iClever keyboard, I don't use it often. That apostrophe thing got old. I grew tired of sending incomplete correspondence by hittng the Enter key instead of the apostrophe.

Last Modified: 29 August 2023

Comments

• kai September 24, 2020, 1:26 pm
  

  Your portable keyboard review was interesting. Are you going to “Dvorak” it to maintain your neuro plasticity? (LOL)

• Felicia September 24, 2020, 6:56 pm
  

  Of course! 🙂

  I haven’t been practicing it as much as I should. Thanks for the reminder.