Tech Review - TECHGEAR [Active Strike Pro] Slim Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard

DISCLAIMER: This is not in any way a paid for promotion of this product.

Ok so this is my first tech review and my first product is the Active Strike Pro Slime Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard by TECHGEAR.

I bought this product at a couple of months ago when my PC decided to die on me. As anyone who writes/types a lot will know that touch screens cant always keep up with fast typing and aren't completely accurate leading to errors and typos. I had available to me a Kindle Fire and a 3 year old smartphone to work with and needed a cheap, light, wireless keyboard. A quick search on Amazon and I discovered the Active Strike Pro, and it appeared to fit my needs. It is supposed to work with Window, Android and Apple products as long as they are bluetooth enabled.

So lets get to the specifications and product description before I get on with the review.

Specifications
Item Model Number: UKTCH BTKB ASP
Colour: Black
Length: 23cm
Width: 14.9cm
Thickness: 0.6cm
Weight: ~200g
Bluetooth Spec: Bluetooth 3.0
Touchpad: Elan chip, with left and right click
Operating Range: Up to 32 feet or 10 metres
Modulation System: GFSK
Stand-by-Time: 40 days
Charge Time: <4 hours
Uninteruppted Work Time: 40 hours
Battery Type: Lithium polymer, Non-accessible
Lithium Battery Capacity: 280mAh
Keyboard Layout: UK QWERTY

Comes with Neoprene case and charging cable


Product Description

TECHGEAR®'s Active Strike Pro Series Keyboard is a perfect companion for your tablet, giving it added functionality and you the comfort of a physical keyboard allowing for fast, responsive typing, rather than slow and often annoying screen tapping!

It has a slim, lightweight & unobtrusive design, making it your perfect travel companion.
Unlike most keyboards which have a rubberised finish, our keys are made of ABS plastic, which give you the same tactile feedback as your everyday home keyboard.

TECHGEAR® Active Strike Pro keyboard also has the added comfort of having UK QWERTY standard keyboard layout and design, unlike ALL other sellers that sell USA keyboard layouts. So it's just like using your normal everyday keyboard, as you don't need to waste time learning a new layout, and finding everyday keys like @ , £ / etc.

Moreover, this keyboard comes with a rechargeable lithium battery that has an extremely long battery life. You can type for hours without needing to charge the keyboard. When the keyboard is inactive for fifteen minutes, it will automatically go into the energy-conserving sleep mode. All you need to do for the keyboard to wake up is to press any key.

TECHGEAR® Active Strike Pro series keyboard also have the additional benefit of a Mouse Touchpad, which brings great convenience for everyday use. The touchpad also supports gestures (For WINDOWS Devices ONLY)

We have lined the base of the keyboard with soft microfiber fabric, so that it will not mark any surfaces it will be used on

We have also included a custom made case for your keyboard, so that it is always protected when it is not in use

There are 2 colours & 2 sizes to choose from


Review

Going through the customer reviews of this product it virtually all positive with a 78% 5 star rating. The customer questions mainly focus on pairing issues, compatibility issues and keyboard layout between US and UK, all of which are easily solvable. So here goes...

Delivery was extremely quick even during the Christmas period and came already with a partial charge. It is light and thin which is great but it doesn't feel cheap and flimsy like you might expect. The product title said it was for an Asus ZenPad but with the description saying it would work with Windows, Android and iOS so I didn't see this would be an issue. Not having a working PC I paired it my Kindle Fire (5th Gen) and it was simple enough. Bluetooth on, turn on the keyboard and hold Fn + C to enter pairing mode and when the pairing code pops up on the device, type it in, then press Fn + A, S or D depending upon what operation system you're using. Done.

On the Kindle Fire you get a little curser instead of having to touch the screen to navigate around, click and double click work as normal (though double click is a bit pointless on the Kindle unless an app specifically asks for it) and scrolling uses 2 fingers. The first time I used it was doing some writing in front of the TV with the keyboard on my knees and Kindle on the seat beside me. I sat there for 2 hours typing away without a problem. To be honest it was actually quite refreshing to sit there typing without having a bright laptop screen or smartphone right in front of your eyes. It felt like I could type for longer without having to take more breaks and avoid eyestrain. The only issue I came across upon initially was the Kindle defaulted to a US keyboard layout but that was an easy fix in the Kindle settings.

With Windows 10 it works exactly the same. I connect to my new PC via a generic bluetooth dongle and clicks work, scrolling and the Windows gestures. Then again my new PC is a tower so no touch screen, however the swipe gesture still work. The only downside is obviously you cant move the cursor as quickly as a physical mouse can. In all honesty, it feels like and works a lot like a netbook keyboard and touchpad, just with a separated screen which has the benefit of placing it wherever you need it without having to move the keyboard or having it physically connected. I don't own an Apple device other than an iPod Nano so I cant really comment on how they work together.

Would I recommend it to a friend or anyone else? Easy answer, yes of course I would. Its a light, handy, easily transportable piece of tech with a long battery life, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I'd give it a well deserved 4/5

Here is the link to the product on Amazon for you to peruse yourself

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TECHGEAR%C2%AE-Bluetooth-Wireless-Keyboard-Touchpad/dp/B014LECPDU


Catch you soon!