Review
This review is of the nuu minikey Bluetooth keyboard designed for the iPhone5.
This keyboard is a model designed specifically for the iPhone5 because of its redesigned appearance, there is a model for iPhones pre iPhone5, and the two are very similar but do have differences which I will discuss in this review.
The first thing to say about the iPhone5 model is that it is very similar in layout to the model for older phones, however some punctuation symbols have moved in particular one thing I don't like is the fact that on the pre iPhone5 model of the keyboard the comma was located in its correct position to the right of the m, but on the iPhone5 model of the keyboard it is located to the left of the spacebar, and is one of the reasons I have given a 3 star rating, other symbols have been moved around on the keyboard but are not so annoying the comma is the biggest annoyance.
The second thing to comment on is toggling the backlight on the pre 5 model of this keyboard, the on off switch had 3 positions, off, on, and on with backlight.
On the iPhone5 model of the keyboard the on off slide switch has two positions, and the backlight is now toggled using the function and command keys together which is annoying as of course you can't guarantee its turned off, I had to ask someone sighted to turn it off for me, and this is the second reason for giving 3 stars.
Another difference between the two models is that on the pre iPhone5 model you could lock the function key by pressing it twice quickly and then type numbers or other symbols very easily, on the model for the iPhone5 it now doesn't seem possible to lock the function key meaning that you have to constantly hold it down and press other keys to make numbers or other symbols again a bit annoying as it ties up one of your hands.
A similar issue exists with the caps lock key, on the older model it was possible to tap the caps lock type a single capital letter and the caps lock would automatically turn off, if you wanted to type in all caps, a press of the caps lock key twice quickly would do this.
However on the iPhone5 model the caps lok stays on after one press, meaning you always have to manually turn it off, most annoying if your only planning to do one capital for example at the beginning of a sentence.
Another difference is that on the newer keyboard model function key and space is used to hide or unhide the on screen keyboard, the older model had a dedicated button for this and on it function key and space produced a tab symbol I haven't worked out how to do a tab symbol on the new keyboard yet.
Part of the reason I think for some of the key changes is the fact that on the left hand side of the keyboard they have added a row of function keys for controlling various phone functions which weren't present on the pre 5 keyboard model.
In order from the bottom and going up these keys are bottom left function, caps lock which hasn't changed position, then above that a key for locking the screen which is new and then above that is a home key which is also new.
I should also point out that the location of the home key got in my way a bit when I was trying to pair the keyboard with my phone as it occupies the top left position on the keyboard, on the old pre 5 model of keyboard this position was occupied by q, meaning that q has shifted 1 key to the right which threw me off when entering my pairing code as I wasn't expecting this, it also means q isn't directly above a any more which is annoying and this of course does mean the qwerty layout is affected.
A similar situation exists with p, which used to be second on the right on the pre iPhone5 model, but now its third in on the right the key that is now in its place is a key called accent which also threw me off when entering my pairing code and is a little annoying for typing.
Moving on to typing experience and build quality the keys are solid and well made, you get good typing feedback the unit itself is well made and put together and doesn't cause issues like unlocking the phone in your pocket like the keyboard buddy case does.
In conclusion I would say this is a solid unit but does have a few disadvantages when compared to the older model due to the changes outlined above, some punctuation symbols have changed location or the combination of keys needed to form them has changed keys like at question mark and slash are not as convenient to access now as they were on the previous model.
But some changes are welcome for example the pairing button on the iPhone5 keyboard model is much easier to find than on the older model as it is located under the on off switch whereas on the previous model it was squashed right up next to the p and 0 key and was very difficult to press.
The backlight change certainly isn't welcome by me but I will just make sure not to press that particular key combination. The changes to function and caps lock keys are also a step back when compared to the older model, hence my over all 3 star rating.
I will keep this review updated should I think of anything else and will try to answer questions if any.
Update five days into owning this keyboard,
I have revised my rating down to 1 star, this is down to the keyboard layout, above I talked about the letters q and a being shifted to the right, but the row of letters below the home row is even worse,
basically the entire row of letters has shifted 1 to the left, so for example below j we have m rather than n, below f we have v, under d we have c etc.
I find I often make mistakes when typing on this keyboard, which wasn't the case with the old model its because they are trying to cram two many function keys on to this keyboard.
I don't find my accuracy improving the longer I own this keyboard, and so while I would definitely recommend this models predecessor to people I wouldn't recommend anyone get this model at all, even if your a fluent typist like I suspect most of us are I would say mistakes are very likely.
The only reason I am keeping this keyboard is because there are no other really good combined keyboard case options for the iPhone5 as those who have read my review of the keyboard buddy case will know, if there were other options I would return this keyboard as its not enjoyable to use.