Quite recently we told you about the SVEN Comfort 8300 Bluetooth compact keyboard, it left quite pleasing impression during its usage, and today further to that review we will tell about a previous model of the line of SVEN wireless compact keyboards named SVEN Comfort 8500 Bluetooth. It has also the Bluetooth connection interface and positioned by the producer as a keyboard to be used with portable devices.
Packing and package contents
The keyboard is supplied packed in flexible transparent plastic with blue insertions. There is all the information in multi-languages necessary for the user on the package rear side.
Apart from the keyboard we found in the package a User’s Manual, warranty card, rubber overlay to keys, it serves, probably, for protecting the keyboard against dust and dirty, if it is not used for a long time.
Ergonomics and design
Unlike SVEN Comfort 8300 Bluetooth our keyboard has bigger dimensions. Its keys are not close to each other, Enter key is also the small one, but the left Shift key has quite considerable size, and this is undoubtedly an advantage. The quality of letter printing on the keys does not trigger questions; fonts are traditional without any innovations. Cyrillic characters are blue; they look nice and are notable on keys.
The keyboard dimensions are rather increased as compared with 8300. The width of SVEN Comfort 8500 Bluetooth is 248 mm, the length is 128 mm, but the thickness due to the absence of any supports or battery compartments is less, and in the most thickened place it is only 6.7 mm. And due to such a thickness the keyboard really looks tellingly.
Top buttons have two different functions, i.e. traditional F1- F12 and different additional functions, such as copying, sound control, track switching, volume control, etc. If the keyboard is used jointly with an iPad, then these functions hardly probable will be useful, but if you decide to connect the keyboard to a PC, then the additional functional will be quite useful.
The aluminum lower surface is another “titbit” of SVEN Comfort 8500 Bluetooth. Due to the metal the keyboard turned out very strong despite its small thickness.
The metal was specially treated and that provides quite pleasant appearance. Plastic on the keyboard front side has, by the way, the same texture.
The keyboard is equipped with a built-in battery being recharged through micro USB port on the right edge of the device. There is also a switch, by means of which you can turn on or off the keyboard.
Thanks to the built-in battery you cannot think about the purchase of batteries, the full battery charge is sufficient to moderate use of the device approximately for one month, and that is a very impressive result.
The button responsible for turning on the Bluetooth module is located on the front keyboard surface, in order to make the device available for connection to an iPad or smartphone you have to press this button and hold it pressed for several seconds.
The keys are made of mat plastic resistant to dirtying and small scratches, which cannot be said about the metal on the rear keyboard side, it becomes dirty quite quickly. As the previous reviewed keyboard, SVEN Comfort 8500 Bluetooth has the scissors keystroke mechanism, which means they are pressed maximum quietly and smoothly. The mechanism operational life is up to 20 million strokes, it is very much, and most likely some other components in the keyboard will be out of order then this mechanism exactly.
Connection
Let us consider the connection by the example of an iPad with Android 4.1operation system (the keyboard can operate with MacOS, Windows and iOS as well). In order for the connection of the keyboard to an iPad you have to turn on its identification with the help of a button on the keyboard front side, then after displaying the keyboard in the list of identified devices you have to press its title. After that you must enter the displayed code for connection.
Further the keyboard can be used for different purposes, whether it is communication in social networks or work with text editors. Languages are switched over on Android by pressing Ctrl+Space key combination.
Conclusion
SVEN Comfort 8500 Bluetooth is an excellent stylish wireless keyboard for mobile devices. Metal framework not only provides a style to its appearance, but makes the keyboard case very strong as well. It has optimum dimensions and weight and can be easily placed in a bag or knapsack.
Advantages:
- Metal framework
- Full-size Shift key
- Built-in battery
- Long-run key mechanism
A traditional keyboard layout and ordinary key sizes provide quite quick adaptation to the keyboard. Additional functions can be as an advantage for some persons as well. The power supply to the keyboard from the built-in battery provides its operation for a long time and you cannot think of its recharging or changing batteries. Prices for SVEN Comfort 8500 Bluetooth are fluctuating from RUB 1000 to 1300, that it is quite justified for a such class device.