[Review] New Trent Airbender Mini
Typing for extended periods of time on an iPad isn't efficient without a physical keyboard. Luckily, I discovered and purchased the New Trent Airbender Mini. The Airbender Mini is a silicone-covered hard shell keyboard case that fits the iPad mini as well as the iPad mini with Retina display. It doubles as a carrying case for your iPad, and has a built-in Bluetooth keyboard.
The keyboard is fully functional (although I have some complaints) and charged by micro-USB, which is becoming more and more universal. At the top of the keyboard, where the number keys are, there are iPad functions such as Home, Play, Volume, etc.. With the keyboard being Bluetooth, they can be used with other devices, and not just iPads. The Airbender Mini has a screen-lock magnet built-in. These magnets are featured in other iPad cases, including Apple's own Smart Covers. There is also a silicone latch to keep the case closed.
The Airbender Mini has some nice features, including an integrated screen protector, adjustable arm for vertical and horizontal positions, and being waterproof and shockproof. The aluminum arm can be adjusted to any angle the user desires. The back panel actually consists of 3 parts -- the silicone covering, the back and the front/screen protector. To put your iPad in, you have to remove the silicone, snap the front and back apart from each other, put your iPad in, and put everything back together.
The back panel also tilts and pivots on the arm. You can tilt it how you want it and it will stay. I've even tilted it so the screen is facing away from me. The back panel rotates a full 360 degrees and it snaps in place at the horizontal, diagonal and vertical positions. This is handy, because in my room, the iPad charger is on the left side of where my iPad is. With other cases, the charger port is usually on the right, meaning I would have to bend the wire 180 degrees, therefore ruining it. However, with the Airbender Mini, I can just rotate the back panel so the charger port is on the left.
There a few things that I do not care for on the Airbender Mini. The first thing is that typing is a bit odd, because the keyboard has fewer keys than on other iPad keyboards.The common special characters (~ { } [ ] ` / \ | ' ") and iPad-specific actions need the Function key to be held. This may sound like just a minor issue, but the Function key is in the lower left corner of the keyboard, and for example " is with the O key. That's quite a stretch, one-handed. Another thing that I don't like is that the included instructions are vague. They don't tell you that you have to remove the silicone cover first, before pulling the back panel apart. In addition, the silicone cover can be difficult to remove. There is also no real weight in the keyboard, so if you push the arm back too far, the weight in the back panel will make the whole case fall backwards.
Even with the awkward keyboard layout, I suppose I would recommend the New Trent Airbender Mini. Regardless of my problems with it, it's still a sturdy and solid keyboard case that has an integrated screen protector. The price isn't bad either, considering the overall quality of the product. The Airbender Mini retails for $49.95 USD and can be purchased from Amazon, ThinkGeek, as well as New Trent's website.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
