Didn’t expect this one, DHL dropped off my Hi12 Keyboard. Banggood changed it from PostNL and sent it DHL, which normally means extra taxes. But luckily I didn’t have to pay 15 Euro + 21% tax on top of it. Just as well!
Here’s the unboxing video covering everything I could think of with the tablet to give you an overall impression of the keyboard dock.
Typing on it is good, around 2mm of key travel and the size is great. The trackpad is average and while it’s wide, I feel it’s not high enough. (It has left and right mouse buttons within it.)While it is fairly responsive, but not the best I’ve used, definitely not the worst. It’s okay, I need some more time with it.
The trackpad can also be disabled with FN + F11, good to see that. The hinge is strong, but not strong enough to hold the tablet in it flipped around to watch a movie at a 45-degree angle for example. The weight of the tablet will cause the hinge to slowly lower the tablet. Slotting it is is easy with magnets giving it a gentle pull into place.
The counterweight is good, it means it will not fall back on a tablet using the touch screen.
Build:
It’s all plastic apart from the hinge, which the finish of isn’t 100%. It’s a little rough around the edges. Chuwi’s assembly line or the ODM line has their electric screwdrivers with the torque setting too high, the have stripped most of thread on the screws in the side. And as seen in my hands on video, I was able to just pull one out in the video since it was loose! Not good. I’ll see if some glue in the thread will fix it.
The keyboard has some bounce and flex (I expected this being a cheaper plastic keyboard) and around the touchpad has some flex.
The front and rear plastic has been sprayed with a rubber paint finish and seems to be resistant to fingerprints and feel nice to the touch. The screw falling out and the flex make this keyboard feel a bit cheap. But I do like the size of the keys and the typing experience.
When closed the keys just miss touching the screen, but I can see if pushed into a tight bag the pressure on the keyboard will cause the keys to touch and possibly rub on the screen scratching the screen proctors.
The Cube iwork10 Ultimate and HiBook keyboards are one of the best in terms of build, very solid with a metal top and the Cube i9 keyboard, which is a type cover style offers a very high level of build.
Chuwi Hi12 Keyboard Photos:
