- LG Rolly Keyboard release date: September 2015
- LG Rolly Keyboard price: $119 (~£80)
LG Rolly Keyboard hands-on
LG's
new keyboard caused quite a stir at IFA 2015, and it's easy to see why.
It's a far cry from the dull slabs of dusty plastic most of us are used
to stabbing our digits at.
The attention-grabbing keyboard, which
will be available to buy for $119 (£80) later this month, is flexible.
Actually, that barely does the Rolly justice.
You
can roll the thing up like a chunky wand, making the Rolly very
portable indeed. You can even flap it around like a wad of paper (if
you're into that) or drape it over the edge of your desk like the
consumer tech of Salvador Dali's dreams.
Practicality is the key,
though. As it weighs a shade over 150g and measures only 263 x 25.3 x
25.3mm when it's furled up, you can easily carry the LG Rolly keyboard
around in a bag or large pocket. Skinny jeans lovers may struggle,
however.
So how has LG managed to make it so flexible? With surprising simplicity, actually.
The
Rolly is essentially made up of five thick panels of plastic attached
to a pliable base. Keys sit on four of these panels, while the battery –
a single AAA that should deliver up to three months of life – is
concealed inside the fifth. Magnets bookend the button-wielding panels,
interlocking and holding the Rolly tightly together when you bundle it
up.
It's effortless and very satisfying, particularly as it snaps
loudly when fully curled up. The battery sits neatly between the four
other panels. Playing with a keyboard shouldn't be this much fun.
Unfurling
the Rolly requires a little more focus, as it can take a few seconds to
figure out which seam to jam your finger into and tug at. An arrow
indicates where the weak link is, but it's small and hard to spot.
Once
you do manage to worm your way in and loosen the invisible bonds, the
Rolly lies perfectly flat, concealing its special talent impressively.
Its
island-style keys are, in general, pleasantly large and well spaced.
However, LG has clearly made some compromises to keep the Rolly compact.
There's no numbers row, for instance, and I'd prefer the arrow, full
stop, comma and question mark keys to be a touch wider than they are, as
they're all easy to miss with your fingertips.
That said, I'm
impressed with the amount of travel each key offers. At 17mm, the
Rolly's buttons fall just shy of the 18mm key pitch widely accepted as
the ideal number. That 1mm difference is barely noticeable, however.
I
got used to typing on the Rolly within a minute, and found the
experience surprisingly comfortable, considering how small it is.
Another
pleasant feature is multi-device connectivity. Conveniently, the
keyboard can hook itself up to two different Bluetooth-enabled Android,
iOS or Windows gadgets at once, meaning you can switch between typing on
your tablet and phone in an instant.
At the top of the
battery-holder, meanwhile, is a pair of plastic arms that fold out to
hold either a smartphone or tablet, tilting your device of choice ever
so slightly backwards. However, this isn't the most secure contraption
we've ever used. Both tablets and phones sit loosely in the cutouts,
rocking around precariously whenever you move the keyboard.
Early verdict
It's expensive and very showy, but it's tough to ignore the LG Rolly keyboard's weird charms.
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