Microsoft - Touch Cover for Surface - Magenta

I bought my Microsoft Surface from the Microsoft Store in San Diego on Black Friday without the Touch Cover because I had a couple of Bluetooth keyboards on hand. These keyboards worked well for most situations; however, the lack of a touchpad forced me to depend on the touchscreen or a mouse while I typed. Adding the Touch Cover allows me to eliminate two additional pieces of hardware from my tablet bag and provide added protection for my Surface. I choose the cyan cover because I have the Nokia Lumia 900 in cyan and they match fairly well. My only complain is not about the product but about the process of buying it at my local Best Buy. I won't go into details only to say that I hope the Store Management places a higher priority on the Surface product line and give it the attention it needs to be successful. I am kind of partial to the product and it should be given the same treatment that other high profile products get in the store.

I have deployed several Surface Pro 2 tablet with the Touch Cover to employees (I'm the IT guy). The Touch Cover was purchased as part of a bundle with all of them. I do all of the setup and configuration for the user. The touch cover really is a piece of junk and I find it hard to believe why so many people are rating this thing with 4 or 5 starts. I can type upwards of 130 WPM. On the Touch Keyboard, not only can I only type about 35 WPM, I have to look at the keyboard when I type. We require complex passwords, so to hit the shift key, CTRL, ALT, or special characters is next to impossible without stopping and looking. It's a flat keyboard, no delineation of actual KEYS. For people who are actually typists, this Touch Cover Keyboard doesn't even come close. Every employee has asked if they can purchase a different keyboard and I have said YES to each of them. I wouldn't even recommend it to an enemy, let alone a friend. I'm not one of those people who gives ratings online in general, but I felt the need to weight in on this. I buy things in part, based on user reviews. Are they all lying to themselves?

Don't get me wrong but the surface touch keyboard actually does a very good job and registering clicks but don't expect to do anything with it other than light typing. Microsoft should definitely be commended for making a keyboard this responsive with such a good form factor. The seam of the keyboard seems to be susceptible to coming apart from the plastic hinge that attaches to the Surface. But that is mostly a roll of the dice, some seem to be more susceptible than other so if you get a faulty one I would suggest to return for a new one. This is one thing I recommend all new buyers to check for. I actually use it to for school to take notes and to chat with friends. But don't expect to do heavy typing. I average roughly 95 wps on my desktop. On a typical laptop keyboard like Sony's island design I will average 80 wps. On the Surface touch keyboard I sit closer to 55. Most of my mistakes come from clicking the empty area between the trackpad and the spacebar, missing the spacebar. So DO expect a drop in typing speed.

I tried both the type and touch covers in the store and actually preferred the the touch cover. I find that my typing accuracy is much higher with the touch cover than the type. Also I find the 'tick' noise the tablet makes when typing to be sufficient feedback. Don't dismiss this thing out of hand, but you definitely have to try it before you buy. It can also fold up behind the tablet which is very convenient. Only real complaint is that there are no dedicated Function keys - you can use the Fn button with the symbols on the top row to get F-Key functionality, but those buttons are not marked, so you have to count over from ESC to do it. I have also needed the 'Pause' button from a full keyboard, and it is not present on this one.

For those of you wondering if the touch cover gets dirty easily because it is white, the answer is NO. I have had my white touch cover for over a month now and there isn't a mark/smudge/stain on it anywhere. I have taken it to school and carried it around in my backpack. I have taken it to work as well (I work at a hobby shop and its actually pretty dusty and dirty). My hands are never super dirty so I cant say how clean it will stay in that situation, but after a month of general use at home, school and work, the front cover and the keyboard have stayed extremely clean. If it does happen to get dirty, the covers are water resistant so cleaning it should be easy.

I love my Surface keyboard and cover - it seamlessly connects to the Surface and has the full functionality of a real keyboard - PLUS the mouse (so some glitch touch screen functions on websites that aren't compatible can be navigated through!). Although it took just a little bit to get used to not pushing down keys - rather they are just flat touch buttons - it works great. Not to mention I feel safe carrying my Surface around knowing my screen won't get scratched and I can still easily use the kickstand so it's like my mini laptop. Only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is that it had me scared at first because it took a few tries for it to work. I'm not sure why or what magically changed (I was getting on my Surface for probably the 6th time with the keyboard to call support after troubleshooting, then it finally worked) - but nothing but the keypad worked for awhile. Guessing it was a system update. Regardless, it works now and I love it!

You don't necessarily HAVE to have a keyboard for use with the Microsoft Surface, because you can use the onscreen keyboard, but I like having the ability to use a regular mouse and keyboard for some applications. You can also save some money and connect a regular mouse and keyboard via USB to the Surface, but the Touch Cover is portable and doubles as a cover, so to me it's the best of both worlds. Plus it connects to the surface via a magnet connection that is super neat and easy, and leaves your USB port free for other uses. I thought about getting the Type Cover instead because it's more like a regular keyboard with actual keys, because I was afraid it would be difficult to get used to the Touch Cover (which has no actual keys). It was not hard at all. I am glad I bought the touch cover and saved some money over the type cover.

Purchased at the same time as my Surface Pro, works great! It is a little different than using a keyboard...the flat surface feels different, but for me has been easy to adjust to. I must admit, I haven't used for extended periods of time, letters, etc. My use has been limited to a few emails, memos, etc. It might be a more difficult adjustment for someone who is a heavy typist. It has also worked great for protecting my screen from scratches (I do hope to get my screen protector this week.) The magnetic connection works great and I love the fact that when you flip it to the back, the Surface automatically recognizes it and you can use the on screen keyboard. My only complaint is the cost...it's pretty expensive...if they were cheaper, I would probably buy another just to have a different color or design!