Under a thousand: A truly pocket-friendly keyboard from Acer

The idea of having a keyboard that can fold in half to be carried easily, and then be taken out and opened and used, is not a new one. It is the perfect solution for those who hate typing on touchscreens, and want a ‘proper’ keyboard to type out those long messages and mails, and even do some serious writing on their phones and tablets. But while many like the idea, most of the foldable keyboards tend to be difficult to use and expensive, often coming with prices that are seen on full sized, proper bluetooth keyboards. There are a few foldable keyboards, however, that are reasonably useful without being unreasonably pricey. The best of these rare gadgets is Acer’s Mini Fold, which puts a keyboard in your pocket at a price in the region of a thousand Rupees (it is often available for just under Rs 1,000 on Amazon).

The Acer Mini Fold folds in the middle and in folded form, is actually about the size of a slightly wide, compact smartphone. When folded, it is about 141 mm long and 94.5 mm wide, and while it is a little thick at 17.6 mm, it is remarkably light at 133 grams.

Its thickness makes it a little inconvenient to carry in a trouser pocket, but it will easily slip into most jacket and coat pockets and into a handbag or backpack pocket. It is made mostly of plastic but snaps shut magnetically, which is a nice touch and ensures that the keyboard stays shut and does not flap open. It also closes on what seem to be a pair of metallic hinges on the top and base and a hard plastic hinge in the middle, giving it a very solid feel. The top left corner of the keyboard houses a USB Type-C port for charging the keyboard, and there is a Type A to Type-C cable in the package.

There are large Enter and Shift keys on the right, and a set of direction (arrow) keys as well. (Express Image)

Opening the Mini Fold reveals a 67-key keyboard, with five rows of keys. On the extreme left of the keyboard, totally separate from the keys, is a connectivity button, and two LEDs – one for indicating battery and the other for showing connectivity status. When opened, the keyboard becomes extremely slim – about 8.8 mm – and also quite a bit longer. At 28.2 mm, it is actually longer than some normal Bluetooth keyboards we have seen, although its width makes it relatively narrow.

The keyboard has the alphabet keys, which are mostly of reasonable size, except for those near the divider in the middle – the B and N keys are very small, while the T and H keys are larger than the others. The space bar is also divided into two parts. While there is no number pad, there is a complete row of numbers on top of the keyboard, but as this is a rather narrow keyboard, this number row also has the function keys, shortcuts, as well as symbol keys. And rather oddly, this row of keys is a little on the smaller side.

It also closes on what seem to be a pair of metallic hinges on the top and base and a hard plastic hinge in the middle. (Express Image)

Typing on the Acer Mini Fold takes a bit of getting used to. The keys come with a surprisingly springy feel and have decent travel, the different sizes of some keys and the relatively small size of most of the non-alphabet keys meant we had to sometimes search for which key to strike, breaking the typing rhythm.

The small B and N keys often resulted in our hitting the keys next to them or the partition next to them. However, once we got the hang of the keyboard (a few hours of typing does it), we found ourselves typing along very comfortably on it.

When folded, it is about 141 mm long and 94.5 mm wide. (Express Image)

Its sheer portability and ease of use make it the perfect gadget for those moments when you want to have the option to be able to type a lot but do not feel like lugging along a notebook or a larger keyboard. It worked fine with iPhones, iPads and also Android phones and tablets. It is compatible with Mac OS, Chrome OS and Windows too, although we cannot see use cases for those platforms as almost all devices running them come with their own keyboards.

There is no Delete key (there is a Backspace key though). (Express Image)

The Acer Mini Fold is great for unplanned, impromptu typing sessions. We found ourselves writing longer social media posts and mails and messages simply because the Mini Fold allowed us to. And, if needed, one can even use it to write a longer piece, like this article, which was written entirely using the Mini Fold with a Pixel and an iPhone. The experience was not perfect, but the very fact that we could write close to a thousand words on something that we could carry in our pockets was incredibly reassuring and even empowering.

The Mini Fold will not replace your notebook or desktop keyboard but it is a super handy option when they are not around and is easier to carry than a power bank. It is best used when placed on a hard surface, as the hinge tends to fold on a lap or a softer surface (like a mattress).

Battery life is superb – Acer claims the Mini Fold can last 76 hours on a single charge and we have been using it for almost a week with no recharge needed. We could find no way of checking battery levels, though.

Acer claims the Mini Fold can last 76 hours on a single charge. (Express Image)

It is not perfect and takes a bit of getting used to, but if you are looking for a keyboard that you can take along easily everywhere and take out and use easily, the Acer Mini Fold is pretty much the best option out there for those with a budget in the range of a thousand Rupees. In fact, it performs as well or even better than some more expensive options. Be patient with it, get used to its keys, and you will end up with a pocketful of proper typing magic.