Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard

As the not-so-distant relative of the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, the Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard (Sculpt Mobile) ($49.99 direct) has plenty in common with its cousin, including a distinctive curvy design and Windows 8 hotkeys. But you won't be confusing the two anytime soon: the Sculpt Mobile features Bluetooth connectivity, has a markedly slimmer profile, and does not feature a dual-function spacebar. While its light weight and dongle-free connectivity make it a good traveling companion for Windows 8-optimized tablets or hybrid ultrabooks, though, its low profile doesn't make for the most ergonomically satisfying typing experience. Moreover, despite making navigating through Windows 8's tiled interface somewhat easier, its hotkeys don't make enough of a difference to make it a clear favorite among keyboards.

Design and Features
The first thing you'll notice about the Sculpt Mobile is its remarkably thin profile. Measuring a mere 0.75 inch in thickness, the Sculpt Mobile's svelte chassis lies almost entirely flat, save for a barely noticeable taper near the top row of keys in order to accommodate the battery compartment. At any rate, its flat design is on par with the Evoluent Essentials Full Featured Compact Keyboard (EKB). From both a design and ergonomics standpoint, the Sculpt Mobile should have included a pair of flip-open feet on the underside.

Like the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, the Sculpt Mobile sports a gentle six-degree curve. Since it lies flat, however, this results in certain keys?particularly in the middle section?to be wider than others. The matte-finish keys themselves aren't backlit, leaving users in dimly-lit settings quite literally in the dark. Curiously, Microsoft opted not to feature engraved characters on the keys; consequently the overall design looks as though stickers were pasted onto the keys, which has the unfortunate effect of cheapening the Sculpt Mobile's look. The Sculpt Mobile's plastic chassis features a glossy black border surrounding the keys, which makes for a nice contrast with the matte-finished keys but also attracts a fair amount of smudging as was the case with the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750.

Like its larger Sculpt Comfort counterpart, the top row of the Sculpt Mobile features a mixture of Windows 8-optimized hotkeys and charm keys, which can also be used as standard function keys when pressed in conjunction with the "Fn" key. Using the Sculpt Mobile on the new Sony VAIO Duo T1 (D11213CX) was helpful inasmuch as it made navigating Windows 8's tiled interface a somewhat more fluid experience. Accordingly, the Sculpt Mobile's F1 through F4 keys are media playback keys that are also compatible with earlier versions of Windows. Windows 8's five so-called "charms" can be accessed through the F5 through F8 keys, and entail shortcuts to sharing data, accessing settings, searching for files, toggling between devices, returning to the desktop. Technically speaking, the latter is considered to be a "charm," but that particular shortcut can be found on the Sculpt Mobile's lower left side. The F9 through F12 keys, meanwhile, pertain to apps; F9 rotates between open apps, F10 lists all open apps on the left side of the screen, F11 enables a split-screen mode between any two apps, and F12 lists all open apps on the bottom portion of the screen. As was the case with the Sculpt Comfort Mouse, the Sculpt Mobile's directional arrows simply allow for moving between individual tiles on the Windows 8 desktop rather than scrolling across them fluidly. In other words, users looking to get the most out of their Windows 8 experience will still need to spring for a compatible mouse or a touch display.

The Sculpt Mobile runs off of two AAA batteries (included), which can be inserted by sliding a switch on the underside to pop out the battery compartment. According to Microsoft, battery life is a purported ten months. The Sculpt Mobile is not rechargeable, but even the most neurotic of battery-checkers (and I'm one of them) should be satisfied with this number.

Performance
Like the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000, the Sculpt Mobile utilizes Bluetooth connectivity, and setting it up is a straightforward process. After turning on the Sculpt Mobile, simply press and hold the Connect button on the underside?with, annoyingly, a pen cap or toothpick given its tiny size?and then simply pair the keyboard with your system.

While the "pairing" process is an extra step that typically isn't necessary with keyboards that use dongles, Bluetooth has the advantage of not taking up any USB ports, which can be a critical factor for those who don't have too many to spare (we're looking at you, Ultrabook users). That said, alternative dongle-based remedies exist, like Logitech's "Unifying" receiver technology, which allows up to six Logitech peripherals to be connected through a single dongle.

Typing on the Sculpt Mobile is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's certainly superior to using a tablet's onscreen keyboard. But its shallow profile isn't terribly comfortable to type on, especially for a prolonged amount of time, as it required my hands to be placed at a strange, low-lying angle as if I were playing a piano.

The Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard has some good things going for it, like a cool curvy design and Windows 8 hotkeys. It's also a good traveling companion thanks to its portable design and dongle-free connectivity. While it's preferable to using an onscreen keyboard on a tablet, though, its low profile doesn't make for a very comfortable typing experience. Moreover, the Sculpt Mobile itself doesn't do much to enhance the Windows 8 experience despite its hotkeys, as users will still need to get a compatible mouse or touch display to get the most out of the tiled interface. For these reasons, our current Editors' Choice, the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 is a better choice, thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity and slightly thicker profile.

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