Bluetooth keyboards tend to come in two varieties: a case for a tablet you are using with a keyboard built in, or a universal Bluetooth keyboard that is not device-specific. The Neptor ET-KB300BF-WH Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard for Tablets & Smartphones by Eagle Tech, USA falls into the second category.  It’s a portable keyboard that can be used with most Bluetooth-capable devices. Let’s see how well it performs.
The keyboard is like most other Bluetooth keyboards in that it has an easy setup, and the top row of keys houses the tablet shortcuts such as the home, search, and mute buttons. A number-pad is usable via the number-lock key, which is similar to my laptop keyboard but different than the other Bluetooth keyboards I have reviewed. In fact, I am typing this review on this keyboard from my home computer, to show how versatile this little thing is.
When folded, the keyboard is 6″ wide and 3.8″ high, but when opened up the keyboard is 12″ wide, with an inch of it being where the indicator lights are housed. The outside of the case has a leather and plastic exterior which is lightweight and easy to grip. Small silicone feet help keep the keyboard from shifting around when in use.  The battery unit, power, and Bluetooth connection buttons are on the back, while the front is kept simple with the Neptor logo.
There is a micro-USB port on one side of the keyboard, otherwise it is basic white plastic until you reach the elastic fabric connecting the two halves. This is one of the two places where the style of the keyboard wasn’t as good. With the plastic and leather, it looks great, but the elastic stands out and the stitching is pretty visible. Not a major flaw by any means, but style-wise, I think connecting the two sides with the leather would have been a much better (and possibly sturdier) design choice.
When opened, the keyboard itself measures just over 10.5 inches. This is due to there being a 1.5 inch wide area for the three indicator lights shown above. I am unsure why there is such a significant gap there and the extra half inch of blank white space could have been used to make the keyboard even bigger. Once again, not a big flaw, but another style aspect that could use some fine tuning. There is also a half-inch gap where the two halves of the keyboard come together, which took some getting used to.
Overall, I can see this being a good keyboard for someone who is looking for portability and does not want a case that has a keyboard. At first, I was not enamored by it, but I grew to like it, and my husband did as well. It was so easy to toss into my backpack, and it held up well.  After a month of casual use, the battery still does not need charging. The build quality is great, as being thrown around in my backpack for two trips and coming out unscathed showed me. I would recommend this keyboard if you do not want to use a traditional keyboard case, plus it’s versatile and can be used with more than just one type of device, which can save the cost of buying a keyboard case for each tablet you may have in your household.
Product Information
| Price: | $59.99 |
| Manufacturer: | Eagle Tech, USA |
| Requirements: |
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I wish it were in some kind of more scuff and bag-lint friendly color. The material looks like it will pick up mars easily (looking at the photo of the corner, there are a few already). Does it seem that way to you, holding the device, or is this just reading into the photos?
Interestingly, I spent part of yesterday looking for a portable keyboard that can fold, and then this pops up…
There are a few corner scuffs, but they are not too noticeable and I wiped most of them off just now by wetting my finger and rubbing it against the spots. I do agree though that a pouch may be nice.
I miss the old folding keyboards for palm. I want THAT keyboard, but in bluetooth.
@drew Me too… I still have an old ThinkOutside Stowaway folding keyboard. Best folding keyboard I’ve ever used… I’d be happy with even a USB version.
I have a box somewhere with three Palm IIICs and a couple or three folding keyboards. I think I last used them about five years ago, which sounds like a long time ago, but it was well after they were entirely obsolete. My laptop battery had died, and I used them to type a fair amount of the first draft of a book at Panera. Somebody walking by even tapped me on the shoulder and said it was a neat setup.
At that point they were eight years old, and had a better battery life and keyboard than just about everything else out there. Much more limited in just about every other way, of course. You’d think a good keyboard would still be available.
Someone needs to Kickstart one 🙂
I bought a thin non folding BT keyboard for $22. I will use this until Jorno arrives AND after I see how good it is.
I use my ThinkOutside/Stowaway/iGo Ultra-Slim BlueTooth keyboard with my iphone 5 but it doesn’t support all the functions (no numlock, some keys repeat, etc).
I found something close to ThinkOutside/Stowaway/iGo Ultra-Slim BlueTooth keyboard…only thing is no built-in/clipp-on stand and it doesn’t lock when opened so lap typing may not be good.
http://www.amazon.com/Perixx-PERIBOARD-806-Bluetooth-Folding-Keyboard/dp/B00C6Y0ODG/ref=pd_cp_pc_1
I didn’t see a mention of how it works with a smartphone. I want to use it with my Samsung Galaxy S4.
It connected to my iPhone as easy as my iPad and Galaxy tablet, so it should work with your smartphone just fine for a keyboard. 🙂