Under a thousand: Super Bluetooth keyboard and stand at a super duper price

The Zoook Magicpad is rather compact – it is less than a foot long at 28.5 cm but is comfortably wide (12 cm) to accommodate six rows of keys (Express Photo)

Light and compact

The Zoook Magicpad was actually launched at a price of Rs 2,999, but the keyboard’s price has come down significantly in recent times. At Rs 2,999, it had seemed a trifle overpriced, especially when compared with the likes of the Logitech K380, and a few others. At Rs 899 or anywhere under Rs 1500, it is quite a deal for anyone looking for a Bluetooth key (board) to unlock their wireless blues.

The Zoook Magicpad is rather compact – it is less than a foot long at 28.5 cm but is comfortably wide (12 cm) to accommodate six rows of keys, although its compactness means there is no room for a number pad or a touch pad, both of which are rare at this price point anyway. The keyboard is all plastic and while not exactly the sturdiest we have seen (it does bend a bit under moderate stress), but is solid enough for longish typing sessions and also lightweight at 277 grams. You get two AAA batteries in the package, and also a very handy dock that can open up to act as a stand for a tablet or phone if need be. It is a compact enough package to be slipped into most bags with ease.

The keyboard is designed to work with Android, iOS and Windows (Express Photo)

Keys that click and (mostly) work

What’s more, it works very well indeed. The keys on the Magicpad are not very large, but are well spaced out, so typing is a very comfortable experience. There is decent travel in the keys and those who like clicking sounds while typing will love the Magicpad. You do have to get used to hitting the spacebar a little extra hard as otherwise it does not register. This is very much a keyboard designed to work with tablets and phones, so do not expect the large keys and deep travel you get with wired keyboards. This is a keyboard for those on the move and using mobile devices, or just wanting some wireless typing convenience for a while on a tight budget. It is not for those looking for a dedicated ‘proper’ keyboard typing experience. You can go for something in the Logitech Bluetooth keyboard range if you want to type out long form articles and books!

The keyboard comes with Bluetooth 5.0 and claims to have 10 metre connectivity, and in our experience, it generally worked well enough as long as there was no partition (wall, curtain) between it and the device it was connected to. The connecting process itself is easy – you press a button on the back of the keyboard and choose Magicpad from the options. The keyboard is designed to work with Android, iOS and Windows and comes with Command, Option and Control keys to suit different platforms. Common shortcuts for cut, copy and paste and multitasking work just fine. The top row of keys comes with keys for specific functions like volume increase and decrease, lock screen, launch search and so on, and for the most part, they work well. We however, found that the brightness controls on these keys did not work at all – perhaps it is a bug, for the same keys do perform other functions. We used the Zoook Magicpad with the OnePlus Pad, the iPad (10th generation) and the Pixel 7 Pro and the iPhone 14 Plus and it worked fine with all of them, without any problems.

A neat touch in the Magicpad is the ability to switch easily between up to three connected devices.

Multi-device support…and a phone and tablet dock too

A neat touch in the Magicpad is the ability to switch easily between up to three connected devices. There are three keys on the number row (1,2 and 3) which can be used to switch between devices when you need to do so. Then there is the dock, which comes in the form of a simple piece of plastic, but which morphs into a stand when you push it out from the base. It is not the most solid of stands and your tablet might wobble a bit on it if you long press on it or tap it too firmly, but it is definitely handy enough as it is so compact that it can actually slip into a trouser compact. What’s more, it even lets you adjust viewing angles, albeit to a limited extent.

The two AAA batteries are supposed to drive the keyboard for up to six months and they showed zero depletion after our having used the keyboard thoroughly for a week, so they might really last that long. The keyboard also comes with an auto sleep mode, allowing it to save battery when not being used.

All of which makes the Zoook Magicpad perhaps the best Bluetooth keyboard for anyone who wants a decent Bluetooth keyboard without spending too many bucks. It is not perfect, and some might find its build too plasticky, but with all its functionality and that stand, we think it is a terrific phone and tablet companion for under a thousand Rupees!