At GearLab, we ask a lot of our gear in hopes that we can find the best of the best. From everyday use to the most bizarre methods, we try everything possible with all of our gear. This is how we tested wireless keyboards for this review. We tested the following four metrics, pushing the gear to the limits as much as possible.
Connectivity & Ease of Use
This metric measures how well each keyboard connects to a computer and other devices. We measured connecting time, distance, lag on wake-up, and actuation distance to test this. We also considered whether the keyboard connects via Bluetooh or USB dongle, and what operating systems it was compatible with.
Features
To test features, we recorded what features every keyboard has and then used every feature. We looked for things like the number of devices each keyboard can pair to, hotkeys, n-key rollover, and backlighting. We also recorded any unique features found in each keyboard. We made note of which features were useful, and which were less useful.
Battery Life
To test battery life, we simply used every keyboard. We kept a running total of how many hours we used each keyboard, and made note when or if they died. During the 20-30 hours of testing on each keyboard, none of them ran out of power. We also researched user reviews concerning battery life to get a clearer idea how long each keyboard would last. Our findings were that most keyboards last a minimum of two weeks, or 80 hours.
Portability
To test portability, we recorded every keyboard using our testing scale. We also measured every keyboard. We looked at whether a keyboard had any folding capabilities, and if it did we measured it folded as well. We scored every keyboard for portability based on these recorded metrics. The smaller and lighter it is, the higher the portability score it gets.
