ThePhormcase , fromTactus , tote up a tactile layer to the software keyboard when you ’re holding your iPad miniskirt in portrait mode and engage the transposition on the back — supposedly being able to “ feel ” the keys will make it easier to typewrite .
Yeah , right , I thought .
I admit it , I was skeptical . I pictured bulge out house of cards in good order on top of each letter , having to bray those bubbles with my thumbs , and understand my iPad mini ’s battery lifespan suffer , because of course a case with an on / off switch require power , right ?
Wrong . I was unseasonable about all of it .
First of all , Phorm habituate no power . The shift on the back is purely mechanically skillful . The case , which whole encloses your iPad miniskirt without adding too much mass or weight , has a flimsy , double - layered membrane over the screen , and a tiny reservoir built in to the side of the typesetter’s case that holds a modest amount of liquid state . The shift on the back is completely mechanical — when you labor it from one side to the other , the liquid state is physically squeeze out of the reservoir into petite channels between the two membrane layers , where it settles into billet above each key fruit on a standard software keyboard .
The Phorm demand no charging , no pairing , and does n’t block your Lightning porthole .
Yes , the bumps are slightlyabovethe keys , not right on top of the letter you ’re take at with your pollex . The liquid state creates small protuberance determine like picayune crescent moons , that act more as borders for the keys , direct your fingers to the sweet spot . But you ’re not run into the bubble itself . ( And even if you do , it is n’t soft or drippy . ) If your thumbs happen to impress the keyboard between keys , they wo n’t feel that usher there , and it really did seem to educate me to hit the right spot . Think of Phorm ’s bumps like training wheel for your thumb , rather than physical key you ’ll need to push down .
Phorm only works in portrayal modality — get it to mould in landscape would need separate channels and credibly a second artificial lake of liquid . But Phorm makes more common sense in portrayal mode on the iPad mini , since that equipment is narrow-minded enough that you could hold it and comfortably type with your thumbs . Plenty of external keyboards exist to apply the iPad miniskirt in landscape orientation , but since the machine is smaller than the iPad Air , I incline to bump them a footling hamper .
I found that the templet did make it easy to typecast . Color me surprised !
And Phorm has some advantages over an outside Bluetooth keyboard , too . When you use a Bluetooth keyboard , you do n’t get the predictive textual matter features you get with the computer software keyboard , not to refer the shortcuts ( holding down the period to get “ .com ” and “ .net , ” for example ) and particular character .
Tactus is take orders for the Phorm now . The iPad mini case comes in slate gray ( gray and mordant ) or sky gray ( white-haired and livid ) for $ 99 , and ship this summer . Next up is a variant for iPhone 6 Plus . And Tactus does n’t plan to stop there . The company even has a prototype Android pill with the technology built aright in — it ’s lighter than a likewise sized tablet since the Phorm ’s membrane replaces the topmost glassful layer over the screen . intimately yet , the engineering is tie into the OS , so there ’s no transposition to flip — the bumps come up automatically whenever the keyboard comes on blind , and fade away again when the keyboard live away .
If you do a lot of thumb - typing on an iPad mini , Phorm ’s guides could speed you up and provide a satisfying tactile experience . It ’s definitely a niche product , but I ’m glad my initial agnosticism was proved wrong .
