From today, we’re going to have a special blog post every week called “Friday Review”. As you may guess, we’re going to review some piece of software or hardware to help you make a more informed purchase decision. Without further wait, let’s get started with our very first review. Today we’re going to look at the Apple USB keyboard that was released recently with the new iMac redesign. You can find out more about the keyboard (though I’d buy it slightly cheaper from Amazon) at the official Apple website.

Form

The first thing you notice about the keyboard is that it is exceptionally thin. I’ve looked at many pictures on the net, but the real life article has turned out to be even thinner than I expected. While this thing is super flat, it is tall enough at the back to allow the USB cable to flow over the top of the iMac/Apple Cinema Display leg support when you push it all the way back, which is really great attention to detail and usability by Apple.The keyboard also looks great. The design is very simple and because of that it works really well aesthetically. There are no added extras - just pure function wrapped in elegant and minimalist form. The darker shade of the aluminum shell works well with the white plastic keys, as it allows them to rise up to the front and take prominence through the use of the contrast between the two shades. All of the rounded corners on the keys and the edges of the aluminum shell are carefully calculated to fit and work perfectly together in harmony. In my opinion this is simply the best looking keyboard on the market.

Function

It looks great, but how well does it actually work? I was pleased to discover that it really is a joy to use. People who like to work with notebook keyboards will be right at home here as the design of the new keyboard closely mirrors that of the MacBook’s. This is a step away from traditional desktop keyboards with tall standing keys and a move towards sleeker and flatter keyboards seen in the laptop world. If you like laptop keyboards, then you’ll probably like this. If you don’t—then don’t rush out to order yours just yet, as a trip to the nearest Apple store to try it out for yourself might be in order.Personally, I find the new keyboard much more usable than the previous incarnation. The flat form allows the fingers to glide much quicker across the landscape of keys, and the soft mechanism under the keys makes the typing experience smooth and satisfying. The keyboard is also very quiet and, unlike the previous Apple keyboard, doesn’t collect dirt and dust easily between the keys. The old version was indeed notorious for its dust collecting abilities, and happily displayed all its catch through the clear see-through plastic. No more of that—the areas between the keys are all covered with aluminum to keep the keyboard clean and looking great.The keyboard itself comes in two versions, wireless and wired (USB). I cannot speak for the wireless version in this review, but I am sure its form and function is very very similar. Unlike the wireless version, the USB keyboard has two USB ports on the sides to allow you to use extra devices such as mice and memory sticks. Power management issues mean that you probably will not be able to use bigger devices than that so while the keyboard does not provide a viable USB hub, the two ports are still very useful and welcome. The keyboard also comes packaged with a USB cable extension (which funnily enough only works with Apple products due to a large plastic covering on the end that only allows the thin Apple connector through) if you need it.Drivers are not provided, but can be easily downloaded through Software Update, which will allow you to use the function keys (Screen brightness, Expose, Dashboard, iTunes, Volume and Eject). Due to the fact the wireless keyboard is now much more compact than the USB version and so has less keys, Apple changed positions of the function keys to make them all fit on the F keys from 1 through to 12, which may confuse some users, but I got used to the new mapping quickly so don’t feel it’s going to be a problem. One last thing to mention is the removal of the Apple logo on the command key. In its place now rests the “cmd” label, presumably to alleviate confusion for new Mac switchers.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a new keyboard, the new Apple USB (or Wireless) keyboard should definitely be on your consideration list. Function wise, there really isn’t anything special or new about this keyboard—it pretty much does everything the previous one did, and not much more. If all you need is a functional keyboard, then you should probably stick with your current one unless you’re looking to upgrade. If however, you care even slightly about aesthetics and feel, then I can really recommend it. I believe the future of keyboards will look very much like this—thin, sleek and beautiful.