dpom

I'm a tester and I've had the TextBlade for roughly two years.  I use it with an iPad, an Android Pixel 2 phone, and mostly with a Surface Pro.  It took a little while for WayTools to hammer out some of the early Bluetooth commumications issues but at least for me, they're all fixed.

I've seen the TextBlade steadily improve in both function and reliability. It does take a little getting used to, but the effort is so worthwhile.  I've used it for emails, memos, complex Word documents, spreadsheets, and software development in Visual Studio/C#.  Here's a quick summary of the my experience:

Typing is easier and far more comfortable.  Finger pressure is just right for me and the distance your fingers travel is short and effortless.  My hands don't cramp any more after a long bout of typing.

Editing and cursor movement is built into the TextBlade software.  Hold down two keys with your left hand and move through the text with your right hand.  I can move through documents and emails by the character, word, or line, forward and backward and I can select, cut, copy, and paste the same way.  And it works the same across apps on a device and across devices.  I reach for the mouse a whole lot less than I used to.  More to the point, because editing becomes so quick and instinctive you can make corrections without losing your train of thought.

How long to train yourself?  It takes a little work, maybe a week or so, but it's not long before you've reached parity with 'legacy' keyboards and it gets better and better after that.  And it goes with you to any device that has bluetooth.

There's a lot of customization tools to alter the keyboard mapping, create macros, control key timing and behavior and features.  You can go nuts on it.  I don't.  The basic functions plus editing are enough to make this keyboard a rocketship compared to everything else.  The attention to detail and the quality that Waytools has put into the TextBlade is as good or better than any company anywhere.  Apple included. No kidding.

Is it a toy?  This must be from someone who has never used it.  Totally uninformed.  Anyone who uses it for even an hour will know its a solid and practical device.

Are Bluetooth communications flaky?  They were at the beginning.  Not any more.  It's more stable than my Logitech wireless mouse.

Were there a lot of inane and frustrating explanations for delays?  You bet!  And a lot of frustrated people who ordered early, have not received a keyboard, and are posting angry comments to this article.  Keep in mind that full refunds were and are available at anytime, yet people stick around with pre-orders and continue to complain.  I understand they're disappointed because it really is an exciting product and they don't have it.  But that's no reflection on the product, which is superb, or the support the company provides for the products it has in the field.  It's a reflection of how the company has poorly handled the expectations of those people who pre-ordered and have not yet received the TextBlade, because it's been so long in development.

To conflate a long testing period with vaporware is a huge mistake.  I'd sure rather Microsoft tested their updates better before pumping them out - I don't care HOW much I'm looking forward to the update.  Windows 8?  Windows Me?  The Edge browser?  Horrible. Ditto for half the software and hardware I use.  Most products are rushed to market because they're underfunded and investors are clamoring to make money.  Here's a company doing the right thing and taking their time to build a solid product, vetting it against a large and diverse testing group.  That is expensive and it's rare to see.

I'm certain this will prove to be one of the finest consumer devices in many years.  Well worth the wait.