Is a Type cover 2 for Surface RT worth 128 dollars?

bills pies

New member
Mar 19, 2014
50
0
0
Visit site
I'm ordering from the UK so I have to pay import tax or something on eBay.
The price comes out at roughly ?77. I can not find any cheaper Type cover 2s and nobody from the UK seems to sell them. Is the cover worth ?77?
 

WillysJeepMan

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
1,066
0
36
Visit site
It depends upon how you use or plan to use your RT. I had a Touch Cover 1 for my RT (came as a bundle). It was handy and eventually got accustomed to it. The more I used it, the more I could see the need for a keyboard that felt more like a real keyboard. After a long deliberation ($128 is insanely high price for a keyboard cover) I eventually bought a TypeCover 2.

The keyboard itself is terrific. The ever-so-slight key travel makes it feel like a full keyboard. The 16:9 aspect ratio of the Surface results in a width that is exactly the same size as the keyboard on my Macbook Pro. In essence, it is a full-sized notebook keyboard. The only complaint with the keys are the undersized cursor-up and cursor-down keys. Other than that... no other complaints about the keys.

The trackpad however is a different story. It's a bit small and with the swipe gestures introduced with Windows RT 8.1, I find myself activating the charms bar or the task list if I begin my swipe outside of the trackpad area. (yes, it can be disabled) The buttons on the trackpad are capacitive. There are no physical buttons. This makes clicking a button a tricky effort. It is my understanding that the TypeCover1 had physical buttons. As it stands, I use a bluetooth mouse whenever it is practical, and only use the built-in trackpad when I don't want to tote around a mouse.

I've recently upgraded my RT to the 2nd gen Surface 2. The improved performance makes the keyboard experience feel more like a premium netbook. That's the benefit of the TypeCover2... it is compatible with the 1st and 2nd gen Surface devices. So if you find yourself wanting to upgrade your RT to a Surface 2 (or Surface 2 Pro) you'll be able to continue to use the TypeCover2.

I hope this helps. I agree with your hesitation regarding the price. If you plan on being productive with your RT in using it as a "netbook", then you will find great value in the keyboard. If you decide to get one, I highly encourage you to seek out a purple one. It has a great dark rich tone unlike the pink and cyan that are way too bright (for my tastes anyways)... and not as boring as black.
 

Brad and Ellen

New member
Apr 21, 2013
112
0
0
Visit site
I'm ordering from the UK so I have to pay import tax or something on eBay.
The price comes out at roughly ?77. I can not find any cheaper Type cover 2s and nobody from the UK seems to sell them. Is the cover worth ?77?

The question really should be, is it worth it to you? What do you think a reasonable price should be? I'll make an assumption and say $70.00. So, you're looking at an extra $60.00. Now put that $60.00 in perspective. I could go out to dinner, go to a club, go see a couple of movies, buy a game etc. Now ask yourself if you can do without one of those things and instead, put that money towards your type cover. It's all about budgeting and perspective. Of course, after saying all that, you need to check amazon UK as a type cover 2 is going for $89. :)
 

Ed Boland

Retired Ambassador
Nov 17, 2012
4,704
5
38
Visit site
I love my purple Type Cover 2 for my Surface 2. The feel of the click from the keys is perfect and the track pad works beautifully. My favorite part though, is the back lighting which is adjustable.
Absolutely worth every penny!
 

Poirots Progeny

New member
Dec 22, 2013
499
0
0
Visit site
Have the type 2 cover for the surface pro 2 - ?99 from John Lewis - and yes; i think everyone above have pretty much summed up the device clearly.

The keys are great, and i really appreciate the backlighting. The track pad is rubbish but i have a wireless logitech that i use - your choice on that.

Really, it does come down to what you want, how much you type. Honestly, for me; i use the surface pro 2 like a mini laptop replacer, and i use it to type with, when im out at a cafe or whatever - the type 2 cover is head and shoulders a typing experience above the touch cover. I personally wouldn't even look at the touch cover, if you mainly type. It comes down to what you want to do on this thing. If you're writing a novel, studying and writing thesis papers or doing whatever requiring typing: buy this cover ar whatever price. You owe it to your hands and sanity!

I would say get a power cover, if you can; there are no back lit keys and that could be a deal breaker (it is for me - and i cant understand what they were thinking) but you need to choose.

Go for the type 2 ;)
 

WillysJeepMan

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
1,066
0
36
Visit site
Have the type 2 cover for the surface pro 2 - ?99 from John Lewis - and yes; i think everyone above have pretty much summed up the device clearly.

The keys are great, and i really appreciate the backlighting. The track pad is rubbish but i have a wireless logitech that i use - your choice on that.

Really, it does come down to what you want, how much you type. Honestly, for me; i use the surface pro 2 like a mini laptop replacer, and i use it to type with, when im out at a cafe or whatever - the type 2 cover is head and shoulders a typing experience above the touch cover. I personally wouldn't even look at the touch cover, if you mainly type. It comes down to what you want to do on this thing. If you're writing a novel, studying and writing thesis papers or doing whatever requiring typing: buy this cover ar whatever price. You owe it to your hands and sanity!

I would say get a power cover, if you can; there are no back lit keys and that could be a deal breaker (it is for me - and i cant understand what they were thinking) but you need to choose.

Go for the type 2 ;)
Good words. One point of clarification, the Power Cover is NOT compatible with the Surface RT. Besides, the battery life of the Surface RT is quite good as it is that the added battery life of a power cover isn't really worth the added cost.
 

Poirots Progeny

New member
Dec 22, 2013
499
0
0
Visit site
Oh sorry, i thought we were talking about the surface (the second one). That's what happens when i don't have my coffee ;)

Apologies - yes, the power cover is for the surface (the second one) and the surface pro (both) NOT the original surface RT.

But i still maintain the type 2 cover is the best value of the bunch; light, reasonable protection (for the screen), backlit and good keys.
 

RTGent

New member
Jan 24, 2013
654
0
0
Visit site
The only attraction for me is the backlighting, but I haven't sprung for a cover 2. The Type cover 1 I have does have physical mouse buttons, and I've decided that if I need/want backlighting, I'll get the spill-proof touch cover. Every choice in life involves compromising.
 

onlysublime

New member
Jun 24, 2013
1,077
0
0
Visit site
I love my purple Type Cover 2 as well. It's a really great keyboard, especially with the backlighting. The keys are plenty big and very responsive. The only bad keys to me are the arrow keys (they're tiny and sometimes they don't seem responsive). I don't use the trackpad so that's a nonfactor (I use a combination of touchscreen and mouse).

Plus, if you're a fast typist, you can really jam on the keyboard. It can take what you can give it.

My Surface RT has basically become a laptop replacement because of the stellar keyboard (though I do plan to get a Surface Pro 2 or 3 eventually as I dearly miss the speed of my desktop and miss having Photoshop, Acrobat, Premiere, and other programs). I like the Type Cover 2 more than the keyboards on my HP and Dell laptops (they've been retired to hand-me-downs).
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
322,919
Messages
2,242,896
Members
428,005
Latest member
rogertewarte