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When I first saw the Freedom Mobile Slim Keypad in our store I thought to myself – “Why would a BlackBerry owner need a separate keypad for their device?” After all, the majority of the BlackBerry devices available today have superb full qwerty keypads that are extremely easy to use (even for those of us with larger thumbs).

I then thought of people with a Pearl and how typing out long strings of text is sometimes problematic on the SureType keypad setup. Could this be the answer for Pearl owners who do not wish to have a larger device but require a full keyboard on occasion? The answer is yes – it very well may be.

Introducing the Freedom Mobile Slim Keypad

The Freedom Mobile Slim Keypad is an external, bluetooth (SPP/HID) keypad that is compatible with almost all PDA’s on the market, many smartphones, PocketPCs, laptops and even your PS3!

Measuring in at 4 x 2.25 x 3/8 inches, the Slim Keypad is just that, slim and ultra portable. This unit is only slightly bigger than a credit card and will slip effortlessly into your pocket or handbag. The total weight for the Slim Keypad is 46 gm(1.6 oz) so it will not be a burden you will notice at all.

The Freedom Slim Keypad has a few handy features built into it. It is made up of 54 keys, fully alpha numeric and metallic faced. There is a blue back light with an option to turn on and off for optimal viewing. There is a replaceable mini usb connection that allows for recharging of the unit when it loses its juice and an auto reconnect function that repairs your connection to a paired device if broken.

The Freedom Slim Keypad is compatible with a wide range of operating systems, including: BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm.

My Impressions of the Freedom Slim Keypad

On first glance, the Freedom Slim keypad appears slick and stylish and ready to help me enter all kinds of information into my BlackBerry (I am pretending my Bold is a Pearl). In actuality, using the keypad resulted in quite a bit of looking up, looking down and checking to see if I actually hit a key or not.

Although it took a while to get used to the spacing on this keypad after while I was still disappointed with the action of some of the keys. The performance of the keys on the pad is unbalanced with some keys having a satisfying click and some leaving you wondering if you need to hit it with a chisel to get a response. As a result I found a good hefty push of each key did the trick and my wrists were not thanking me later.

Even though I wasn’t too happy with the typing action the major flaw with this keypad is it’s back-light. To start off we have white letters on a silver background that pretty much can only be seen in daylight. So you would think a back-light is going to help if you are indoors in a dimly lit area. Unfortunately the back-light is provided by a bright blue led and when it’s on it’s even harder to make out the characters on the keyboard. A major design flaw.

Don’t get me wrong though, the Freedom Slim Keypad does work. It has a nice small form factor and it’s lightweight. If you really hate typing on the Storm you might want to give it a try. Likewise, if you want a cool little keypad for entering info on your PS3 or a wireless controller to manage audio and video on your PC, this might be a winner. I just don’t think it is very suitable to most BlackBerry owners as an accessory worthy of combining with your particular model.

The Freedom Slim Keypad can be purchased from the BBGeeks Store for $69.95 and comes with a 30 day 100% Money Back Guarantee.

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