Less like a keyboard and more like a curse!

Wow-Keys didn’t need to be flawless for us to love it. The potential for awesomeness was huge: a computer keyboard that charges our phones and lets us switch between typing and texting is enough to get us seriously excited. So we were willing to forgive a few faults for that kind of functionality…just not this many.

Frankly, the Wow-Keys is a masterpiece of poor design. The first irreparable problem is the keyboard layout. The Wow-Keys utilizes a bizarre Ctrl-Fn-Command-Alt specialty key layout, while modern Apple keyboards utilize a Fn-Control-Alt-Command layout. Also, the Function keys didn’t do the things they were supposed to in Snow Leopard (10.6.8) -- we hope you like your screen bright, because there’s no way to dim it. And worst of all, a gratuitous Home button sits in the exact spot the Backspace/Delete button sits on other keyboards. This Home button takes you to the beginning of the line you’re typing, and each time you consciously try to reach over it to hit the actual Delete key, we guarantee your workflow will be disrupted.

Even if you manage to get used to the terrible key placement, Wow-Keys just doesn’t type very well. The keys are mushy, and your fingers can snag on adjacent keys while you’re typing. Also, the Space bar is only three keys wide -- much smaller than pretty much every other Space bar in the universe. The keyboard’s only real wow factor is the ease with which you can switch between typing and texting, but unfortunately, that’s just not enough.

The bottom line. Small would-be issues like a lack of backlighting or mushy buttons are trivial when this keyboard is altogether unusable in its current form. Hopefully Omnio will release a software update with the ability to reassign keys and make the keyboard functional. As for now, the only option is to vote with your wallet. Don’t buy this.