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"CruxSkunk iPad Keyboard Exposes the Mirage of Kickstarter \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCruxSkunk iPad Keyboard\nThe CruxSkunk is a Kickstarter project that's finally coming to fruition. Priced at $229, it's an iPad keyboard that aims to mirror the Apple design aesthetic.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThin and Solid\nThe CruxSkunk is made of aluminum and the keyboard portion is just 6 millimeters thin.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBluetooth Pairing\nThe keyboard pairs with your iPad via Bluetooth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChiclet Keys\nThe CruxSkunk has keys that look like an Apple keyboard's, but the feel cheap and a few sometimes get jammed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFolded\nWhen folded, the CruxSkunk is just 0.74 of an inch thin.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHollow Frame\nThe iPad fits in the frame securely.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSide View\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFunction Keys\nThe function keys across the top are a bit of a mystery. Some work and some don't.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRedundant Arrow Keys\nThe arrow keys in the lower right don't appear to work in any apps or screens.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMicrosoft's Surface tablet has yet to prove itself, but it won a lot of goodwill with its novel keyboard cover, betraying a weakness in the iPad camp: Although there are many keyboard accessories for Apple's tablet, none has really emerged as the one that rises above the pack.\nThat's exactly what the CruxSkunk wants to be. A Kickstarter project, the keyboard aims to be none other than the perfect complement for your iPad. It's just 0.74 of an inch thin (with the iPad inserted), made of solid aluminum and has a design that's tailored to match the Apple aesthetic. It also mirrors Apple pricing \u2014 at $229, it's damn expensive as keyboard accessories go. (Update: Crux told us the price before publication, but now says it's still to be determined.)\nThat said, Kickstarter's founders recently posted a note reminding its users that the site \u2014 filled with beautiful, ambitious projects \u2014 is not a store. It was a necessary reality check, and I can see what they were getting at with the CruxSkunk now that I've been using one for the past few days. While it has a lot going for it, if you buy it thinking you'll turn your iPad into a MacBook Air, you'll be disappointed.\nSkunking the iPad\nThe CruxSkunk got a lot of positive press, including from Mashable, when the Kickstarter campaign began, and why not? It's a gorgeous design idea, taking the aesthetic of Apple's MacBook laptops, mainly the aluminum material and chiclet-style keys, and fusing them into an iPad keyboard. It even has Mac-centric buttons, labeled Command and Option. No backlight, though, and no extra battery power for your iPad, since it connects via Bluetooth.\nThe iPad fits into an open frame attached to the keyboard. Don't forget to slip the plastic holders over the iPad in the lower corners \u2014 like I was doing for the first day after I got the CruxSkunk \u2014 or your iPad will fall out. With the holders in place, your iPad is secure, and you can even rotate the keyboard almost 360 degrees to use it as a simple stand \u2014 handy in a plane seat.\n\nSEE ALSO: Check Out Microsoft\u2019s Brilliant Keyboard for Windows 8 Tablets [VIDEO]\nAfter putting my iPad in place, I started the pairing process. It's a little annoying that the CruxSkunk uses a code for Bluetooth pairing, but I can forgive that. I can even overlook that it took about a half-dozen attempts before I was able to pair the Skunk with my iPad successfully.\nWhat I can't abide is the poor quality of the keys. For starters, a few keys on my review unit occasionally got stuck in the frame when I depressed them, continuously entering data until they were unjammed. On top of that, at least one of the keys on my sample (\"2/@\") didn't work properly \u2014 a flaw that would necessitate a return.\nMystery Keys\nThere are function keys along the top, but my unit didn't come with any instructions, so I had to discern for myself what they did. The home button is easy enough, but I still don't know what some of the other keys do \u2014 mainly because when I pressed them, they didn't do anything.\nSome did work, including home, photo frame, screen off and screen on. But that button with the globe icon that looks like it should launch Safari or network settings? No idea. Search? Forget it. At least the music volume controls did what they were supposed to.\nOverall, though, the whole thing just feels unfinished, like someone grabbed the CruxSkunk when it was about 75% through the production process before it got some polishing and quality assurance. With a MacBook keyboard you get smoothed-out edges and key displacement that's clearly tuned to tenths of a millimeter, but the CruxSkunk has uncomfortably sharp cuts in the metal and keys that just feel ... cheap. (Also see the update below.)\nThe Mirage of Kickstarter\nThis betrays the weakness of Kickstarter, which I also encountered to a certain extent with the HiddenRadio: There's a world of difference between a great idea and the successful execution of that idea. And the idea of the CruxSkunk is certainly great. Of course it would be fantastic to build a MacBook-style keyboard for an iPad.\nBut think about how much design and engineering went into MacBook keyboards. They're made by a company that's been building computers for well over 30 years and has billions of dollars in the bank. The brand is iconic, has millions of customers and employs some of the best industrial designers and engineers in the world.\nAm I being too hard on the CruxSkunk, made by a few guys on Kickstarter? I don't think so \u2014 especially since it promises right on the campaign page that it's made \"in the exact same process that Apple machines its MacBooks and iPads. The aluminum parts are then sandblasted and anodized to give them the same finish as your iPad.\"\nNot quite. And this is where the warning from Kickstarter's founders hits home: Although the CruxSkunk sells the idea of pairing a MacBook-like keyboard with your iPad, in reality it's not even that close. Yes, Kickstarter is most definitely not a store \u2014 it's an idea for a product that might, if you're lucky, end up creating an object that's somewhere in the ballpark of what was originally promised.\nSo if you can approach the CruxSkunk with those realistic expectations, you might like it, and the idea still has merit. But judging from the perch where that idea resides, it falls short.\nWill you be buying or skipping the CruxSkunk? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.\nUpdate: Although there was no mention of this prior to publication, Crux now says the unit it sent Mashable is a prototype."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/09/29/cruxskunk-review/>