Grandma Reviews the Arteck HB066 Mini Keyboard

Published August 30, 2023

Now that I've purchased an iPad Mini, I bought the Arteck HB066 mini keyboard to go with it. There is no sense in having a tiny iPad and a huge keyboard. I bought the Mini because I wanted something small enough to fit in my purse to write on the go. Yes, I can write on an iPhone, but that's not practical at my age and with my vision.

Finding the right portable keyboard is not as easy, and I knew it wouldn't be. Finding the right full-size keyboard to use with my desktop took me a while. Writers are persnickety when it comes to keyboards, and it's no different when using a portable keyboard.

Searching for the Right Portable Keyboard

I've tested and used various portable keyboards. Some I've written about (Samsers and iClever), and others I have yet to share my experience. This review is about the Arteck portable mini keyboard, and I'll start by saying I like the Arteck portable keyboard. Connecting via Bluetooth is easy, and you can connect to three devices. To do so, Just press the Fn key and either the Q, W, or E.

Note: I place a yellow sticky note on the back of the keyboard so I know which letter is associated with each device.

Typing Experience with the Arteck Mini Keyboard

As expected with any mini keyboard, the keys are much closer together, but it's easy to adapt quickly. When I place the keyboard on a stable surface like a desk or table, I almost forget I'm using a mini keyboard, except for the occasional double letters (I'll talk about that later).

Typing with the Arteck on the lap, however, is a different experience. If you choose to do so, you must place support under the two areas where the case folds; otherwise, the keyboard will collapse and close. If you have a firm magazine, a piece of cardboard, or even a thin book to place on your lap to support the keyboard, it will remain open.

Double Letters and Small Keyboards

I often run into the issue of typing double letters when typing too fast on mini keyboards. Some keyboards are worse than others. However, it's infrequent that I get double letters when typing on the Arteck mini keyboard. It does happen, but not nearly as frequently as with other keyboards.

I intend to do a few typing tests to compare the Arteck against my other mini keyboards.

Arteck: Full Function Keyboard

I like the fact that the top row has the media keys (accessible by pressing in conjunction with the Fn key) and numbers. Another important feature is that all letters and punctuation marks are in the correct location (that wasn't the case with the iClever keyboard). And, unlike the Magic Keyboard, the Arteck mini keyboard has both a Delete and a Backspace key. I didn't realize how much I used the Delete key until I bought the Magic Keyboard case for my iPad Air.

The Arteck is a regular keyboard, just smaller.

Shortcut Issues with Arteck Mini Keyboard

I've always thought the Ctrl and Win keys were Windows keys, and the Alt key was more of an iOS key. That may not be the case, but that's how my brain thought of them. Since I'm using Apple devices exclusively, I didn't pay too much attention to the Win and Ctrl keys until I ran into an interesting result when attempting to copy and paste.

When I tried to copy and paste a sentence using Alt + C and Alt + V, I got this after pressing Alt + C.

Ç

And this is what I got when I pressed Alt + V.

√

Not what I expected.

To copy and paste, I had to use Win + C and Win + V or Ctrl + C and Ctrl +V.

Highlighting a sentence means using Win + Shift + End (or Home, depending on the direction of the text).

Undo is Win + Z

The alt key moves the cursor to the next word's beginning (or end), depending on direction. To highlight one word at a time, use Alt + Shift + arrow.

Fn + Ctrl shows and hides the onscreen keyboard.

I won't list all the shortcuts as I don't know them all, but suffice it to say that if you're going to use the Arteck keyboard with shortcuts, it takes some getting used to.

Conclusion

When I dislike a keyboard, I send it back. I still have and use the Arteck keyboard, which means I value it and am willing to work around the shortcut quirks. It fits nicely in my purse and works well with the iPad Mini. As a matter of fact, I wrote this using the Arteck Mini. I had a few hiccups when I copied and pasted it into the HTML document, but nothing I couldn't overcome.

Last Modified: 21 September 2023

Comments

• Rob September 16, 2023, 10:04 pm
  

  Hello Felicia,

  I recently found your site and I’m really enjoying it. Thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom.

  I just read your review of the iPad Mini and the Arteck portable keyboard and it was very helpful. I almost bought that keyboard but instead got an iClever BK03 that looks almost the same as yours (it’s different from the iClever you also reviewed). I just got it today, but so far so good. All the keys are in the right place and it doesn’t have the issues with the “Win” and “Alt” keys you mention. It has proper CMD and Alt keys that work the same as Apple keyboards.

  Here’s the one I got, in case you’re interested.

  I just thought I’d mention it in case it might help.

  I’m looking forward to reading more of what you write.



• Felicia September 21, 2023, 6:56 pm
  

  Thanks for the heads up, Rob. I just put it in my Amazon shopping cart. This makes keyboard number...ah forget it. Who's counting? 😄

  I haven't had much of a chance to check out your sites, but I will. For anyone instersted, Rob also writes about Apple products at his site Rob's Tech Talk.