Not-so-little-Miss MDF is a precocious sort and already seems to be having OOS/RSI type symptoms from typing. The solution that works best for her is a higher screen and lower keyboard - straightforward at a desk at home (external monitor + height adjustable keyboard tray) but much harder to manage at school. Current workaround involves laptop on desk with RF wireless keyboard + trackpad on lap but it is suboptimal - the RF dongle is already being held together with tape and the keyboard is one more thing to carry, abuse and lose.
I thought I had hit on to a decent solution of a Surface Pro + Brydge Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard. Essentially a portable, but separable, notebook.
But unfortunately, the Brydge SP+ Bluetooth model only advertises compatibility with Surface Pro 8, with a different (non bluetooth) version for Surface Pro 9. And SP8 seems impossible to find any more. Brydge also went bankrupt (though assests subsequently purchased by a new company), and PBTech is listing the keyboard as stock on hand only. Ongoing support is far from given. Also very spendy for a school notebook.
Questions:
- Anyone looking to sell a Surface Pro 8 in decent condition?
- Anyone that has both a SP8 and SP9 able to comment on potential issues using a SP9 with a Brydge keyboard? The internet seems to suggest identical physical dimensions but different port locations for SP8 vs SP9. I think that should be okay given the way the Brydge keyboard physically clamps to the notebook + uses bluetooth rather than the pogo pins, but it is spendy enough I didn't want to take a hopeful punt.
- Any other suggestions for essentially "separable" notebooks?
- Any suggestions for a bluetooth portable keyboard that has an integrated trackpad that could go with the current notebook?