Yes, it might be five months late, but finally The Brydge has arrived.
So, was it worth wait?*
The short answer is very much yes. I’m typing this blog post now using The Brydge and while I’m still getting used to the keyboard, the experience shits on the virtual onscreen keyboard. The keys are a little smaller than I’m used to and the right shift key (which I rarely use) is tiny, but overall the iPad genuinely feels like a mini-laptop with the keyboard attached. And as you can see from the pictures below, it looks like one as well.
Closed…
… Open
The keyboard is actually quite heavy, but this is not a bad thing. But this adds a sturdiness to the whole unit which I appreciate. That said the build is not perfect, as you can see from the photo below, my iPad was missing two of its feet. It’s not a deal breaker, but considering we waited an extra few months for these units to go through a second stage of quality control, it’s frustrating. It’s not helped by the fact that The Brydge box was open when I received it (and not by customs).
I bought The Brydge+ which comes with speakers. People have criticised the speakers for being a bit tinny and not much better than the iPad speaker. For me they seem fine. Not the loudest speakers in the world at full volume, but it’s nice to have the sound coming toward you rather than off to the side.
The biggest problem with The Brydge keyboard is not the product, it’s the shitty customer service. I mean where do I begin. One look at the comments on The Brydge Kickstarter webpage shows the frustration and anger of the people who funded this product, including me.
It began when they changed the design of the hinge.** This upset people who’d funded the product on the basis they were getting a specific hinge. Rather than offer people refunds if they weren’t happy with the design change, Brydge said the following:
Also, for anyone who prefers the original hinge design, we are continuing to work on a solution for you. We definitely want everyone who pledged and has supported us to be satisfied with the reward they receive. You are the reason we are able to take this product from concept, through production and soon, into reality.
While this sounds fair and wonderful, they’ve never ever followed up on this in any of the subsequent updates. Their silence has been like nails against a blackboard for those who desperately wanted the old hinge.
And then there’s the rationing of updates, weeks and months apart, light on detail and often contradicting what had been said previously.
Now, I’m sure the people at Brydge didn’t set out to piss off a good chunk of their backers. But their immaturity in dealing with success – this Kickstarter has been one of the highest funded since the sites inception*** – has been evident since it became clear that The Brydge wasn’t going to meet its October due date. And it’s been annoying.
Still, I got the product and for the most part I’m happy with it. It cost me $245 (including shipping) which might be steep for some (there are cheaper options on the market) and looking at the ClamCase Pro, which looks like it retails at about $169, I might have been better off waiting for it. But I really can’t complain too much (frustrations above aside). The Brydge does as advertised, turning my iPad into a genuine laptop and allowing me to write this blog post at close to 700 words with relative ease.
And best of all, I can sit next to Jules, as she watches Real Housewivees, and type on my blog and not feel like were living apart. But my God isn’t Theresa a bitch!
*Yes, I know that waiting for a product for five months is very much a first world problem. Patience is not a virtue of mine, and coupled with terrible customer service… well five months might have been five decades.
** I actually like the new design of the hinge than the original, but that’s not the point.
*** Though it doesn’t come close to The Pebble.
Is it still lighter than an Ultrabook?
Not sure. It’s definitely smaller but I’ve never held an Ultrabook
The joys of Kickstarter… giving people money with absolutely ZERO accountability.
To be fair, this (along with the Pebble watch thing) was far more successful than the creators imagined and organising production for a small run of gadgets is a lot easier than organising production for a proper consumer device. Suddenly you’re moving out of the garage and talking to light industrial manufacturers and the process suddenly becomes a lot more difficult.
Agreed. They only asked for $90,000 and got eight times that. And the product is very good. But there were times I thought I’d never see it.
I’m still waiting for my Brydge (in the UK).
I’d forked out on a cheap and nasty Blue tooth keyboard (£20) just to tide me over till the Brydge arrived…. that was over 3 months ago, and I hate using it was reluctant to buy anything more expensive because of what I’d invested in the Brydge. At the time of looking, I couldn’t find a decent keyboard that I liked and this was the only one that showed any promise, however I am starting to look else where as I’m giving up hope that I’ll ever get my Brydge – and their communications and customer service has been abysmal.
I’ve backed quite a few Kickstarter projects but this has to be the worst one for feedback and comms. I won’t ever be touching anything that these guys build after this sorry affair.
When and if my Brydge actually arrives, I don’t know if I’ll ever use it as these guys have left me with such a bad taste and ill feeling towards the product.
Have you tried sending a note to the Brydge twitter account (@The_Brydge)? I sent a polite message to the account everyday until I got a response. It’s the way I found out that my shipment was on the way.
But they have been dreadful and I don’t blame you for not wanting to ever use the product. As another example of their shit customer service, I emailed them with a change of address, only to discover a few days back that the product was heading to my old address. So I had to ring around to ensure the Brydge came to me. I mean it’s customer service 101 and yet they don’t have a clue.
I have until I’m blue in the face.
It seems the UK backers are right at the back of the queue, and I’m actually disgusted. Poor customer service/communications I can just about deal with – but these guys…. sheesh, these guys… they don’t even come close to “poor”…. down right rude and deceitful only begins to describe their attitude to International backers.
Sick fed up them.
What shat me was that I didn’t get my neoprene cover. I mean how hard would it have been to send that with my five month late Brydge. Still, at least I have the product now. I feel for you.
Yes, I was one of the people who wanted the original hinge and indicated as such on numerous occasions. Guess what? I received my Brydge yesterday without the original hinge. I really didn’t want to open the package as I was anticipating that this would be the case.
As this item was not the product I backed, I promptly sent an email to them asking for a return for refund number and haven’t heard back…wish me luck!!
Given their current customer service record, I think you’re going to need more then luck. It’s clear to me that they’ve decided to ignore (or clap their hands on their ears) anyone who wants the original hinge.
And so the sh¡t customer service continues! This morning I received a response to my email from Whitney:
We are not offering the Brydge with the original hinge design, this was
updated at the production phase and has been a standard on all orders. I’m
so sorry for any inconvenience.
No “Hi” or “Regards” and complete disregard to my query for a Return Authority.
This comes as no surprise to me. They should never have said that they were going to sort something out for those who wanted the original hinge.
Again, I don’t think they were being malicious, they probably had something in mind, but it’s clear to me that they either don’t have the resources to do anything but provide the minimum of service.
Mondy